MINISTRY Keeping The Charts On Check! Band Nominated for Golden Gods Award

MINISTRY's thirteenth album properly named 'Relapse', has been going to war with sales and radio numbers since its worldwide release via frontman Al Jourgensen's own Thirteenth Planet Records and AFM Records on March 26th. Having landed at #154 on the US Billboard's Top 200, #32 on Billboard's Independent Record Chart and #19 on Billboard's Top Hard Music Chart, Relapse currently stands at #6 on CMJ's Loud Rock Charts.

MINISTRY are also in the running for the Comeback Of The Year award at Revolver's annual Golden Gods Awards, being presented tonight in Los Angeles. Fans can actually watch the awards show live this year via Xbox Live or via Revolver's Facebook page.

In support of Relapse, MINISTRY will perform five major North American concerts this June -- Denver, Los Angeles, New York and two shows in Chicago -- as part of the DeFibRiLlaTouR 2012 World Tour. The band's touring lineup includes Al Jourgensen (Frontman/vox/guitars), Mike Scaccia (Ministry/Rigor Mortis) guitars, Casey Orr (Rigor Mortis) bass, John Bechdel (Ministry/Killing Joke/Fear Factory) keyboards, Aaron Rossi (Ministry/RevCo) drums and Sin Quirin (Ministry/RevCo) guitars. Soulfly bassist Tony Campos will not performing due to scheduling conflicts. Tickets for these first five shows are on sale now; check out the official MINISTRY  Facebook for more info on tickets and VIP packages HERE.

MINISTRY 2012 DeFibRilLaTouR US Dates:

6/17/2012 Ogden Theatre - Denver, CO [tickets]

6/21/2012 Club Nokia - Los Angeles, CA [tickets]

6/23/2012 Best Buy Theater - New York, NY [tickets]

6/28/2012 The Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL [tickets]

6/29/2012 The Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL [tickets]

Related Links:

Ministry on Facebook

Ministry On Thirteenth Planet Records

Randy Blythe From LAMB OF GOD Comments About 'Resolution' Hitting The #3 Chart Spot!

“Thanks to all the people congratulating us for #3 chart spot in the US for Resolution. It’s pretty cool – we are proud of the record! This confirms something that @MarkDuaneMorton & I have been saying for a couple of years in the press, trying to explain to people about the difference of Metal/Hardcore fans – that the music is much more of a LIFESTYLE thing than regular pop ‘music.’ Being involved in this scene runs deeper than just tunes – it provides a social group, I believe composed of primarily folks who think DIFFERENTLY than the status quo.

“To me, coming up in the Hardcore/Punk scene was so much more than just records- it was friends where I had none before, an escape from the bullshit of normal life that I was totally fed up with. I believe that the Metal scene is approaching that paradigm today- its smart, starting to become politically & socially aware. The Metal fans also flat out SUPPORT their scene more as well, by going to shows even in tough economic times, and buying records to try and support the artists who make our music.

“The record industry is BROKEN, and a new model HAS to occur-there is no denying that. But I feel that the Metal/Hardcore/Punk fans will embrace that new model & support the artists in a way that pop fans will not, or perhaps will do so only grudgingly. Here are some figures for y’all that illustrate what I’m talking about, that shows that Metal fans still support the artists. Our record 'Wrath' debuted at #2. 'Resolution' debuted at #3. 'Wrath' soundscanned 68,000 copies during release week. 'Resolution' scanned over 52,000 copies first week. Now, you may look at these #’s and say ‘Wow, their chart position & sales have declined. Their fan base must be getting smaller.’



“NOT AT ALL. Consider this- album to album sales ACROSS the board are down approximately 40%. This is due to a bad economy and (ahem) downloading. Lamb of god’s album sales are down only about 20%. Take the guy with the #2 slot, Tim McGraw. His last record came in at 139,000 copies. His record that debuted last week came in at 69,000. That is about a FIFTY PERCENT DROP. So while he sold more records than us, his drop in sale was FAR LARGER than ours. It’s the norm EVERYONE on the charts.

“Everyone except……..yup, you guessed it, some of the more underground types of bands. During our second week, we can expect to see an 80% drop in sales. This is because we have a hardcore fan base who actually went out & got the record, most probably did ON THE DAY OF RELEASE. We aren’t a big radio band. We don’t have ‘hits’ or AirPlay to drive us along the charts. But we have a fan base that will exist long after machine has EATEN the latest pop sensation and spit them out. How many pop singers have 17 year careers that keep growing? Not many.

“Flash in the pan bullshit. So we thank you for your support. We thank you for supporting our music. When I say ‘our’ music, I mean OUR music- it’s YOUR music as well as Lamb Of God’s. Otherwise we wouldn’t be where we are. Thanks again, and I’ll see ya in the pit.”

Photo credit: Steve Lars from Creative Ventures International & Steve Lars on Facebook

Related links:
Randy Blythe's Blog
Lamb Of God
Lamb Of God of Facebook