Adding to the growing list of politically charged and topical releases we've seen as of late, industrial metallers Ministry have dropped Alert Level. If you're a follower of the outspoken six-piece, you'll know that this isn't the first time they've voiced their feelings on the state of the world, with a three-album critique from 2004 to 2007 of then-president George W. Bush, and 2018's AmeriKKKant, to name a few.
While the track was originally intended to drop with the band's upcoming 15th - yep, you read that right, 15th - studio album, band-leader Al Jourgensen decided to push it forward, stating: "in lieu of the circumstances - and how relevant the song feels for these bizarre times - we decided to release Alert Level now."
In addition to the release, the band is encouraging fans to answer the track's overarching question "How concerned are you?" by uploading videos to social media with the hashtag #MinistryAlertLevel.
Guitarist Cesar Soto recently joined Guitar World for a full playthrough of the song, using a custom Schecter E-1 electric guitar to bolster the track's rousing message and anthemic chant vocals.
It's a blazing juggernaut of powerchords and eerie single-note bends - proof that brutal minimalism is often the best way to convey such a powerful lyrical mantra.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.