Industrial rock

Infobox Music genre
name=Industrial rock
bgcolor=silver
color=black
stylistic_origins=Punk rock Industrial music Post-punk No wave Hardcore punk Noise rock
cultural_origins=Late 1970s United States and United Kingdom
instruments=Electric guitar - Synthesizer - Drum machine - Drums - Sequencer - Keyboard - Sampler - bass
popularity= Moderate in mid-1980s; high in industrial metal era
derivatives= Industrial metal
subgenrelist=
subgenres=
fusiongenres=
regional_scenes= Germany
other_topics=Notable artists

Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and punk rock. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused. The early fusions of industrial music and rock were practiced by a handful of post-punk groups, including Chrome, Killing Joke, the Swans, and Big Black.

Musical style

Industrial rock artists generally employ the basic rock instrumentation of electric guitars, drums and bass and pair it with white noise blasts, electronic music gear (synthesizers, sequencers, samplers and drum machines). Guitars are commonly heavily distorted or otherwise effected. Bass guitars and drums may be played live, or be replaced by electronic musical instruments or computers in general. Industrial rock frequently incorporates the sounds of machinery and industry. This sound palette was pioneered by early 1980s artists (SPK, Einstürzende Neubauten, Die Krupps, Test Dept, and Z'ev), who relied heavily on metal percussion, generally made with pipes, tubes and other products of industrial waste.

Origins

Industrial music was created in the mid- to late 1970s, amidst the punk rock revolution and disco fever, and was epitomised by bands such as Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, and SPK. [Vale & Juno 1983.] Within a few years, many other musical performers were incorporating industrial-musical elements into a variety of musical styles.

Some post-punk performers developed styles parallel to industrial music's defining attributes. Pere Ubu's debut, "The Modern Dance", was described as "Industrial". [Irvin 2001, page 442.] So was San Francisco's Chrome, who mixed Jimi Hendrix, The Sex Pistols and tape music experiments,Reynolds 2005, p. 257, 258.] and Killing Joke, considered by Simon Reynolds as "a post-punk version of Heavy metal".ibid., page 435.]

Others followed in their wake. [Chantler 2002, page 54.] The NYC band Swans were inspired by the local No Wave scene as well as punk rock, noise (particularly Whitehouse, as well as the original industrial groups.Licht 2003, page 32.] Steve Albini's Big Black followed a similar path, [Blush 2001, p. 222.] while also incorporating American hardcore punk.Sharp 1999, page 48.] Big Black has also been closely associated with post-hardcore and noise rock. The Swiss trio The Young Gods, who deliberately esquewed electric guitars in favor of a sampler, [Mörat 1992, page 12.] also took inspiration from both hardcore and industrial, [Stud & Stud 1987, page 27.] being equally indebted to the Bad Brains and Foetus.

Commercial success

Industrial rock's first commercial success might be attributed to Killing Joke's fifth album, "Night Time". It won a silver sales certificate (60,000+ units sold) by the BPI [cite web |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=23587 |title= CERTIFIED AWARDS |publisher= [http://www.bpi.co.uk THE BPI] |accessdate= 2007-08-24] largely on the strength of club favorite "Love Like Blood". [cite web |url=http://www.rockdetector.com/officialbio,4922.sm|title= KILLING JOKE - Unique, Detailed Biography|publisher= [http://www.rockdetector.com Rockdetector - The World's Biggest Rock Resource on the Web] |accessdate= 2008-06-11]

Industrial rock's true commercial breakthrough took place with the rise of industrial metal: Ministry and Nine Inch Nails.cite web|url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH|title= GOLD AND PLATINUM - Searchable Database|publisher= [http://www.riaa.com RIAA] |accessdate= 2007-12-12]

Artists

*List of industrial rock bands

Labels

*21st Circuitry (USA)
*Cleopatra Records
*COP Int'l (USA)
*Fifth Colvmn Records (USA)
*Glitch Mode Recordings (USA)
*Invisible Records
*Metropolis Records
*Nothing Records
*Re-Constriction Records (USA)
*Wax Trax! Records

External links

* [http://www.industrialrock.net Fabryka Industrial Rock webzine]

Notes

References

* Blush, Steven (2001). "American Hardcore: a tribal history." Los Angeles, CA: Feral House.
* Bright, Matt (1996). "Dog gone." Melody Maker, February 24th: 39.
* Chantler, Chris (2002). "Splitting heirs". Terrorizer, 96: 54-5.
* Fergunson, Paul (1993). "Terror against terror: Lustmord's dancefloor coup." Industrial Nation, 7: 53-7.
* Gill, Chris; Rotondi, James (1996). "Heady metal." Guitar Player, 30(3): 74-82.
* Irvin, Jim (2001). "The Mojo collection: the greatest albums of all time." Edinburgh: Cannongate.
* Licht, Alan (2003). "Tunnel vision." The Wire, 233: 30-37.
* Mörat (1992). "Ye gods!" Kerrang!, 411: 12.
* Reynolds, Simon (2005). "Rip it up and start again: postpunk 1978-1984." London: Faber and Faber Limited.
* Sharp, Chris (1999). "Atari Teenage Riot: 60 second wipe out." The Wire, 183: 48-9.
* Stud, B., Stud, T. (1987). "Heaven up here." Melody Maker, June 20th: 26-7.
* Vale, Vivian; Juno, Andrea (1983). "RE/Search #6-#7: Industrial culture handbook." San Francisco, CA: RE/SEARCH PUBLICATIONS.