In what appears to be an amicable split, co-founding bassist Paul Barker has “bowed out” of Ministry. The decision was made after months of consideration and finally decided after the death of Barker’s father. In his place, the band has hired John Monte (ex-Mind Funk, M.O.D.) and are preparing the release of a new album, Houses of the Molé.http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484541/20040122/ministry.jhtml?headlines=true