Ministry

At a recent Kansas City show, Skinny Puppy likened George W. Bush to Hitler and squirted fake blood from Super Soakers. That stage show was about as subtle as a stabbing spree, but the Puppy’s industrial-pioneer peer Ministry takes Bush-bashing to new extremes. During every concert on its Evil Doer tour, Ministry’s Al Jourgensen pummels a Bush-mask-wearing roadie. He also simulates anal rape on this stand-in scapegoat before literally kicking him off the stage. The group’s set lists are equally indelicate. In 1992, Ministry skewered Papa Bush with “NWO (New World Order).” On its new disc, Houses of the Mole, it rearranges those letters to form “No W,” and this time around, both the lyrics and programmed percussive clamor are much harsher. The cathartic spectacle and abrasive sonics should provide soothing sensory overload for fans still trying to absorb the unfathomable election returns.