{"id":69391,"date":"2026-10-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=69391"},"modified":"2026-10-04T23:28:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T04:28:52","slug":"review-ministry-left-chicago-wanting-more-as-the-wrap-up-their-us-2026-hate-to-go-tour-at-salt-shed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=69391","title":{"rendered":"Review: Ministry Left Chicago Wanting More As They Wrap Up Their 2026 US Hate To Go Tour At The Salt Shed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By James Currie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ministry returned home to Chicago for one final bash before leaving the country, and left Chicago wanting more. The Salt Shed was packed for this special one-night-only stop, the final U.S. date of Ministry\u2019s 2026 tour before Al Jourgensen and company head to Colombia and Australia (and one festival in Texas), eventually wrapping up the year before returning to Europe in 2027. With the band calling their final album Hate To Go<\/em>, due October 30, according to Jourgensen truly will be the final album. With that, there was a feeling in the room that Chicago was supposed to get something special. It did. It just didn\u2019t get enough of it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The night started with Richmond, Virginia\u2019s Windhand, the stoner-doom outfit delivering a brutally short, but powerful, four-song set. Luckily most of their songs are quite lengthly so it amounted to more than just a few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Louisiana sludge-metal legends Acid Bath took the stage and immediately changed the temperature of the room. After nearly 30 years apart, Acid Bath reunited last year and have been making up for lost time ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Their 10-song set ripped straight through their \u201990s catalog, with fans screaming along, crowd surfing and generally losing their shit. Original members Riggs, Sammy Duet and Dax Riggs were joined by an all-star live lineup featuring Zack Simmons of Goatwhore, Alex Bergeron and Crowbar bassist Shane Wesley. For many in the building, Acid Bath alone was worth the price of admission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came Ministry. The opening was pure Filth Pig<\/em> theater. A man walked onto the stage carrying a small flag, dressed in a suit jacket and tie with bloody meat covering his head. Pointing toward the screen behind him, he announced, \u201c30 years ago, that was me.\u201d The young man in a suit with meat on his head was the cover of Filth Pig. His name, Paul Elledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then the screen lit up and Ministry launched into \u201cReload,\u201d the opening track from 1996\u2019s Filth Pig<\/em>. The album\u2019s 30th anniversary was clearly the theme, with \u201cFilth Pig,\u201d \u201cLava\u201d and \u201cCrumbs\u201d following before Jourgensen dropped the first bombshell. \u201cWe haven\u2019t played this song live in Chicago in like 30 years.\u201d \u201cScarecrow\u201d erupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But the biggest moment of the night was still coming. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna need some help for this next one,\u201d Jourgensen said. He pointed back toward the side stage. \u201cHere\u2019s an old friend\u2014Paul Barker!\u201d The Salt Shed exploded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Barker, who last performed with Ministry around 25 years ago, returned to the stage for \u201cUseless,\u201d a particularly fitting choice considering the song was written by Jourgensen, Barker, Bill Rieflin and Mike Scaccia. With Barker also contributing to the upcoming final Ministry album, the appearance felt less like a nostalgia stunt and more like a genuine closing of the circle. For a few minutes, the past and present of Ministry were standing on the same stage and Chicago ate it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two songs from Hate To Go<\/em> followed, \u201cBurned Out\u201d and \u201cWe Hate\u201d, both making their live debuts. Hearing unreleased Ministry material in Chicago, performed for the first time, was another rare moment in a night already packed with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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