And so, January 2010 was all things industrial month, 9 new albums i've never heard (well except for two, wanted to revisit those) So what is the ethos/aesthetic behind industrial musics? From sources they list things of transgression, punk provocation, totalitarianism, futurism, also been called brash, repetitive, melodic, noisy, it focuses on transgressive themes and polemics but this only focuses on one side and really embodies the early movements...it has split into many sub-genres as genres are wont to do, which include, as ive learned, death industrial, EBM, industrial metal, industrial rock, dark ambient, among others...the vocals can be harsh or melodic, could be bubble gum pop or abrasive authoritarian slogans...ive found that it embodies similar themes that cyberpunk conveys and the two seem to be comfortable bedfellows because of this, the use of certain aesthetic, technological techniques such as electronic instrumentation, beat loops, synths etc, give rise to a repetitive discourse, (and a synthos (as synthetic ethos, ethics of syntheticism) at times even seeming as perfect propaganda, and i think all these seemingly controlling aspects are but a ideology and social outcry against such mainstay ideas of status quo and hegemony, that in fact through what seems as adherence is undermined as rebellion (the "noise" aspect is also regarded as retaliation against what music is, or at least considered to be) it seems that although some groups implement a fascist tendency in their music, only rarely is it meant in regular and should otherwise be seen as discourse and criticism...
as stated in regen's article, (which i consulted for my list: top 10 best industrial albums ever ) industrial has spawned so many offshoots that it is incredibly difficult to pinpoint what it is exactly, so therefore has become a state of mind, sitting firmly within a modern and better yet post-modern ideology, which the cyberpunk film/literature genre is also comfortably placed. this attitude of dystopian futures, cold atmospheres, technology, control, authority, rebellion, very indicative of current psychological/political climates, esp of the past 30 years
learned much (and still much more to go) about industrial genre, esp the fact that it has grown to be an overarching ethos and that, at least in its earlier days, was combined with other forms of artistic expression and culture including but not limited to performance art and tape trading (mail art), also learned of its history from throbbing gristle and its own industrial records (hence name of genre) and even this name is multilayered in many interesting ways...
SO here's the list of what i absorbed (based on regen's results (except the skinny puppy which i added myself))
1) Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) excellent. one of the first, if not the first, industrial albums i ever owned, still great after 2 decades Breathe, Thieves, Cannibal Song oh the list goes on...ministry helped bring metal to the genre, more guitar driven, cool that electro and live percussion was used
2) Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994) u have to give reznor (along with ministry) the credit for introducing industrial to the masses, he also brought (according to wiki) more standard song structure formats to the genre (hence, or at least attributing to, its appeal) also didnt realize that this was a concept album, nice
3) Haujobb - Solutions for a Small Planet (1996) this was the first album in this series that i listened to that i had never heard and has instantly placed itself among my favs, according to regen it is a more subdued album for them and more beat heavy, i see this, excellent use of atmospheres and textures heard some electronica in there, vocals were a bit weak at times, couldve been more meaty, a la skinny puppy, had 3 instrumentals (actually 4 but the 3 aforementioned seemed to be of a running exposition) liked it, gave breathing room and nuance to the tracks/track order, upon hearing it i instantly saw the progression that industrial had made since my initial experiences of the genre, which were limited to late eighties/early nineties recordings - mainly skinny puppy and ministry
4) VNV Nation - Empires (2000) regen says vnv nation is a hybrid mix of industrial, trance, synthpop and EBM i saw this right off, liked the vocalist's timbre and the pounding beats, instantly saw the trance influence in the synth lines and appegiator, only used a couple samplers and the access virus synth to produce the record which is another feat, very lyrically driven, liked and the begin/end duo of Firstlight and Arclight, also enjoyed Fragments ... had a knack for repetitive sloganeering in Fragments ("all great things to come"), the whole album is very apocalyptic and dark even given the trance-y mood
5) Nitzer Ebb - That Total Age (1987) should have been called total ENERGY, it truly seems to be driven by a drum machine and the vocalist whose energy works to keep the album going, very punk provocative, sloganeering at its finest, Join in the Chant is a fav (Books Books, Books, Books, Burn , Burn, Burn etc...) gives more weight and power to the word when used in this way, also (where is the youth?) (now dont be lazy!) great energy, still relevant today, can see how this album spawned many dance floor hits
6) KMFDM - Angst (1993) prob my least fav overall out of this whole list yet can still see how it was included on regen's list, an extension of ministry's use of guitars, bringing metal to the genre (at least on this record) Blood Evil and Glory were my favs, another sloganeering attitude on this record, with all the KMFDM self-referencing involved, which from what i understand is something they do all the time anyways, which according to wiki is them satirizing themselves in a bit of lampoon
7) Einstürzende Neubauten Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T. / The Drawings of Patient O.T. (1983) apparently the fathers of dark ambient, very abrasive, what i think of when i think pure industrial, since they did use jackhammers and metal objects for the recording, disturbing, dark, cold, Armenia is a def fav
8) Front 242 - Front By Front (1988) first front 242 album ive heard, although i had seen them live - lollapalooza 1993 and remembering twas one of the most energetic/aggressive parts of the event, circling overland is a fav, lyrically and musically, great theme, from the planes perspective - supposedly vnv nation has done a cover must check this out, regen says front 242 are the fathers of EBM could see this in headhunter and several other songs, Agony (Until Death) was charged, regen also put this album at the top of their list, which was curious to me, nto sure why, but perhaps this album has more influential/historical effects that i am not considering, also perhaps the album succinctly displays the industrial ethos, in its purest sense? overall great album, still resonates today over 20 years later
9) Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker (2007) awesome, was wondering about this one, as so many bands seem to lose energy and edge with age, this album was a complete surprise esp for an act that has been active for so long, still seems relevant (as a group) and still has teeth, a perfect example to me of growth in an artist's career, an example of how a group can grow, within its own set framework, without having to resort to genre switches, seems to be a perfect evolution in their career, pedafly, politikil, and ugli are all dynamic, groove-centered, dark skinny puppy as i have known them yet with a sensibility that shows even more strength in their songwriting and production. instant classic!
