Ministry will deliver its anti-Bush sermon at the Big Easy

Ministry mastermind Al Jourgensen has a love/hate relationship with George W. Bush.

Well, actually, love never enters the equation. The situation is simpler, more economical than that – it’s more like a hate/capitalize-on- that-hate relationship.

Take 2004’s super-intense “Houses of the Molé.” The design on the CD is a capital “M,” circled with a line through it to imitate an anarchist symbol. Turn it upside down and it’s a crossed out “W.”

Each song also has a “W” in its title, and many are laden with over-the-top anti-Bush sentiment, which fans will get the chance to scream along with during Thursday’s show at the Big Easy Concert House – a stop on the “EViL DoER Tour” – Ministry’s first ever Spokane show, according to Jourgensen.

Hmm, a strong political message during an election year – could this be a plea for publicity?

That claim would be easier to make if the industrial metal group was unfamiliar in the political arena, but it is no stranger to politics.

Ministry’s just never been quite this intensely and overtly political.

“Music is just an indicator of society; it’s just a mirror,” Jourgensen said, drawing parallels between the political movement in the music world and the huge increase in citizen involvement during this election year.

“People are pissed; it’s very polarized. I think it’s good that people are getting involved, whether they’re musicians, actors, plumbers or authors,” he said via telephone from a tour stop in Atlanta

He had to toss in another reason for this highly politicized outing.

“Yeah, it’s because this is the worst Bush to date,” Jourgensen said. “The worse the Bushes get, the better we get.”

Ministry released the single “No W” in April on PunkVoter.com’s first “Rock Against Bush” compilation. Jourgensen’s also worked hard on tour to get about 10,000 people registered to vote.

Obviously, the political world has been good for his career.

Critics are hailing the group’s latest outing as its best since 1992’s groundbreaking “Psalm 69.” Some might remember that album’s hit, “N.W.O.,” the anti-George H.W. Bush anthem that put the band on the mainstream map in a major way.

Jourgensen likes “Molé” better, as much for its music as for its message.

“I’ve been touring for 20 years, and I’ve never done seven songs off a current record on tour,” he said. “We’re doing seven out of the nine on this one, so that says something.”

On the day before Election Day, Jourgensen did some straight-talking about the elections.

“I predict Kerry’s gonna win, absolutely. And I think the Democrats are going to take the Senate, as well,” he said.

“It’s going to be Kerry, 51 (percent), Bush either 47 or 48, and Nader either 1 or 2.”

Well, it looks like it must have been opposite day when Jourgensen was making his predictions. But he offered a backup plan.

“Oh, that’s easy. I move to Canada. Then (singing to the tune of Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band”), ‘we’re a Canadian band, we’re a Canadian band.’ My wife’s Canadian, so it’ll be easy for me to slip across the border. I’ll find some rock to crawl under until he’s out of there.”

Place your bets now on whether he’ll be releasing more anti-Bush tracks from under that rock.