al jourgensen
21:12 Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Word has spread over the years that there was animosity between Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. People assumed that since Reznor started out as a roadie for Ministry that Jourgensen would have some form of resentment regarding Reznor's success. When chatting to Billy Corgan on his YouTube series The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, Jourgensen was quick to put that rumour to rest: "Not one minute was I ever bitter about that. I cheered them on."
Despite starting out as Ministry's roadie, Reznor found immense success with his project Nine Inch Nails, therefore "overtaking" Ministry's "success." Jourgensen doesn't seen it as any more than a natural cycle of life for musicians – "His roadie was Marilyn Manson, who then overtook him. So it's kind of like this tree."
Because it's impossible for people to leave bands on good terms, Jourgensen was pivoted to whether or not he feels a bit slighted by the fact that Reznor is often credited with the creation of industrial metal, to which Jourgensen quickly denies, "For not one second did I ever feel bitter or anything about the success of other people. I was actually glad to see them go their way and carry on what we were trying to do from the beginning of Wax Trax!, which was basically to upend music and the music industry." Jourgensen also makes sure to point out that "Trent was always very magnanimous and said, 'No, I learned my chops from these knuckleheads,'" when the media would address Reznor with that title.
Jourgensen makes sure to put any miscommunication aside possible by saying that "Trent's just a great guy, so why would I be upset with him?"
"The media loves to build these feuds," Jourgensen overall dismisses any and all kind of bad blood between himself and Reznor.
Because, let's be real here. Sometimes people grow apart or simply just… stop talking. There doesn't always have to be bad blood behind it. It just appears it's more fun for the media to run with the idea that there was a massive falling out or issue with one another, rather than people living their lives and not necessarily having the same, overlapping path.
