solipsistic NATION No. 27: Industrial Strength

Industrial music’s roots go back to the Futurims movement with works like Luigi Russolo‘s The Art of Noises and later in composer Edgard Varèse‘s Poème Électronique.

In the 1970s bands like Throbbing Gristle and NON utilized tape editing, stark percussion, and loops to create their dark and distorted music. Bands like Cabaret Voltaire and SPK adopted these elements into their own work, often mixing repeating samples of speeches and dialogue from movies and speeches into their music.

What most people now consider industrial music came from Ministry. For better or worse, Ministry left their stamp on the genre with a sonic barrage of distorted drum machines and bludgeoning guitars. While I love Skinny Puppy and their nightmarish soundscapes it’s easy to understand why so many bands followed Ministry’s lead. Not only is the music dark and aggressive but you can also thrash about in a mosh pit. It is this subgenre of industrial music that inspired today’s show.