Industrial metal is alive and well and on Sunday night at the Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, three legendary bands in the scene proved it. 

Ministry, Gary Numan, and Front Line Assembly put on a show so intense it literally blew out the power. Front Line Assembly kicked things off loud and heavy, but midway through the first song, things got noticeably quieter. At first, the crowd seemed to think the silence was an abrupt, but intentional part of the song — it wasn’t. As the house lights came on a confused but excited crowd cheered anyways and patiently waited for the show to start again. The band headed off stage to wait for the crew to figure out what went wrong but not before a fan from the crowd jokingly shouted ‘Do an acoustic set,’ Tim Skoald, the guitarist for Front Line Assembly’s tour, strummed a few chords and snapped a selfie with the crowd before heading to the green room. 

The delay from the blown power pushed the start times of Numan and Ministry but it didn’t seem to bother fans in the crowd. At 65 years old, Gary Numan, the industrial and electronic music pioneer doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Wearing his signature face paint and flanked by bandmembers dressed in dark gray robes the atmosphere was instantly dark — and the crowd lit up. About midway through his set Numan played his hit single “Cars,” and ran through a number of other hits and deep cuts for about an hour. 

The main event started at nine when industrial metal gods, Ministry took the stage. The band needs no introduction and has been a mainstay in industrial metal since the ’80s. Led by frontman Al Jorgensen the influence ministry has had on the industrial metal scene is undeniable. Sporting a cowboy hat atop his instantly recognizable dreadlocks, Jourgensen knows how to pump up the crowd and from start to finish it was hard to find anyone standing still. From screaming guitars to the pulsing beats mixed in with and an array of synths, Ministry proved why their status in the electronic and industrial metal scene will always be at the top of the list. The band’s lineup has changed over the past decades but the performers onstage played as if they’d been with the band since the start. 

This tour’s lineup included:

Al Jourgensen – vocals/guitar

Cesar Soto – guitar

Monte Pittman – guitar

Paul D’Amour – bass

Roy Mayorga – drums

John Bechdel – keys

The full setlist for Ministry’s show, along with a photo gallery from the performance can be found below:

Setlist
“Alert Level”
“Good Trouble”
“Disinformation”
“Believe Me”
“Broken System”
“Goddamn White Trash”
“N.W.O.”
“Just One Fix”
“The Missing”
“Deity”
“Burning Inside”
“Stigmata”
Encore:”Ricky’s Hand” (Fad Gadget cover) 

Review and photos by I’m Music MAgazine Photographer/Writer Michael Praats