Industrial metal

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Industrial metal
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins
Typical instruments
Mainstream popularity Enjoyed moderate commercial success throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Attention from the mainstream is currently low in the USA, but is moderately sized in Europe.
Derivative forms Neue Deutsche Härte - Tanz-Metall - Aggro-industrial
Subgenres
Coldwave - Cyber metal
Other topics
Bands − Labels

Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws elements from industrial music and heavy metal. Industrial metal music is usually centered around repetitive metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer / sequencer lines and distorted vocals[1]. This term is used quite loosely, describing everything from industrial rock bands sampling metal riffs (such as The Young Gods[citation needed]) to heavy metal groups augmented with sequencers and drum machines. Industrial metal encompasses industrial subgenres such as aggro-industrial and coldwave (see List of post-industrial music genres and related fusion genres) and often overlaps some elements of nu metal and post-punk.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early innovators

Though guitars had been used by industrial groups like Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire since the early days of the genre, it wasn't until the late-1980s that industrial and metal began to fuse into a common genre. The industrial metal scene was the result of the convergence of a number of different musical trends, although the British band Killing Joke is generally considered a pioneer of industrial rock and was a major influence on many industrial metal bands. Coming out of the late 70's/early 80's, their sound, considered post-punk at the time, combined dark punk / quasi-metallic post-punk with synthesizers and rhythms that alternated between dance (a disco influence), thrash, and tribal. Big Black can also be considered a great influence on the industrial metal sound. Finally, the band Chrome has been mixing punk with industrial and electronic music since the late 70s, and although they are considered to be very influential by artists within the genre, they are often overlooked by fans.

A number of electronic bands had begun to add elements of metal to their music, with Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey and Godflesh's self-titled EP at the forefront (both released in 1988). Previously a guitarless band, Ministry's inclusion of metal guitars on "Stigmata", "The Missing", and "Deity" proved to be a watershed event. Subsequent albums, The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste and ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ (commonly referred to as simply "Psalm 69"), would establish Ministry as a premier industrial metal act. Godflesh went their own way, melding Black Sabbath riffs with Swans's crawling pace, topped with Throbbing Gristle-like white noise blasts. Though not a top-seller compared to Ministry, Godflesh became hugely influential, their name regularly dropped by Danzig[2], Faith No More, Fear Factory[3], Korn[4] and Metallica[5].

At the same time, KMFDM was bringing metal influences to its guitars in singles like 1989's Virus and 1990s Godlike. In 1990, Killing Joke released the explosive Extremities, Dirt And Various Repressed Emotions, which built the band's earlier dark, brooding sound and electronic experiments into an industrial metal sound. A final element was added by a number of technologically advanced bands within the metal scene, spearheaded by Canadians, Voivod.

Some crust punk bands such as Nausea and Doom experimented with mixing early industrial into their sound.

[edit] Later developments

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Industrial metal blossomed in the early 1990s, particularly in North America where it outstripped pure industrial in popularity. The original strain of industrial metal became known as aggro-industrial, while a new form featuring punk- and hardcore-influenced guitars and more pronounced synthesizer accompaniment became known as coldwave. Nine Inch Nails, an industrial rock band formed by Trent Reznor, brought the genre to a much more mainstream audience by releasing primary industrial albums such as Broken & The Downward Spiral accompanied by their groundbreaking performance at the 1994 Woodstock. Prominent coldwave bands included Chemlab, 16 Volt, and Acumen (later Acumen Nation), though more recently, Acumen Nation has nearly dropped all electronics in favor of a more metal sound. In Europe, some groups such as Young Gods and Swamp Terrorists would create industrial metal without live guitars, relying wholly on samplers. Several established groups adopted industrial-metal techniques around this period, either temporarily or permanently, including Skinny Puppy (on the Jourgensen-produced Rabies), Front Line Assembly, and Die Krupps.

More recently, groups like Rammstein and Oomph! have taken inspiration from electronic music as well as industrial and metal to create a new genre called Neue Deutsche Härte (New German Hardness)[citation needed] or what Rammstein describe as "Tanz-Metall" or "dance metal"[citation needed].

The influence of industrial metal has permeated throughout the heavy metal genre, with a number of bands accenting their live instrumentation with industrial programming and sampling. Fear Factory is one of the most notable, incorporating electronic elements from a very early stage and often being produced by Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly. Devin Townsend's metal band, Strapping Young Lad, also features pronounced industrial-metal aspects. Many contemporary metal/nu metal groups, drawing influences from industrial, hip hop, and electronic music, have incorporated samplers and sequencers. As a result, acts like Rob Zombie, Static-X, Powerman 5000, Monster Voodoo Machine and Dope are often, though inconsistently, included in industrial metal.

[edit] Examples of industrial metal

Some better known industrial metal bands include:

See also: List of industrial metal bands

[edit] Record labels

[edit] External links

See also: Cybergrind

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Industrial Metal. allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  2. ^ Blush, Steven (October 1997). "DANZIG - 10/97 Seconds Magazine #44".  Archived at www.The7thHouse.com.
  3. ^ YATES, Catherine. Souls of a New Machine. Kerrang! no. 871, p. 18-20, set 2001.
  4. ^ Same as the above.
  5. ^ ALEXANDER, Phil. Alien Soundtracks! Kerrang! no. 528, p. 52-3, jan 1995.


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Heavy metal
Regional scenes
Other topics
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Industrial
Post-industrial developments
Fusion genres / derivatives
Other electronic music genres