User:Ridernyc/industral rock

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Industrial Rock is a musical genre that fuses Industrial Music and specific Rock subgenres such as Punk, Oi!, Hardcore and later on Hard Rock. Industrial Rock spawned Industrial Metal and is frequently confused with the latter.

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.

One characteristic that distinguishes Industrial Rock from its non-Industrial counterpart is the incorporation of sounds commonly associated with machinery and industry. The incorporation of this sound palette was pioneered by the early 1980s "Metal Music" artists (SPK, Einstürzende Neubauten, Die Krupps, Test Dept, Z'ev and others), who practiced an Industrial Music variation that relied heavily on Metal percussion, generally made with pipes, tubes and other products of industrial waste. The psychological effect was symbolic of urban decay.

Both the music and the lyrics of Industrial Rock are commonly presented in a manner that some listeners might find unsettling. Many bands produce and release their own records, honoring the DIY credo. A combination of the elements above can be seen in a handful of post-punk purveyors: Chrome, Killing Joke, Laibach, The Swans and Big Black.

In his introduction for the Industrial Culture Handbook (1983), Jon Savage considered some hallmarks of the Industrial Music genre: organizational autonomy, shock tactics and the use of synthesizers and "anti-music". Furthermore, a "special interest" in the investigation of "cults, wars, psychological techniques of persuasion, unusual murders (especially by children and psychopaths), forensic pathology, venereology, concentration camp behavior, the history of uniforms and insignia" and "Aleister Crowley's magick" was present on Throbbing Gristle's work, as well as in other Industrial pioneers.

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. Within a few years, many other musical performers were incorporating industrial-musical elements into a variety of musical styles. Many post-punk performers were early adopters of Industrial Music's techniques. Pere Ubu's debut (The Modern Dance, 1978), for example, was tagged "Industrial" ; it probably was the first rock record to be called such, even though Ubu's warped Rock 'n' roll was hardly the only one to make parallels with Industrial Music's nihilistic sonic science. PIL's early "death-disco" records were close in spirit to Industrial. So was San Francisco's Chrome, which melded Jimi Hendrix, The Sex Pistols and tape music experiments ; or Killing Joke, considered by Simon Reynolds as "a post-punk version of Heavy Metal".

Others followed in their wake. The NYC band Swans were inspired by the local No Wave scene as well as Punk rock (Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols), Noise (Whitehouse) and the original purveyors of Industrial Music - Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and SPK. Steve Albini's Big Black followed a similar path, adding American Hardcore (Minor Threat, Black Flag) and Oi! (Skrewdriver) to the mix. There was also Swiss industrialmeisters The Young Gods, who ditched guitars in favor of a sampler.

Mainstream Breakthrough
Industrial Rock's first commercial success might be attributed to Killing Joke's 1985 album, Night Time. It won a silver sales certificate (60,000+ in sales) by the BPI on the strength of its four hits, including club favorite "Love Like Blood" and "Eighties".

Industrial Rock's true commercial breakthrough, though, came through Industrial Metal's early leading lights: Ministry and Nine Inch Nails. NIN's 1992 EP Broken hit the platinum mark in America and so did Ministry's Psalm 69. Both groups participated in the Grammy's 1992 Best Metal Performance category (NIN won ). NIN went on the win another Grammy and four more nominations. Trent Reznor was also chosen by Time as one of the most influential Americans in 1997.

Industrial Rock reached its commercial peak in the latter half of the 1990s. According to the RIAA databases, its top-selling artists, together, shifted around 17,5 million units. Other style-related groups gained recognition from the mainstream, being nominated for the Grammys: Rammstein, Marilyn Manson, White Zombie, and Spineshank. Sales were still going strong throughout 2000-2005; at least 10 million records were sold during that timeframe.

The Decline in America
While Industrial Rock was riding high on the American charts of the late 1990s and early 2000s, specific quarters of the music press were mounting a backlash against the genre. This attitude is best represented by well-known music critic Jim DeRogatis. In a controversial April 2000 review for the Chicago Sun Times, DeRogatis dismissed NIN's new music as a "generic brand of industrial thrash" and accused Ministry of still repeating an act that "was old by 1992". Oddly enough, in the said review DeRogatis considered The Fragile a "commercial flop". A strange thought indeed for a double-album that reached the top spot of the Billboard 200 and went on to earn a Double Platinum status and was later named by Spin as "Album of the Year".

A myriad of other reasons support Jim DeRogatis's line of thinking:


 * The acrimonius break-ups of important Industrial groups in the mid-1990s, such as Nitzer Ebb and Skinny Puppy.
 * Veteran Industrial Rock artists (Ministry, Godflesh, Nine Inch Nails) and newcomers alike (White Zombie) balking at the "i-word" tag.
 * America's electronica craze, starting in 1997. Many critics that championed Alternative Rock in the early 1990s now turned their hyping skills toward the dance music craze coming from England . Despite all the hype surrounding it, electronica was unable to out-sell Industrial Rock.

Recent controversial assessments of Industrial Rock include a recent interview with Skinny Puppy conducted by Matt Child. A scathing excerpt condemns the genre as simply plagiarizing earlier influences:

"Industrial music -- or whatever it is we're calling that convergence of electronic elements, big guitars and punk's troublemaking spirit these days -- has got a bad rap. Admittedly, a lot of it's deserved: Most of today's rivet-heads are content to simply plagiarize Ministry and KMFDM riffs, pack a few heavy beats behind the noise and round out the package with a few samples and a few electronic bleeps pulled from the latest software plug-in. It's probably pretty engaging and energizing if you're the type who walks around in a long, black trench-coat visualizing public-space massacres. For everyone else, sadly, it's just another sad, tired offshoot of metal that has its moments now and then.".

The Boom in Europe
Parallel to the "i-rock" decline in North America, Europe belched forth its own brand of electro-metal. Germany's Neue Deutsche Härte, in particular, has had success in continental Europe. Its leading light, Rammstein, has sold nearly 4 million records in Germany alone, while racking up gold (and platinum) records in Sweden , Austria , Belgium , the Netherlands , Switzerland , Denmark , Norway , Poland and the Czech Republic.

Other like-minded German musicians have climbed the charts as well. Neue Deutsche Härte pioneers Oomph! have achieved a gold record for their Augen Auf! (2004) single. Eisbrecher's debut entered at #13 on the Deutschen Alternative Top 20 Chart, while the group's second album (Antikörper, 2006) reached the #85 position on the German main chart.

Another born and bred European variation of Industrial Rock, "Cyber-metal" - led by Scandinavian acts such as Deathstars and The Kovenant - has met with some underground success. Termination Bliss (2006), the second Deathstars album, landed on #87 in the German Media Control Chart. They have toured with goth metal superstars Paradise Lost and Lacuna Coil; in September 2007, they were the opening act of Korn's European tour. The Norwegian horror rockers Gothminister released their debut single "Angel" which entered at #10 on the Deutschen Alternative Top 20 Chart. "Monsters" reached a peak position at #11. The Kovenant won two Spellemann awards, the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammys.

Artists

 * List of industrial rock bands

Labels

 * Cleopatra Records
 * East Meets West Records
 * Invisible Records
 * Metropolis Records
 * Nothing Records
 * Slipdisc Records
 * Wax Trax! Records
 * Vinema Records

Sales & Awards
The template above re-directs to a page dedicated exclusively to the awards (Grammys, MTV Video Music Awards) and certifications (IFPI, RIAA, CRIA) given to Industrial Rock groups.