For anyone who is a fan of the industrial music genre (whether it is the subcategory of rock or metal), the band Ministry is synonymous with fans of that style of music. Ministry has long since been regarded as one of the forefathers in the industrial music genre, helping other bands along the way, like Nine Inch Nails. I know my fellow Gen Xers can remember that one episode on the second season of MTV’s Beavis & Butt-Head when Ministry’s music video for “N.W.O.” was nestled between Geraldo Mejia’s “Rico Suave” and Soundgarden’s “Outshined”. Ministry would grace Beavis & Butt-Head’s television show once more during the third season with another song, “Just One Fix”, off their critically acclaimed fifth (5) album ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ (commonly known as Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs). Even Nitzer Ebb appeared late in the second season of Beavis & Butt-Head with a music video of their song “Godhead”.

Enough of the ‘memberberries’; let’s return to the present. In February, Ministry announced they would embark on an ambitious tour paying homage to their influential past. A past enriched with some heavy and groovy synth-pop sounds that have been dormant from past Ministry tour setlists. That is, until Ministry decided to celebrate these relics of the past at their 2024 Cruel World Music Festival performance last year, when they dug up tracks from their first two albums, With Sympathy (1983) and Twitch (1986). Their positive response to this performance helped spawn the idea of revisiting these jewels and re-recording them for release. This project would be called The Squirrely Years, and you can preorder your copy at Cleopatra Records now. This record is expected to ship on June 6th, 2025.

Ministry

The Squirrely Years Tour began in Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 29th and will conclude at the House of Blues Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 5th. To make this tour even more appealing, Ministry has asked their buds, old-school industrial rockers Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps, and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, to come out on tour and assist as opening support at select dates. Die Krupps will perform on all dates, while Nitzer Ebb will open the first half of the tour, and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult will open the second half. For the Atlanta date, The Eastern was picked to host The Squirrely Years Tour, and I could not be happier with that decision. What a venue!

Die Krupps is an industrial metal/EBM/industrial rock band from Dusseldorf, Germany that has been active from 1980-1985, 1989 to 1997, and 2005-present. Nitzer Ebb currently consists of Jurgen Engler (vocals/guitars/keyboards/synthesizers and programming/Stahlophon), Ralf Dorper (keyboards/synthesizers and programming), Dylan Smith (guitars), and Paul Keller (drums). Nitzer Ebb has released eleven (11) LPs, eight (8) anthologies, two (2) live albums, six (6) compilations, and forty (40) singles/EPs.

I knew Die Krupps’ opening set at The Eastern this evening would be incredible, and I was delighted to see a large crowd dressed in black already gathered for the opening festivities. To set the tone, Die Krupps began with a galvanizing and crowd-pleasing performance of their song “Nazis auf Speed” off their eighth album The Machinists of Joy which was released in 2013. Die Krupps delighted fans by playing their song “Fatherland” from their fifth album, II – The Final Option, released in 1993. The sea of black had grown since Nitzer Ebb started the evening, and you could observe everyone intently locked in on Die Krupps’ impassioned performance. I was delighted to hear “Metal Machine Music” from their fourth album, I, released in 1992. This was one of my favorite albums by Die Krupps when I was growing up. This was a song I remembered quite well from a mix tape a friend made featuring various industrial bands from the late 80s and early 90s.

Die Krupps

In addition, the song “Robo Sapien” off their eighth album The Machinists of Joy was next on the list, and the crowd blissfully sang along with Jurgen as he belted out the lyrics “I am the robo sapien”. Closing out their opening set, Die Krupps chose the song “Bloodsuckers” also from the album II – The Final Option, and I think that this song is even more relevant given today’s socio-political climate: “Bloodsuckers/Got your values out of whack/You’ve been selling your soul/For a greenback stack”. So, not only did I get to see Nitzer Ebb for the first time, but this would also be my first time experiencing Die Krupps live, and I am very thankful for this unique opportunity. What a legendary and unforgettable performance from the boys from Dusseldorf as they commanded the crowd’s attention right up until the final note. Bravo, Die Krupps!

You can view Die Krupps’ setlist from this tour stop in Atlanta below:

· “Nazis auf Speed”

· “Der Amboss” (Visage cover)

· “Fatherland”

· “Metal Machine Music”

· “Robo Sapien”

· “To the Hilt”

· “Bloodsuckers”

Nitzer Ebb is an industrial dance/industrial rock/EBM/electronic band from Chelmsford, Essex, England that has been active between 1982-1995, and 2006-present. Nitzer Ebb consists of Bon Harris (programming/synthesizers/drums/vocals/bass) and David Gooday (vocals/drums). Douglas McCarthy (vocals/guitar) is currently not touring with the band due to an ongoing illness. We here at Concerthopper are sending good vibes and wish Douglas a speedy recovery. For touring purposes, Rona Rougeheart (percussion) is also added to the list. Nitzer Ebb has released six (6) LPs, three (3) EPs, one (1) demo, twenty-one (21) singles, four (4) compilations, fourteen (14) music videos, and twenty-two (22) B-sides and non-album tracks.

Nitzer Ebb

Next up to perform this evening, Nitzer Ebb started their night with three songs off their second album, Belief, which was released in 1989. Their club classic “Control I’m Here” kicked off the vibe for the rest of their career-spanning set. I was happy to finally see Nitzer Ebb perform live, plus, hearing “Hearts and Minds” > “Blood Money” was something special. Nitzer Ebb closed out their set with one of my favorite tracks, “Murderous”, from their debut album That Total Age (1987). After forty-plus years in the music industry, Nitzer Ebb is still bringing high-impact energy to each live show they perform. The crowd then feeds off this energy and, in turn, gives it right back to Nitzer Ebb.

Check out Nitzer Ebb’s setlist from their performance at The Eastern below:

· “Control I’m Here”

· “Hearts and Minds”

· “Blood Money”

· “Lightning Man”

· “Captivate”

· “Once You Say”

· “Join in the Chant”

· “Murderous”

Ministry is an industrial metal/synth-pop/thrash metal/industrial rock band from Chicago, Illinois that has been active from 1981-2008, 2011-present. Ministry consists of Al Jourgensen (lead vocals/guitars/harmonica/keyboards/programming/production), Monte Pittman (guitars/backing vocals), Cesar Soto (guitars/backing vocals), Pepe Clarke Magaña (drums), Paul D’Amour (bass), and John Bechdel (keyboards). Ministry has released sixteen (16) LPs, eight (8) live albums, thirty (30) singles, five (5) video albums, fourteen (14) compilations/remix albums, and twenty (20) music videos.

This would be my fourth time seeing Ministry live; my most recent experience was The Industrial Strength Tour at the Tabernacle in 2022. But in all honesty, I felt more excited about The Squirely Years Tour as the anticipation grew closer and closer to their performance at The Eastern on May 6th. Once Ministry walked out on stage, the sea of faithful that gathered on a Tuesday in May collectively expressed their excitement for the event that was about to commence. The reimagining of some of the earlier work by Uncle Al made so much sense after hearing the recordings after they were released. Now, witnessing these earlier Ministry songs performed live helped intensify those old feelings for these groundbreaking songs that I remember so fondly growing up.

Some early highlights were opening the set with “Work for Love” > “Here We Go” taken from the debut album With Sympathy (1983). About a quarter of the way through the night, I was happy to hear a back-to-back of “I’ll Do Anything for You” > “Same Old Madness”. Both songs are deep cuts from some previously unreleased material from the band’s early days. “I’ll Do Anything for You” is a previously unreleased song taken from a compilation box set, Trax! Box, released in 2015. And “Same Old Madness” is taken from another compilation box set of unreleased remixes and rarities, Trax! Rarities, which was released in 2016.

Ministry

One of my favorite songs off their debut album, With Sympathy (1983), “Effigy (I’m Not An)” made the cut right before the end of the night, and another great song from the same album, “Revenge” was performed. Ministry ended the “set” with their creepy fan favorite, “(Everyday Is) Halloween”, a B-side off the single All Day / (Everyday Is) Halloween (1984), which was an excellent, old-school selection in my opinion. The crowd sang the lyrics “‘Cause to me every day is Halloween / I’ve given up hiding and started to fight” along with Uncle Al during the opening verse. It was great to see the crowd dancing happily and blissfully singing along to what seemed to be an obvious favorite song of many in attendance.

Ministry would come out to do a marvelous encore cover of “Ricky’s Hand” from Fad Gadget off their sixteenth (16) album, Hopiumforthemasses (2024). Fad Gadget is a British avant-garde electronic musician who is considered a pioneer in synth-pop, industrial music, and electro-pop. Fad Gadget proved to be very influential to artists like Ministry and Depeche Mode, for example. I find beauty in the fact that these three renowned industrial bands have influenced a multitude of artists/bands over the years, and yet they still find the time to give thanks to those who have come before them in the industrial music scene. The Squirrely Years Tour is a perfect celebration of the past, so I find this little homage to Fad Gadget to end the night very appropriate. I would like to take the time to thank the folks with Ministry, Nitzer Ebb, and Die Krupps for this opportunity and the support after the show.

Check out Ministry’s flashback setlist from this evening at The Eastern below:

· “Work for Love”

· “Here We Go”

· “All Day”

· “I’ll Do Anything for You”

· “Same Old Madness”

· “Cause We’re in Love Again”

· “I’m Falling”

· “Just Like You”

· “Over The Shoulder”

· “We Believe”

· “Effigy (I’m Not An)”

· “Revenge”

· “(Everyday Is) Halloween”

Encore:

· “Ricky’s Hand” (Fad Gadget cover)

You can read (or re-read my first review featuring Ministry from their 2022 The Industrial Strength Tour w/ Corrosion of Conformity and (the) Melvins live at The Tabernacle! There are still plenty of dates left on Ministry’s The Squirrely Years Tour, featuring performances of songs from the first two albums, With Sympathy and Twitch. This once-in-a-lifetime celebration of influential trailblazers in industrial music should not be missed:

May 12 Mon

Soundstage Presents @ 7:00 PM

Nitzer Ebb

Die Krupps

The Squirrely Years Tour Invades The Eastern