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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"The Industrial Evolution" |
10.05.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
I’m not going to claim I’m an expert on this one. I’ve always appreciated the music genre that is labeled “industrial”, but I’ve not done my homework. Today I’m going to take a compacted look at the history and roots of industrial. I’m going to do my best to make sure this doesn’t come off too much like a badly written essay or term paper. I know there are folks out there with much more familiarity and experience of this scene than I and I’m sure I’m a bit smarter than the average bear. Hopefully, we can all learn something and fill our heads with that much more random knowledge. I’m under the impression that industrial rocks, so let’s see…
WHAT IS “INDUSTRIAL”?
Not happy with the confines of a simple guitar, bass, drum, and vocal? Do you want something a little grittier, a little louder, and a little more metal? Keep looking. Industrial metal is a lot more grittier, a lot more louder, and a lot more metal.
There is a more electric feel to industrial. The basic instruments are used from conventional rock and roll, but the inclusion of noise, synthesizers, drum machines, and other odds and ends perks of modern technology. If anything it’s a little nerdy because of the computer-love, but I think everyone looks past that.
A lot of folks are quick to say ANYTHING “techno” is “industrial”, but it’s far from the truth. We still get the normal and traditional metal, but we get layers upon layers of music to feel and absorb. There is definitely some industrial that is in the same ball park, but to put the two in the same category is foolish.
Industrial has that machine sound with the angelic synth in the background that completes the package. An industrial rock guitarist isn’t looking for the cleanest note, they have no problem with a little distortion to add to the track. The lyrical content is generally pissed off, dark, morbid, and anti-establishment. The deep constant pulse of a song can put you right in the middle of an emotion you might not have been ready to explore. It’s like an army of angry rewired robots set out on rocking the hell out.
IN THE BEGINNING…
As an off shoot of the more out there and experimental rock groups of the 60’s, “Industrial music” didn’t really come to surface until the mid-to-late 70’s. Right in the middle of punk hitting and disco becoming the popular thing to do bands like Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle were stomping out some heavy shit. They took advantage of technology and sang about darker topics than anyone else at the time.
The naming of the genre is a bit fuzzy. Throbbing Gristle was a record label called “Industrial Records” in the UK. Between them and Cabaret Voltaire, the genre really kicked off. There was stuff before it, but in a comparative sense they were like a non-violent version of Biggie and Pac because they became the figure heads for the genre. If you talk to any old school industrial fan, they’re going to bring up one or both of these bands within like three minutes. Hell, if you’re looking for that ONE “industrial fact” to impress your hipster friends then look no further! All you have to do is just say something douchey like “Man, industrial hasn’t been the same since Throbbing Gristle”. You’d still be a douche, but at least you’d not be a dumb one.
In order to pull one over on the government and get their project funded they claimed their project wasn’t just music but rather “performance art”. This got them a grant to live on and be rockstars full time. This also is the root of where most industrial acts put on great stage shows. It’s not just a concert, it’s an experience. There is more of a theatric performance, costumes, light shows, video walls, and an actual presentation. I mean really, think about it. The bands YOU know that are considered “industrial”. They DO put on kick ass stage shows, don’t they? You can’t tell me no. Apparently, it’s been this way since the start.
COMMERCIAL PEAK
Post-punk bands would start adapting to a more industrial sound. Meanwile, bands like SPK, Nurse with Wound, Whitehouse, and Leather Nun showed up on the scene. I’m not going to pretend to know ANY of those bands, but I’m open to checking them out in the future. It seemed like this was the point in “Industrial” where bands were coming together with the purpose of being part of the genre. I suppose it’s comparable to how all the grunge bands started right around the same time, right before the Nirvana explosion. It was a whole bunch of like-minded outcasts forming groups and forming their own community or “scene” if you will.
Then the Germans got a hold of it. They brought their own “cheery” and “colorful” twist to it. By “cheery” I mean “nihilistic” and by “colorful” I mean “bat shit insanity”. A band called Einsturzende Neubauten took things one step farther in the “morbid” department as they would use jackhammers and legit bones as instruments. Blixa Bargeld added a more doped out sensibility while bringing the hissy-“I’m a melting witch” cries to the table.
Skinny Puppy, a band I DO know of, hits the scene. They were far from conventional, but I think brought a real sense of melody to industrial. I know a lot of the more modern industrial acts were big fans. Same can be said for Coil, another bigger industrial rock band at the time.
It was the early 80’s when Wax Trax Records in Chicago really started kicking ass with industrial. It might not be as striving as it was 30 years ago, but I can personally vouch that Chicago still has industrial music. Some kick ass bands too.
The genre would evolve again. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, bands that were heavily influenced by the pioneers of industrial added their own stank to it. Some took it to the dance floor, some pussy-ified it and made ambient “sleep music”, and some just made it more accessible to rock and metal fans.
Do I not bring up Ministry? Are they “conventional”? Nope. Are they widely acclaimed as bad ass? Pretty much. Some “industrial” purists didn’t dig the over the top metal thing Ministry had going on, but they are CLEARLY Industrial flag wavers. (Figuratively of course.)
White Zombie kept the abrasiveness of industrial, but added the “horror” and “B-movie” twist to it similar to that of an Alice Cooper. To me, White Zombie proved that industrial could still be metal and accessible. Mainly because of those amazing guitar riffs and catchy as fuck melodies. The guitar notes from “More Human Than Human” AND “Thunderkiss 65” should be enough to prove that.
We can’t ignore KMFDM, Fear Factory, Die Krupps, Acumen Nation, Front Line Assembly, and others. They all did their own thing within the genre.
How about Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails project? His take on “industrial” would pretty much define the genre to masses for the 1990’s and pretty much beyond. I’m not going to go out of my way to lie to you. Nine Inch Nails IS my favorite band of all time. It has the angry side of industrial metal, but with a sense of depth and technological advancement that no one comes close.
Trent Reznor did his part to help “the scene”. With the rise of Nine Inch Nails came his own record label “Nothing”. He got a lot of bands on board and spawned a lot of copy-cat bands like Gravity Kills and the like. It was like when Britney came out, then Christina, then out of nowhere Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, Vitamin C, Pink, and like a dozen other variations of clean-cut white girl pop singers. I suppose that’s a sign that the genre has caught on and reached a peak. When bands are changing their sound and selling out whatever style they clung on to before it’s time to accept its commercialism. It wasn’t all bad, bands like Marilyn Manson came to life, but things were definitely at that “better before it gets worse". You could almost argue that Trent Reznor’s genius killed the well kept secret that was industrial.
IT IS OUT THERE…
The 90’s was very good for industrial and industrial influenced bands. Nine Inch Nails and Ministry would continue to put out albums and evolve in their own ways, but it was the plethora of others that really got the genre out there. Fear Factory, Filter, Rammstein, Orgy, Powerman 5000, Prodigy, Static X, and others all did well for themselves.
Industrial isn’t going anywhere. It might be labeled as “industrial metal” or “electro-metal”, but it’s still alive and kicking. Bands like Static X, Powerman, Fear Factory, Godhead, Marilyn Manson, VAST, and others from back in the day are still out there pounding the pavement and doing shows and putting out great work. Then newer bands are out there tearing shit up. Zeromancer, American Head Charge, Deadstars, Hanzel und Gretyl, Fashion Bomb, Mnemic, Psyclon Nine, even Mindless Self Indulgence, Deadstar Assembly, Prep School Tragedy, Mushroomhead, and others are carrying the torch in their own ways.
While the genre isn’t at its biggest plateau anymore, it’s still out there if you look for it. It’s really not that hard to find. You just have to avoid the techno.
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