Industrial

Industrial music is a particularly broad genre that encompasses a wide variety of sounds. Emphasis is on experimentation, performance art, noise, controversial themes, and sound manipulation. Though the term originated as a reference to the unique sound of artists on the Industrial Records label, it has expanded to describe a musical aesthetic recalling machinery and manufacturing.

The original Industrial Records sound of label founders Throbbing Gristle featured tape splicing, percussion and loops edited and distorted into unrecognizable noise, and seemingly random vocals. Early performances were full of shock art, involving fascist imagery, sadomasochism, and audience abuse. Influential group Einstürzende Neubauten was legendary for using items like jackhammers and jet engines as instruments, frequently damaging the venues they played in.

The second wave of industrial artists emerged in the mid 1980s, setting the stage for subgenres like darkwave, EBM and industrial rock to develop. Groups like KMFDM, Ministry, and Skinny Puppy added more rhythmic elements to the experimental noise and sampling that form the foundation of industrial music, incorporating distorted rock guitars and more structured drum beats. American record label Wax Trax! became the lead promoter of the new punk-influenced industrial sound, which quickly rose to popularity on the strength of releases by Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Acumen Nation.

Today, there are few artists still recording in the original industrial style, but the label is still applied to countless bands that can more accurately be filed under one of industrial music's many burgeoning subgenres.

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