Industrial Music History

The term Industrial is a very generic term for many subgroups or genres of music like ambient, noise, techno, house, lo-fi, and several others. The Industrial music, ambient, noise, techno, house, lo-fi, ravemost obvious stereotype that comes to mind is a distorted, percussive, lo-fi electronic samples weaved into the fabric of a traditional pop song or dance remixes. The first band who are considered to be a part of this genre are Throbbing Gristle who formed Industrial Records in the 1970's. It is really just a loose term that suggests the influence of modernized and automated patterns woven into the music.

One pattern that fits most groups in the genre is the use of unusual items as instruments which range from, metal, glass, pipes, trashcans to tools and machines like grinders, drills, presses, phones, radios, televisions, typewriters and others to represent, some argue the mechanization and depersonalization of society. The genre is usually very heavily processed and manipulated using sample sound loops combined in repeating rhythms and lush textures to create a unique composition. The influences reach far outside of the genre into mainstreamIndustrial music, ambient, noise, techno, house, lo-fi, rave genres and other subgenres like punk and nu metal among others, making its presence well known in many types of music. As with all genres is just a general idea which can be incorporated into many other genres and is only good as a general description which is very relative and loosely applied.

Industrial music started in England during the 70's at the same time punk was beginning to take root. Bands like Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, Fad Gadget began to gather a cult following which quickly took the movement to the rest of the world.

Early in the genre the bands very rarely used instruments and many listeners classified it as disharmonic noise with no real listening value. Later Industrial bands took these early elements and added to it traditional instruments and song structures. Industrial was another outlet for the feelings of despair and depression that seems to be a common theme in Industrial songs. The more commercial bands like Gravity Kills, God Lives Underwater, Filter, Stabbing Westward, Orgy, and Nine Inch Nails have brought the band to a more mainstream audience. Some bands like Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk, Foetus Einsturzende Neubauten, Skinny Puppy, Test Dept, KMFDM, Cabaret Voltaire, and The Young Gods are considered by many fans to be more representative of the scene.