Ministry, Melvins, & CoC @ Amplified Live – 3.26.22

The Industrial Strength Tour 2022

By Matt Stubbs from the Jerry Jonestown Massacre Podcast Show, Photos by Dustin Schneider

The grinding guitar sounds and chest-berating beats you heard coming from Dallas last Saturday night was not the beginning of the North American front of WWIII. That audible giant you heard was Ministry with guest Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity. And they called this chaos the Industrial Strength Tour 2022.

The night at Amplified Live started with the familiar sounds of the North Carolina American Metal band Corrosion of Conformity. This band has played big shows, little shows, and medium shows in DFW. This was the perfect setting for them at Amplified Live. They came out with the sludgy bluesy bass sounds played by Mike Dean. The dueling guitars of Woody Weatherman and Pepper Keenan rang out in glory from the jump. The guys did what they do every time I’ve seen them, which is kick some ass. I always imagine them shotgunning a beer before they come out on stage and slay. So that’s exactly what I did.

Melvins are a band that is quite possibly responsible for two major genres of rock music. Grunge owes a lot of clout to the Washington icons, and so does sludge. You could easily play six degrees of Melvins in rock and roll. From the likes of Mike Patton of Faith No More to J.D. Pinkus from the Butthole Surfers. Buzz Osborne had jammed with everyone at some point. Osborne is a metal showman. Kids should pattern their dedication to the art and work ethic after him. They played a blistering Melvins set and the cherry on top of their setlist was The Bit off the 1996 album Stag.

Ministry originally planned on playing this show two years ago. KMFDM (who the Jerry Jonestown Massacre has interviewed and is on YouTube somewhere) and Front Line Assembly was the original lineup for the tour. This show was also rescheduled 4 times due to Covid. But it’s only fitting that they finally came in and laid it down right as we are staring at possible nuclear war. Al Jourgensen is the godfather of Industrial Metal. He is a master at his craft. The live imagery is a perfect fit for his live music. The audio assault is undefeated. His music makes you take in the message whether you are ready or not. Ministry played a lot from Land of Rape and Honey, Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, as well as Psalm 69. The band also played a couple from side projects 1000 Homo DJs and Pailhead. Their encore included songs from the new album Moral Hygiene.

Amplified Live hosted a great night of several genres of music. All three bands are torch carriers. It was amazing being that close and listening to all of the American music historical figures on Saturday night. You missed out if you didn’t show up. But I have a feeling these guys will roll through again in the near future. And maybe by then, my ears will stop ringing and I can enjoy them again.