Industrial rock

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox music genre

Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. Originally emerging in the late 1970s to early 1980s, pioneered by artists such as Chrome, Killing Joke, Swans, Big Black and Skinny Puppy, the movement was further proliferated in the late 1980s by Wax Trax! Records in Chicago, with artists like Front 242, Front Line Assembly, KMFDM, and Sister Machine Gun.

Subsequently, the movement would lead to the emergence of genre fusions and subgenres like electro-industrial, industrial metal, martial industrial, industrial hip-hop, industrial dance and industrial techno. By the 1990s, broader industrial music genres were made accessible to mainstream audiences through the popularity of acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Rammstein, Marilyn Manson, all of whom released platinum-selling records.

Characteristics

Industrial rock is defined by the merging of rock music with influences lifted from industrial music, electronic, and avant-garde music. Industrial rock bands are characterized by harsh, abrasive sounds, blending distorted, aggressive guitar riffs with electronic textures and experimental production techniques.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Exemplified by artists who signed to industrial focused independent record label Wax Trax! Records, while some industrial rock artists later overlapped with industrial metal.<ref>"... journalists now use 'industrial' as a term like they would 'blues.'"—Genesis P-Orridge, RE/Search #6/7, p. 16.</ref>

History

Forerunners

Cromagnon's 1969 record Orgasm has been credited with foreshadowing the industrial rock sound, with AllMusic describing it as sounding "like it could be a Ministry [...] recording from 1989".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pitchfork labelled the opening track "Caledonia" as a "pre-industrial stomp".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1970s–1980s: Origins

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During the mid to late 1970s, industrial music emerged through the early works of Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, NON, SPK and Z'EV.<ref>Vale & Juno, 1983.</ref> Subsequently, music critics retroactively credit the San Francisco band Chrome with sparking the "beginning of industrial rock."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Alongside, New York City band Suicide, formed in 1970, by Alan Vega and Martin Rev, whose 1977 debut album has been credited with providing "the blueprints for [...] industrial rock".<ref name="allmusic-review22">Template:Cite web</ref> Furthermore, Iggy Pop who released his debut solo album The Idiot, produced by David Bowie, in 1977, was later retroactively recognized as a forerunner to industrial rock,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> particularly the closing track, "Mass Production', which contains numerous "proto-industrial noises" created using tape loops,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which Hugo Wilcken described as "early industrial electronica."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ian Curtis of Joy Division, cited the album as an inspiration, and later influenced the work of Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who'd cover their song "Dead Souls".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other influences on industrial rock include Einstürzende Neubauten, Alien Sex Fiend, and Come.

By the late 1970s, post-punk and post-hardcore bands, began incorporating elements of industrial music into rock music. Killing Joke described by music journalist Simon Reynolds as "a post-punk version of heavy metal"<ref name="kj">Reynolds, 2005, p. 435.</ref> emerged as an influential band in the development of industrial rock music, their album Night Time (1985) saw mainstream success and influenced Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Chantler, 2002, p. 54.</ref> Subsequently, New York City band Swans emerged and drew influence from the local no wave scene, most notably Glenn Branca's Theoretical Girls "You Got Me",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as punk rock, noise music (particularly Whitehouse) and the original industrial groups.<ref name="swans">Licht, 2003, p. 32.</ref> Chris Connelly said the musical project Foetus was "the instigator when it comes to the marriage of machinery to hardcore punk."<ref name="connelly">Connelly, 2007, p. 12.</ref>

During the early 1980s, Steve Albini's band Big Black, post-hardcore and noise rock with industrial music.<ref name="black">Sharp, 1999, p. 48.</ref><ref>Blush, 2001, p. 222.</ref> The Swiss trio The Young Gods, who deliberately eschewed electric guitars in favor of a sampler,<ref>Mörat, 1992, p. 12.</ref> also took inspiration from both hardcore and industrial.<ref>Stud & Stud, 1987, p. 27.</ref> In 1986, Canadian band Skinny Puppy released the album Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with its lead single, "Dig It", seeing frequent airplay on MTV.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song was a major influence on Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor, who used it as inspiration when writing his first song, "Down in It".<ref name="NIN Spin 1996">Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Rp

By the late 1980s, Chicago's Wax Trax! Records became a central hub for the genre, further popularizing it across the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The label was started by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. The label went on to distribute some of the most prominent names in industrial throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, with artists like Front 242, Front Line Assembly, KMFDM, and Sister Machine Gun. In 1988, Ministry, released their album The Land of Rape and Honey, which drew from hardcore punk and thrash metal, while retaining electronic elements and samples.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen was also involved in multiple industrial rock side projects that were signed to Wax Trax!, including Revolting Cocks, 1000 Homo DJs and Pailhead.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Drawing heavy influences from New York's no wave scene, Cop Shoot Cop replaced lead guitars with bass.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mainstream popularity (1990s)

In the 1990s, industrial rock broke into the mainstream with artists and bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Orgy, Template:Nowrap White Zombie, and Marilyn Manson. In December 1992, Nine Inch Nails' EP Broken was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).Template:Certification Cite Ref Nine Inch Nails gained further popularity with the release of their 1994 album The Downward Spiral, which was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA in 1998.Template:Certification Cite Ref The band's 1999 album The Fragile was certified 2× platinum in January 2000.Template:Certification Cite Ref With the success of Nine Inch Nails, the band's debut album Pretty Hate Machine was certified 3× platinum by the RIAA.Template:Certification Cite Ref In the 1990s, four Nine Inch Nails songs went on the Billboard Hot 100.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Several industrial rock and industrial metal artists such as KMFDM, Fear Factory, Gravity Kills and Sister Machine Gun appeared on the 1995 Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was certified platinum by the RIAA in January 1996.Template:Certification Cite Ref

Marilyn Manson released their album Antichrist Superstar in 1996, which was certified platinum by the RIAA two months after its release date.Template:Certification Cite Ref In the United States, Antichrist Superstar sold at least 1,900,000 units.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Marilyn Manson's EP Smells Like Children was certified platinum in May 1998.Template:Certification Cite Ref The band's third album Mechanical Animals went to number 1, dethroning Lauryn Hill's solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and selling 223,000 copies in its first week in stores.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was certified platinum by the RIAA in February 1999Template:Certification Cite Ref and sold at least 1,409,000 copies in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Orgy also experienced mainstream success during the 1990s. The band's 1998 album Candyass was certified platinum by the RIAA in July 1999.Template:Certification Cite Ref Orgy's cover of New Order's song "Blue Monday" went to number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and number 2 on the Dance Club Songs chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> White Zombie experimented with industrial metal on its 1995 album Astro-Creep: 2000,<ref name="allmusic">Template:Cite web</ref> which was certified 2× platinum by the RIAA in March 1996.Template:Certification Cite Ref White Zombie's vocalist Rob Zombie began creating pure industrial metal albums in his solo career. Rob Zombie's 1998 solo debut studio album Hellbilly Deluxe was certified 3× platinum by the RIAA less than two years after its release date.Template:Certification Cite Ref In November 1999, Powerman 5000's album Tonight the Stars Revolt! was certified platinum by the RIAA.Template:Certification Cite Ref The album sold at least 1,316,172 units in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A large Industrial metal scene also emerged in Europe in the 20th century. The Industrial Metal band that manages to appeal to the largest audiences worldwide is Rammstein. Other names have also proven successful in the European scene, including Pain, Deathstars, Dagoba, Eisbrecher, Gothminister and Godflesh.

Labels

References

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Industrial rock

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