Industrial rock
Encyclopedia
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music
and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal
, with which it is often confused. The early fusions of industrial music and rock were practiced by a handful of post-punk
groups, including Chrome
, Killing Joke
, Swans
, Foetus
and Big Black
.
, drums
and bass
and pair it with white noise
blasts and electronic music
gear (synthesizer
s, sequencers
, samplers
and drum machine
s). Guitars are commonly heavily distorted or otherwise treated
. Bass guitars and drums may be played live, or be replaced by electronic musical instruments or computers in general. Industrial rock frequently incorporates the sounds of machinery and industry. This sound palette was pioneered by early 1980s artists (SPK
, Einstürzende Neubauten
, Die Krupps
and Test Dept
), who relied heavily on metal percussion, generally made with pipes, tubes and other products of industrial waste.
'60s group, Cromagnon
are said to have been one of the bands that helped foresee the birth of industrial rock. Specifically, their song "Caledonia" has been noted for its "pre-industrial stomp".
Industrial music
was created in the mid- to late 1970s, amidst the punk rock revolution and disco
fever. Prominent early industrial musicians include Throbbing Gristle
, Cabaret Voltaire
, NON
, SPK
and Z'EV
. Within a few years, many other musical performers were incorporating industrial-musical elements into a variety of musical styles.
Some post-punk
performers developed styles parallel to industrial music's defining attributes. Pere Ubu
's debut, The Modern Dance
, was described as "industrial". So was San Francisco's Chrome
, who mixed Jimi Hendrix
, The Sex Pistols and tape music
experiments, and Killing Joke
, considered by Simon Reynolds
as "a post-punk version of heavy metal
". According to Chris Connelly, Foetus
"is the instigator when it comes to the marriage of machinery to hardcore punk
."
Others followed in their wake. The New York City
band Swans
were inspired by the local no wave
scene, as well as punk rock, noise music
(particularly Whitehouse
) and the original industrial groups. Steve Albini
's Big Black followed a similar path, while also incorporating American hardcore punk
. Big Black has also been closely associated with post-hardcore
and noise rock
. The Swiss trio The Young Gods
, who deliberately eschewed electric guitars in favor of a sampler, also took inspiration from both hardcore and industrial, being equally indebted to the Bad Brains
and Foetus.
: Ministry
and Nine Inch Nails
.
and heavy metal
. It uses repeating metal
guitar
riffs, sampling
, synthesizer
or sequencer
lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal groups include Ministry
, Godflesh
and KMFDM
. Eventually it reached a mass audience, led by the "one-man-band" Nine Inch Nails
. Industrial metal's new-found popularity led to some criticism from other artists associated with the industrial scene. Subsequently, it is most well-known in various European permutations.
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
, with which it is often confused. The early fusions of industrial music and rock were practiced by a handful of post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
groups, including Chrome
Chrome (band)
Chrome was an experimental rock group founded in San Francisco, California in 1976.Chrome took part of their inspiration for their rough and sometimes chaotic music from proto punk pioneers like The Stooges. The sound of the group was often coarse and featured heavy elements of feedback and...
, Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
, Swans
Swans (band)
Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...
, Foetus
Foetus (band)
Foetus is the primary musical outlet of industrial music pioneer J. G. Thirlwell. Until 1995 the band underwent various name changes, all including the word foetus. Monikers adopted at different times include Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel...
and Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
.
Musical style
Industrial rock artists generally employ the basic rock instrumentation of electric guitarsElectric Guitars
Electric Guitars were formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport and Richard Hall who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Saunders , Matt Salt and Dick Truscott , they also later added two backing singers: Sara and Wendy...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and pair it with white noise
White noise
White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency...
blasts and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
gear (synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, sequencers
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
and drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s). Guitars are commonly heavily distorted or otherwise treated
Effects unit
Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...
. Bass guitars and drums may be played live, or be replaced by electronic musical instruments or computers in general. Industrial rock frequently incorporates the sounds of machinery and industry. This sound palette was pioneered by early 1980s artists (SPK
SPK (band)
SPK, formed in 1978 in Sydney, Australia, was a 1980s and early 1990s industrial music and noise music group. One member, Graeme Revell, would later go on to become a successful Hollywood movie composer.-History:...
, Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
, Die Krupps
Die Krupps
Die Krupps is a German industrial rock/EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf.-History:Their initial sound throughout the 1980s combined synthesizers with metallic percussion...
and Test Dept
Test Dept
Test Dept were an industrial music group from London, one of the most important and influential early industrial music acts. Their approach was marked by a strong commitment to radical socialist politics.-History:...
), who relied heavily on metal percussion, generally made with pipes, tubes and other products of industrial waste.
Origins
ExperimentalExperimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
'60s group, Cromagnon
Cromagnon (band)
Cromagnon was an American experimental band that was active during the late-1960s. Led by multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters Austin Grasmere and Brian Elliot, the band released Orgasm in 1969 which was later reissued as Cave Rock. They are said to have foreshadowed the rise of noise rock, no...
are said to have been one of the bands that helped foresee the birth of industrial rock. Specifically, their song "Caledonia" has been noted for its "pre-industrial stomp".
Industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
was created in the mid- to late 1970s, amidst the punk rock revolution and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
fever. Prominent early industrial musicians include Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
, Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
, NON
Boyd Rice
Boyd Blake Rice is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s, archivist, actor, photographer, author, member of the Partridge Family Temple religious group, co-founder of the UNPOP art movement and current staff writer for Modern Drunkard...
, SPK
SPK (band)
SPK, formed in 1978 in Sydney, Australia, was a 1980s and early 1990s industrial music and noise music group. One member, Graeme Revell, would later go on to become a successful Hollywood movie composer.-History:...
and Z'EV
Z'EV
Z'EV is an American poet, percussionist, and sound artist. After studying various world music traditions at CalArts, he began creating his own percussion sounds out of industrial materials for a variety of record labels...
. Within a few years, many other musical performers were incorporating industrial-musical elements into a variety of musical styles.
Some post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
performers developed styles parallel to industrial music's defining attributes. Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
's debut, The Modern Dance
The Modern Dance
The Modern Dance is the debut album by American rock band Pere Ubu, released in 1978.- Overview :"Street Waves" is exactly the same as their 3rd single...
, was described as "industrial". So was San Francisco's Chrome
Chrome (band)
Chrome was an experimental rock group founded in San Francisco, California in 1976.Chrome took part of their inspiration for their rough and sometimes chaotic music from proto punk pioneers like The Stooges. The sound of the group was often coarse and featured heavy elements of feedback and...
, who mixed Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, The Sex Pistols and tape music
Tape Music
Tape Music is an experimental 10" vinyl release by Jack Dangers. The vinyl release was coupled with the album Sounds Of The 20th Century No2 when released as a flexi disc vinyl....
experiments, and Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
, considered by Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
as "a post-punk version of heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
". According to Chris Connelly, Foetus
Foetus (band)
Foetus is the primary musical outlet of industrial music pioneer J. G. Thirlwell. Until 1995 the band underwent various name changes, all including the word foetus. Monikers adopted at different times include Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel...
"is the instigator when it comes to the marriage of machinery to hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
."
Others followed in their wake. The New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
band Swans
Swans (band)
Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...
were inspired by the local no wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
scene, as well as punk rock, noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
(particularly Whitehouse
Whitehouse (band)
Whitehouse are a pioneering English power electronics band formed in 1980, largely credited for the founding of the power electronics subgenre.-History and personnel:...
) and the original industrial groups. Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
's Big Black followed a similar path, while also incorporating American hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
. Big Black has also been closely associated with post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
and noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
. The Swiss trio The Young Gods
The Young Gods
The Young Gods are a Swiss post-industrial band. The band's lineup has generally consisted of a vocalist, a sampler operator and a drummer. Their instrumentation often includes sampled electric guitars, drums, keyboards, and other samples. The lyrics are depicted in English, French and...
, who deliberately eschewed electric guitars in favor of a sampler, also took inspiration from both hardcore and industrial, being equally indebted to the Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
and Foetus.
Commercial success
Industrial rock's true commercial breakthrough took place with the rise of industrial metalIndustrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
: Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
and Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
.
Industrial metal
Industrial metal draws from industrial musicIndustrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. It uses repeating metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
riffs, sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
or sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal groups include Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, Godflesh
Godflesh
Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, England. Originally known as Fall of Because, they formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick and G.C. Green and disbanded in 2002. Godflesh's innovative music is widely regarded as a foundational influence on industrial metal and post-metal...
and KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
. Eventually it reached a mass audience, led by the "one-man-band" Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
. Industrial metal's new-found popularity led to some criticism from other artists associated with the industrial scene. Subsequently, it is most well-known in various European permutations.
Labels
- 21st Circuitry21st Circuitry21st Circuitry was a record label based in San Francisco, United States that was founded in early 1991 and released electro-industrial, industrial rock and similar styles of music. Bands that were signed to or distributed material through the label included Covenant, Unit:187, Hate Dept., Xorcist,...
(USA) - Cleopatra RecordsCleopatra RecordsCleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
- COP Int'l (USA)
- Fifth Colvmn RecordsFifth Colvmn RecordsFifth Colvmn Records was a record label based in Washington, DC. Formed in 1990 by nightclub owner and entrepreneur Zalman Fishman, the label's first release was Chemlab's debut EP Ten Ton Pressure...
(USA) - Glitch Mode RecordingsGlitch Mode RecordingsGlitch Mode Recordings is a music collective based in Chicago, Illinois. The label releases heavy electronic music in a variety of genres, including industrial music, industrial rock, power noise, and digital hardcore...
(USA) - Invisible RecordsInvisible RecordsInvisible Records is a Chicago based record label founded by Martin Atkins to support and distribute the works of artists who preferred to work with a smaller, artist driven label.-Artist Roster:* Ashtrayhead* Attrition* Bagman* Bizarre Sex Trio...
- Metropolis RecordsMetropolis RecordsMetropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....
- Displaced Music (USA)
- Nothing RecordsNothing RecordsNothing Records was an American record label, specializing in industrial rock and electronic music, founded by John Malm Jr. and Trent Reznor in 1992...
- Re-Constriction RecordsRe-Constriction RecordsRe-Constriction Records was a division of Cargo Music basd in California. The label was founded in 1991 and headed by Chase, who was previously the Music Director at KCR, a student radio station on the campus of San Diego State University.-History:...
(USA) - Wax Trax! RecordsWax Trax! RecordsWax Trax! Records was an independent record label in the United States. Wax Trax! began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado opened by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold the store in 1978 and, in November of that year, opened a new one under the same name at 2449 North Lincoln Avenue in...
See also
- Industrial rock musical groups
- Industrial rock sales and awardsIndustrial rock sales and awardsThis is a page containing all available sales and awards from industrial rock and industrial metal artists.This list is far from complete. Many countries were excluded from it because their Industry Associations lacked a searchable, online database. Belgium, Iceland and Mexico are some of them...
- List of industrial music bands
Further reading
- Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A tribal history. Los Angeles, CA: Feral House.
- Chantler, Chris (2002). Splitting heirs. Terrorizer, 96: 54-5.
- Connelly, Chris (2007). Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible + Fried: My Life as a Revolting Cock. London: SAF Publishing.
- Irvin, Jim (2001). The Mojo collection: The greatest albums of all time. Edinburgh: Cannongate.
- Licht, Alan (2003). Tunnel vision. The Wire, 233: 30-37.
- Mörat (1992). Ye gods! Kerrang!, 411: 12.
- Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip it up and start again: Postpunk 1978-1984. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
- Sharp, Chris (1999). Atari Teenage Riot: 60 second wipe out. The Wire, 183: 48-49.
- Stud, B. & Stud, T. (1987, June 20). Heaven up here. Melody Maker: 26-27.
- Vale, Vivian; Juno, Andrea (1983). RE/Search #6-#7: Industrial culture handbook. San Francisco, CA: RE/SEARCH PUBLICATIONS.