Industrial
Industrial is an Experimental style influenced by Musique concrète, Krautrock, and Noise (among others). Early pioneers like Throbbing Gristle and Einstürzende Neubauten gave the music life and often focused as much on the performance-art aspects of their shows as they did on their pounding, relentless music, and adopted an épater la bourgeoisie ethos that put it philosophically in line with Punk Rock. This focus on the visual as well as aural aspects of being a band led to the creation of an industrial aesthetic that was dark, brooding, and often featured images or sonic evocations of mechanical objects. The idea was to reflect-- both sonically and visually --the bleak, faceless, mechanized times the bands argued they were living in.
These early trailblazers influenced later artists like Psychic TV and Skinny Puppy who would blend what was primarily a throbbing, austere, electronic style with various sounds from Rock, Metal, and even Electronic Dance Music, opening Industrial Music to a whole new audience.
The genre's name stems from Industrial Records, which was founded by the members of Throbbing Gristle and whose late-1970s releases by Monte Cazazza, The Leather Nun, and Thomas Leer & Robert Rental showcased the then-emerging genre's revolutionary new sound.
Coinciding with Punk Rock, industrial music was a crucial movement in the late 1970s British counterculture. The harsh and mechanical sound depicting the gloomy and morbid reality of life in the industrial society quickly spread around European and North American underground music scenes, impacting a whole range of Experimental styles. Since the 1980s industrial music has incorporated a wide array of popular and classical influences, growing into a broad family of genres.
Going against the conventions of popular music at the time, the bands were aiming for a bleak and mechanical sound as well as cynical and shocking image and lyrical themes. That was often accomplished by the use of noise, electronic devices, non-musical instruments and unusual samples.
Over time industrial music has split into many sub-genres. In the early 1980s the growing influence of Synth Punk and Minimal Synth led to the emergence of EBM, a more beat-driven and melodic style pioneered by European bands like Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft and Front 242. This electronic body music lacked the experimentation and harshness of the first wave industrial music, so a few years later artists such as Skinny Puppy started to combine the modern electronic feel of EBM back with the dark sound of early industrial music resulting in a complex sub-genre called Electro-Industrial. In the 1990s these electronic branches evolved even further in opposite directions. On one side of the spectrum there was the accessible Synthpop and Trance oriented Futurepop started by Apoptygma Berzerk and VNV Nation, whereas Hocico, Suicide Commando, and other Aggrotech artists chose a much more extreme approach of blending fast Hardcore EDM-like beats with harsh/distorted vocals.
But electronic influences were not the only direction undertaken by the post-industrial music scene in the 1980s. Artists such as Foetus, Chrome and Killing Joke were among the first to combine Post-Punk with industrial music, thus pioneering the guitar-driven genre of Industrial Rock. Then, bands like KMFDM, Ministry and Godflesh went for a heavier and more extreme sound of Industrial Metal. Industrial rock and metal have since then arguably become the most popular of all industrial styles, with Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein and Marilyn Manson reaching a very wide mainstream audience.
The repetitive sound and totalitarian aesthetic of some of the early industrial artists was taken to the extreme by Slovenian Laibach whose heavy, rhythmic percussion, war-related lyrics and Western Classical Music influences pioneered a style called Martial Industrial. In the 1990s groups like The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud and Blood Axis started to mix it with other styles of music and the genre began to significantly overlap with Neofolk, Dark Ambient and Neoclassical Darkwave, growing into its own scene far removed from the electronic and rock styles that dominated industrial music at the time. Because of the militaristic spirit and historical themes, many martial industrial artists have adopted a totalitarian right-wing image, but there are also some acts coming from the other side of the political spectrum, for example ROME.
Aside from its sub-genres, industrial has influenced many other styles of music as well. Its relentless avant-garde sound had a great impact on Noise, while the brooding and dark atmosphere was one of the leading forces behind the development of dark ambient in the 1980s. Industrial artists were also one of the first to widely use sampling in their music. In the late 1970s Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle built a sampler which his band-mate, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, was using on stage even before the first samplers were commercially available. In Coil Sleazy experimented with other electronic devices, becoming one of the pioneers of Glitch music and influencing a range of IDM artists. Meanwhile, Current 93's and Death in June's blend of post-industrial experimental music and acoustic instrumentation resulted in the advent of neofolk.
Aggrotech
(also known as Harsh EBM, Terror EBM, Hellektro)
Based on the dark atmosphere of Dark Electro, aggrotech (aggressive techno) is typically characterized by more aggressive Hardcore EDM influenced beats and harsh/distorted vocals. Some of the most notable bands in this genre are Hocico, Combichrist, and Suicide Commando.
Cyber Metal
(also known as Futuristic Metal)
Cyber metal is a sub-genre of Industrial Metal that began around 1999 with bands like The Kovenant. The genre incorporates numerous elements found predominantly in EBM and Aggrotech. Characteristics of the genre include the use of more melodic and less repetitive riffs, in opposition to mostly metallic and mechanical sound of Industrial. Electronic layers sound like vast and "cosmic" feeling, symphonic structures incorporated from EBM genre. The vocals are harsh, ranging from singing techniques typical for aggrotech to Black Metal shrieks and Death Metal growls. Guitar melodies are played in a similar way to Melodic Death Metal, and keyboards specific to Symphonic Black Metal are frequent as well. Some bands like Deathstars, fascinated by the symbolism of totalitarianism, using it as part of the image also incorporated same aesthetic to their sound. In 1990s, the name cyber metal was used to describe bands like Fear Factory, however they still stay close to Industrial Metal aesthetics.
Dark Ambient
(also known as Ambient Industrial)
Dark ambient is a form of Post-Industrial music that emphasizes an ominous, gloomy, and dissonant atmosphere. Similarly to Ambient, the genre often abandons traditional music structure, but it tends to be more eerie and unsettling than other styles of ambient. This dark and disturbing atmosphere can be evoked with the use of Drone, Musique concrète, Field Recordings, rumbles, machine noises, simple percussive instruments, distortion and synthesizers.
Although the term "dark ambient" was coined in the 1990s to describe the music of raison d'être, the genre can be traced back to the 1970s. One of the earliest influences on the development of dark ambient were Tangerine Dream's Zeit and Klaus Schulze's Irrlicht. Both albums were released in 1972 and heavily used droning organs and muted guitars to create a unique, distant atmosphere that also led to the emergence of Space Ambient. While Zeit was recorded with a prominent presence of dissonant synthesizers and a string quartet, the effects on Irrlicht were achieved by reversing and post-processing an orchestral rehearsal. This use of Electronic and musique concrète techniques was later adopted by many industrial and dark ambient artists.
The next big step leading to dark ambient was the birth of industrial in 1976. Throbbing Gristle's radical approach to music varied in its abrasiveness. While some of the records and performances consisted of a lot of Noise, repetitive, heavy rhythms and screaming vocals, others were closer to the more restrained, menacing soundscapes that would become dark ambient. This less extreme side of Throbbing Gristle could be heard on some live recordings such as Music From the Death Factory, but it became the most prominent in the soundtracks to After Cease to Exist (featured on The Second Annual Report) and In the Shadow of the Sun (released as a stand-alone album, In the Shadow of the Sun). The transition from industrial to dark ambient was solidified in the 1980s by artists such as Nurse With Wound, :zoviet*france: and Lustmord.
Since the mid 1980s, dark ambient has been associated and combined with a variety of different styles that value its dark atmosphere. Some of the genres that have borrowed from dark ambient include Ritual Ambient, Black Ambient, Martial Industrial, Neoclassical Darkwave, Drone Metal, and Dark Jazz.
Since dark ambient can function as background music to enhance the mood, it has been found suitable for many soundtracks. One of the first and most acclaimed movies to feature a dark ambient soundtrack was David Lynch's Eraserhead from 1977. Other popular motion pictures with such music include Donnie Darko (2001), Silent Hill (2006) and The Social Network (2010). The genre also found its place in video game music, most notably Diablo II, Fallout: The Soundtrack and Silent Hill (as well as other installments in those series).
Dark Electro
Dark electro is a form of Electro-Industrial that emerged in the early 1990s in Europe. It was pioneered by artists such as yelworC and Placebo Effect. Similarly to influential electro-industrial bands like Skinny Puppy, dark electro combines EBM-like beats with the abrasiveness of old school Industrial, but it places even more focus on the horror soundscapes and harsh, distorted vocals, differentiating it from those electro-industrial bands that went for a cleaner, more EBM/Industrial Rock-oriented sound (e.g. Front Line Assembly).
Following the darker EBM-influenced albums like Leæther Strip's Solitary Confinement and :wumpscut:'s Bunkertor 7, bands such as Hocico started to incorporate prominent elements from Techno and Hardcore [EDM], bringing dark electro into a more aggressive and fast-paced territory. That style, which is also known as Aggrotech, quickly became the dominant branch. As a result, some consider these terms to be synonymous, but dark electro can also refer to the music of projects like Ice Ages, which is not necessarily as fierce and rapid.
Death Industrial
(also known as Dark Noise)
A genre combining elements of Power Electronics and Dark Ambient, in that the techniques are similar to that of power electronics, but the music is less abrasive, deeper, and more ambient and atmospheric.
Deconstructed Club
(also known as Post-Club, Experimental Club, Club-Not-Club, Avant-Club)
Deconstructed club music emerged in the late 2010s as the hybridization of diverse Electronic Dance Music genres with an abrasive Post-Industrial sound. Under the influence of the cut-up DJing techniques developed by DJs such as Total Freedom in the underground New York City party GHE20G0TH1K, as well as of cutting-edge UK Bass producers such as Kingdom and Jam City popularized by labels such as Night Slugs and Fade to Mind in the first half of the decade, a constellation of producers in an internet context developed a common approach to merging rhythmic dance music genres such as Trap [EDM], Ballroom, Baltimore Club, Jersey Club and Grime, and taking them to their limits, often with a conceptual or political bent. Deconstructed club music has spread mainly through internet networking, finding expression among netlabels and collectives such as NON Worldwide, Janus Berlin and Halcyon Veil.
Identified by aggressive, frantic, post-industrial sound design featuring metallic or staccato sounds such as samples of glass smashing, gunshots, etc., deconstructed club aims for an excessive, apocalyptic-sounding soundscape, with constant rhythmic switch-ups and atonality. Thematically, it is common to address politics such as race relations, feminism, queer identity and colonialism, as many of the developments of this sound and its associated nightlife come from marginalized communities. These topics are not always present, since some deconstructed club artists prefer to engage with futurism and technology conceptually, for example.
EBM (Electronic Body Music)
(also known as Aggrepo, Industrial Dance)
The term EBM (short for electronic body music) was first used by Kraftwerk in the late 1970s, but more popularly by EBM pioneers Front 242 in the 1980s to describe their sound, which was more beat-driven and melodic than what was typical of Industrial Music at the time. EBM is characterized by repetitive (or danceable) rhythms and undistorted vocals. Although EBM is considered more accessible and dance floor friendly, it still keeps with the experimental and thematic qualities of industrial music.
Electro-Industrial
(also known as Elektro)
Electro-industrial is a form of Industrial Music formed in the late 1980s and early 1990s that grew out of a combination of EBM and Industrial. It maintains some of the danceability of EBM but trades in the clean and stripped down approach of EBM for the harsher elements and more layered and complex sound of older industrial. It often has a much more modern feel to it than the typical industrial music of the 1980s, in part due to technological advances that have been made since then.
Futurepop
As EBM began to decline in popularity, a more modern version of the genre began to emerge in its place in the mid/late '90s. It features a danceable sound with heavy Synthpop influences, and has become popular mainly in clubs throughout the world, particularly in Europe. Futurepop retains the apocalyptic worldview of EBM and Industrial (a more distant predecessor) but generally adds the more melodic elements of Synthpop and some club-friendly Trance influences. The progenitors of the genre are usually considered to be VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, and Covenant.
Industrial Hardcore
Industrial hardcore is a form of harsh Hardcore [EDM] music that emerged in the mid-1990s, mostly developed within France and neighboring nations. Tracing its origins to the noisiness and rawness associated with early waves of the emerging Gabber and Power Noise genres, industrial hardcore eventually emerged in the mid-to-late 1990s through the success and influence of artists and DJs such as Manu Le Malin, Sebastian Hoff, Micropoint and Laurent Hô. Dedicated labels affiliated with the genre like Napalm, Epitéth Records, Enzyme Records, along with non-European-based labels Industrial Strength Records and Bloody Fist Records, and the free party community would also contribute to the popularity and reach of the genre, spreading into other territories, namely the Benelux region, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Australia. Frenchcore went to originate during the development of industrial hardcore, but it's important to note the differences between the two, since the former places a greater focus on simpler rhythms and sounds, resulting in a much more lighthearted nature because of that.
Industrial hardcore is distinct from other forms of hardcore by implementing wider usage of Post-Industrial aesthetics and ominous sampling, as well as dissonant and atonal synths, clipping percussion, abstract sound design, and abrasive, sometimes Experimental-influenced production. The genre has a strong rhythmic emphasis with melodic & quieter sections usually having more infrequent roles in contrast. Tracks commonly range from gabber to Speedcore in terms of BPM, but it might also be slower than other common forms of hardcore.
Industrial Hip Hop
(also known as Noise Rap)
Industrial hip hop is an Experimental Hip Hop genre that uses Industrial Music beats and sounds. The production style is generally very dissonant, featuring atonal Noise and loud, distorted drums. Vocals are usually more aggressive than typical hip hop and are sometimes shouted. Lyrical content is usually disturbing and/or confrontational, typically involving dystopian or political themes, and other subject matter typical of industrial music (e.g. war, sexual abuse, BDSM, cults, etc).
Industrial hip hop originated in the late 1980s, inspired by several attempts to combine industrial music with Hardcore Hip Hop and Dub. Public Enemy's intensity and use of unconventional noise elements inspired a darker form of hip hop. Mark Stewart (of The Pop Group) worked with the house band of Sugar Hill Records to blend industrial with elements of dub on As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade. In 1988, The Beatnigs pioneered the genre on their debut album. The next year, the Sugar Hill Records band collaborated with Tackhead to blend industrial with Funk Rock and dub. Consolidated and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy were also influential on the genre's development. Some contemporary practitioners of the genre employ more Electronic elements in their music, from genres such as Illbient and Glitch Hop.
Industrial Metal
Industrial metal is a genre that fuses Metal with elements from Industrial Music. To the usual metal instrumentation, industrial metal adds Electronic instruments such as synthesizers, samplers and sometimes drum machines. The guitar riffs are often downtuned and repetitive, which gives the music a machinal quality. Other common characteristics are distorted vocals and an abrasive sound.
Two important bands that helped define the genre in the late 1980s were Ministry and Godflesh. Godflesh drew inspirations from heavy sounds of early Swans and Whitehouse, while Ministry incorporated metal-indebted guitar riffs to its brand of industrial dance music. After breaking into mainstream alternative music with records such as Nine Inch Nails's Broken and Ministry's Psalm 69, it spawned additional popular bands such as Fear Factory and Strapping Young Lad.
The prominent influence of industrial metal yielded popular subgenres such as Cyber Metal and Neue Deutsche Härte through the 1990s and influenced many extreme metal acts such as Blut aus Nord, The Kovenant, and Samael as well.
Industrial Rock
Industrial rock is a hybrid of Rock and Industrial Music. Common musical characteristics include heavily distorted, abrasive guitars, percussion and vocals. The genre also employs keyboards, synthesisers, drum machines and samplers. Industrial rock has its roots in Post-Punk band Killing Joke and their debut album, Killing Joke (1980), as well as in the Experimental Rock band Chrome. It developed in the 1980s with artists such as Foetus, Ministry, Swans and The Young Gods, the last of which employed samplers instead of traditional rock guitars. The genre, along with its relative Industrial Metal, was brought to mainstream attention in the 1990s with artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. Industrial rock has had an influence over some other major pop/rock recording artists as well, including David Bowie and Gary Numan.
Industrial Techno
Industrial techno refers to a harder, darker style of Techno which, as with Industrial Music, draws parallels with factories and the rhythm of machinery. The stripped-down repetition of Minimal Techno and the clanging, reverberating effects of Dub Techno are also often incorporated. Labels that have contributed to the development of this subgenre include Downwards, Tresor, Sandwell District, Perc Trax, and Blackest Ever Black.
Martial Industrial
Martial industrial is a style of music that incorporates elements of traditional European military marches with Neoclassical Darkwave, Dark Ambient, Industrial Music, and Neofolk. Typical composition includes military band instrumentation, synthesizers, drum machines, sequencers, and samplers.
Neue Deutsche Härte
(also known as NDH, New German Hardness, Tanzmetall)
Neue Deutsche Härte (New German Hardness) is a type of Hard Rock/Metal that incorporates various aspects of electronic music, specifically Electronic Dance Music (hence the name Tanzmetall, or dance metal). It was popularized by acts such as Oomph!, Eisbrecher, and Rammstein (who coined the term, Tanzmetall), following the commercialization of Industrial Rock and Industrial Metal in the early 1990s. In addition to presence of synthesizer and electronic beats, Neue Deutsche Härte is characterized by its heavy use of downtuned and palm-muted guitar riffs, similar to Groove Metal. It generally employs male vocals sung in a deep register, while death growls are also sometimes present.
New Beat
New Beat is a form of underground dance music which originated in Belgium around 1987. It was mainly influenced by EBM and 80s Darkwave, but some releases are also a crossover of various dance styles such as Hi-NRG, Acid House and mid-80s underground House music. The genre was created when DJs had successfully been playing existing 45rpm EBM records at about 33rpm, which resulted in production of original tracks with slower and tougher beats. New Beat is also characterised by the use of repetitive electronic tones and vocal samples from songs, movies, and other media.
Since New Beat was based in mainland Europe, the style did well in Belgium, Germany, and Mediterranean countries, but it did not penetrate the English market. Its popularity declined in the late 80s with the rise of commercial Euro House. Some noteworthy New Beat artists include Lords of Acid, Public Relations, Amnesia, Nostromo Dept., Fatal Morgana and In-D.
Post-Industrial
Post-industrial music covers styles and genres that were influenced by Industrial but differ from the noisy and unrefined nature of Throbbing Gristle and early Einstürzende Neubauten. Post-industrial generally takes the dark and mechanical aesthetic of early industrial, and combines it with more accessible genres, such as Rock or Electronic Dance Music.
Power Electronics
Power electronics evolved out of Industrial music and primarily consists of waves of feedback, screeching analogue synthesizers and harsh, screamed vocals. The term was coined by William Bennett of Whitehouse, who pioneered the genre.
Power Noise
(also known as Rhythmic Noise, Rhythm 'n' Noise, Distorted Beat Music)
Power noise is an Industrial Music subgenre that combines looped Noise samples and beats with various harsher styles of Electronic Dance Music. In particular, there are parallels to Industrial Techno, Hardcore [EDM] and Breakcore such that, unlike in Harsh Noise or Power Electronics, the sounds themselves are not as pure a form of noise as the name suggests. Traditionally, power noise is instrumental and based upon heavily distorted drum machines, abrasive synthesizers and martial but danceable 4/4 beats. Occasionally, melodic components and abstract soundscapes are added secondarily to the rhythmic structure.
Earliest forms of the style can be traced back to the 1980s by Spanish Industrial project Esplendor Geométrico and early 1990s by Belgian Electro-Industrial project Dive. However, the actual term power noise is derived from Noisex's 1997 track "United (Power Noise Movement)". Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the scene was established by German labels Ant-Zen and Hands Productions together with their annual festivals Maschinenfest and Forms of Hands specializing in and showcasing the genre. By this time, popular EBM, Dark Electro and especially Aggrotech acts such as Hocico's side project Dulce Liquido began to incorporate elements of power noise into their sound and eventually brought the style to an even wider audience.
Definitions courtesy of rateyourmusic.com