by Cory Blackwood
staff editor

How loud can you scream? Imagine screaming as loud as possible, but not hearing a thing. No, you aren't in space as the Aliens slogan would suggest, but somewhere far scarier; a Ministry concert.

The American Theater was not a place for the weak of heart or the well adjusted on the 10th of August. That much was obvious. More importantly, this was no place for anyone with sensitive ears or even decent hearing.

German rockers Atari Teenage Riot opened, hitting the crowd with a wall of noise powerful enough to make even the nearly deaf flinch in shock. ATR's politically charged lyrics were lost in the jumble of hardcore beats, rampant guitar tracks, and video game sounds, so the audience stood shell shocked rather than compelled to tear the building down. Alec Empire, the lead singer became frustrated, and ranted about the evils of Germany and the US, but his complaints fell on deaf ears so he continued his set without much more complaining or heart.

When Atari Teenage Riot left the stage, crowd members stayed quiet and tried to rest their ears for the unavoidable onslaught of Ministry's legendary industrial noise. A roar erupted when the members of Ministry filtered into their places on stage, the building almost collapsed when Al Jourgenson swaggered out.

Al Jourgenson, AKA Hypo Luxa, AKA Alien Dogstar, AKA Buck Satan, AKA Grandpa Jourgenson is not a large man, but he has more than enough personality to fill all four of his aliases. Whether playing songs from Filth Pig, Psalm 69, The Mind of a Terrible Thing to Taste, or their new effort, Dark Side of the Spoon, Ministry was every bit as loud as Atari Teenage Riot, but the music was still discernible as music. Bludgeoning as it was, the noise emanating from four capable guitarists is nothing short of amazing, while the eerie sounds of an alto saxophone wired through a foot petal are enough to make one lose sleep over. Layered on top of that was Al's throaty wails, and samples threaded into every song.

Any band that cites junky author William S. Burroughs as their main influence and samples more Full Metal Jacket lines than anything else are guaranteed to be disturbing, and Ministry did not slouch in that category.

Ministry is a great live show, and for those of you not privileged enough to see them live, (or just a little frightened) there is always the Ministry videotape of a concert. It is aptly entitled In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up, and accurately shows the chaos of a Ministry concert.