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Industrial: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
If you're thinking "oh, you mean <[[Marilyn Manson]]/[[Nine Inch Nails]]/[[
Back in the late seventies, when [[Punk Rock]] was the dominant form of rebellious music, a bunch of musicians came to a realisation that led to the creation of a new genre. The conversation went a bit like this:
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Except, their plan backfired. People liked this form of music, which is often thought of as the [[Darker and Edgier]] version of [[Electronic Music]]. The genre was named "industrial" because a lot of artists who decided to jump on the bandwagon were signed to Industrial Records.
The first widely-recognised(-ish) industrial(-ish) group (not affiliated with the fictional musicians from the fake conversation) was ''[[
As electronic music became more popular generally during [[The Eighties]], the earlier kinds of experimental Industrial became more refined and synthesizer-based. The genre grew in two major directions; approaching almost-entirely electronic music with the bizzare and experimental spirit that Throbbing Gristle had (this direction being exemplified by Canadian group ''[[Skinny Puppy]]''), and making danceable electronic music that had the cold and aggressive [[Darker and Edgier]] qualities and punk-ish attitude of the early experimental Industrial artists (this direction, often called ''Electronic Body Music'' (or EBM) or ''Industrial Dance'', was exemplified by groups such as ''Nitzer Ebb'' and ''[[Front 242]]'').
(Two other, frequently-intersecting "purist" directions in Industrial music also emerged at the turn of the decade: Power Electronics and Post-Industrial. The former was first pioneered by a group called ''Whitehouse'' in the late Seventies with the express purpose of fusing offense, [[Sensory Abuse]] and [[Hell Is That Noise]] into one, teeming mass of [[Nightmare Fuel]]; the latter is a much more nebulous term, applying mostly to the many esoterically-inclined groups formed by ex-members and colleagues of the post-Throbbing Gristle group ''Psychic TV'', the most prominent being ''Coil'', ''Nurse With Wound'' and ''Current 93''. The former quasi-evolved into [[Harsh Noise]], which is [[Exactly What It Says
As the genre kept evolving, it began adding elements from other genres and/or recombining with various forms of itself. Bill Leeb, an early member of [[Skinny Puppy]], tamed his former group's bizzare experimentalism by building his songs around an EBM-ish backbone and going all-out [[Cyberpunk]] in attitude. Albums from his project ''[[Front Line Assembly]]'', particularly ''Tactical Neural Implant'', have often been considered landmarks in the genre.
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These days, [[Industrial]] music has effectively stagnated as a genre. Generally speaking there are two basic styles; the remnants of the Futurepop acts that are sliding into synthpop and/or more retro forms of electronic music, and the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''Hellektro'' (essentially really, really hard EBM, sometimes with insanely angry and/or miserable attitudes and sometimes without) acts like ''Combichrist'' and ''Psyclon Nine''. This is of course a simplification and many artists can be found that defy this basic characterization but it certainly applies to the majority of the Industrial that gets played at most goth clubs these days.
And of course, there was a less dance friendly fringe known as [[Exactly What It Says
[[Industrial Metal]] is what happened when [[Ministry|a certain synth pop band]] decided to combine industrial with metal.
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* [[Darker and Edgier]] - Over the course of genre and subgenre evolution, over the course of individual artist's careers, you can find a lot of this.
* [[Ear Worm]] - Gotta fill the dancefloors somehow!
* [[Exactly What It Says
* [[Fetish Fuel]] - Where to begin? ''Strap Me Down''? ''Catharsis (Heal Me; Control Me)''? Andy LaPlegua jumping around in skin tight latex and rubber? The outfits of the [[Target Audience]]?
** On the more extreme end, often bordering on [[Fetish Retardant]] or even [[Nausea Fuel]], some of the very earliest Industrial lyrics are only sexual in the most repellant and bizarre ways possible (Cabaret Voltaire's "Bedtime Stories").
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* [[Improv]] - A typical compositional technique, especially for the more experimental acts.
* [[Indecipherable Lyrics]] - Many bands fall prey to this trope and/or deliberately use it.
* [[Intercourse
** Usually averted. The subject matter of the lyrics doesn't deal with sex too often, except when it crosses into [[Fetish Fuel]]. But occasionally this is played straight.
* [[Lighter and Softer]] - [[As Darker And Edgier]] above. Particularly with the Futurepop subgenre.
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* [[Silly Love Songs]] - Often subverted. This genre's examples of love songs are things like ''Love Breeds Suicide'' by Suicide Commando and ''Strap Me Down'' by Leaetherstrip (it's romantic! really!). However, sometimes this is played straight, for instance the Futurepop song ''Beloved'' by [[VNV Nation]], or on Throbbing Gristle's (ambiguously sarcastic/serious) [[Synth Pop]] anthem "United".
* [[Tear Jerker]]: Yes, even industrial can have [[Tear Jerker]] moments, such as [[Throbbing Gristle]]'s suicide themed "Weeping," but a more modern one would be the song "My Crutch" from rhythmic noise band Caustic. Despite the band's motto (and debut album title) being "Booze up and Riot!" My Crutch is a stripped down, guitar and vox song with the singer describing how his alcoholism ruins his life and how he must quit drinking to save his marriage and his life. Also, Laibach did a mashup of the Israeli and Palestinian national anthems on their album ''Volk'', in an attempt to show that the two warring peoples [[Not So Different|aren't so different after all]].
* [[This Is Your Premise
* [[Title-Only Chorus]] - Usually averted but sometimes happens.
* [[Torture Cellar]] - Another frequent mood/aesthetic the genre aims for. Especially lyrically.* [[True Art Is Angsty]] - Where to begin?!? From concept albums about ''babies that die in the womb'' to concept albums about ''serial killers'' to songs about the Columbine massacre to bands whose entire act is about bashing Christianity to songs about ''animal vivisection'', and these are just the examples I can think of off the top of my head
* [[True Art Is Incomprehensible]] - Skinny Puppy's more esoteric works, the early Industrial artists, most of Skinny Puppy's music videos, many lyrics of multiple bands...
* [[Wangst]]
* [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made
** The thesis of the chapter on First-Wave Industrial in Simon Reynolds' epic [[post-punk]] tome ''Rip It Up And Start Again'' is that the very underlying premise of the genre is [[Psychedelic Rock]] [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]. His argument is extremely convincing.
** One of Einstürzende Neubauten's most compelling songs is "Yü-Gung (Fütter Mein Ego)", which is a lengthy ode to [[A God Am I|speed-induced megalomania]].
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== Noteable Artists ==
* [[
* [[
* [[Jerk Ass/Boyd Rice|Boyd Rice]] (a.k.a. NON; the ''other'' other [[Trope Maker]])
* Z'ev ([[Overly Long Gag|yet another]] [[Trope Maker]])
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* Monte Cazazza
* Einsturzende Neubauten
* [[
* Clock DVA
* [[Swans]] (up to ''[[New Sound Album|Children Of God]]''; foreshadowed [[Industrial Metal]])
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* Current 93 (would later become neo-folk)
* DAF ([[Trope Codifier]] for the EBM subgenre)
* [[J.G. Thirlwell
* [[Laibach]]
* [[Skinny Puppy]]
* [[Front 242]] ([[Trope Namer]] for the EBM subgenre)
* Merzbow
* [[
* Nitzer Ebb
* Masonna
* [[Ministry]] (although associated with [[Industrial Metal]] they use the guitar more as an instrument for Industrial noise rather then to rock out. so they straddle the line more along with [[
* [[Front Line Assembly]] ([[Trope Codifier]] for the [[Cyberpunk]], less experimental, EBM-based industrial of the early 90's)
* Leaetherstrip (arguably the [[Ur Example]] for the Hellektro subgenre)
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** And the side project Combichrist, arguably more successful.
* Die Krupps ([[Trope Makers]] for Neue Deutsche Härte)
* [[
* [[How To Destroy Angels]] ([[Nine Inch Nails|Trent Reznor's]] current project)
* Raison d'être
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