Ministry mastermind and El Pasoan Al Jourgensen is one of the most charismatic and fascinating characters in the world of metal. Well known for making bold statements, Jourgensen told us during an exclusive interview that the upcoming Ministry disc ‘Relapse’ is one of the 50 best albums ever by any music act.

After dealing with various health issues for the past few years, Jourgensen hit the studio hard in 2011 to record ‘Relapse,’ as well as his long-anticipated country-inspired album ‘Bikers Welcome! Ladies Drink Free’ by his other group Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters. Jourgensen’s rejuvenation has inspired what he calls his best work yet.

In Loudwire’s chat with Jourgensen, he discussed the new Ministry single ‘99%‘ and its place on ‘Relapse.’ “That’s maybe my fifth favorite song on the record,” Jourgensen claims. “Seriously, the record is that good. I just talked to my guitar player Mike Scaccia, I just got off the phone with him. We’ve done a lot of albums together, me and Mikey, and he told me by far and away this is the best Ministry record ever. And I’m thinking it’s probably in the top 50 records of all time of any band. It’s that good, and I can say that boldly. This record is going to blow you away.”

Jourgensen continued, “There are 11 songs on the record and 10 of them are awesome. One of them is just a public service announcement. It’s called ‘Get Up, Get Out and Vote.’ We’ve always been involved with MoveOn.org and trying to get voter registration at our shows and get people to get excited about beating down these knucklehead Republicans. So I finally did a public service song, which goes great with the theme of the album.”

Ministry’s 12th studio album ‘Relapse’ will see a release on March 30. ‘Bikers Welcome! Ladies Drink Free’ by Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters is currently available for streaming in full courtesy of Revolver.

Stay tuned for our full interview with Al Jourgensen.

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