Industrial

Industrial is an Experimental style influenced by Musique concrète, Krautrock, and Noise (among others). Early pioneers like Throbbing Gristle and Einstürzende Neubauten gave the music life and often focused as much on the performance-art aspects of their shows as they did on their pounding, relentless music, and adopted an épater la bourgeoisie ethos that put it philosophically in line with Punk Rock. This focus on the visual as well as aural aspects of being a band led to the creation of an industrial aesthetic that was dark, brooding, and often featured images or sonic evocations of mechanical objects. The idea was to reflect--both sonically and visually--the bleak, faceless, mechanized times the bands argued they were living in. These early trailblazers influenced later artists like Psychic TV and Skinny Puppy who would blend what was primarily a throbbing, austere, electronic style with various sounds from Rock, Metal, and even Electronic Dance Music, opening Industrial & Noise to a whole new audience. The genre's name stems from Industrial Records, which was founded by the members of Throbbing Gristle and whose late-1970s releases by Monte Cazazza, The Leather Nun, and Thomas Leer & Robert Rental showcased the then-emerging genre's revolutionary new sound.