| Electro-industrial | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early 1980s; Belgium, Canada, France, and Germany |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
Electro-industrial is asubgenre ofpost-industrial music that emerged in the early 1980s. It was originally pioneered by acts such asFront 242,Cabaret Voltaire,Front Line Assembly,Klinik,Numb, as well as groups from Canada and theBenelux.
Other influential acts included Canadian bandSkinny Puppy, who signed to labelNettwerk, which served as a central hub that helped proliferate the style. By the early 1990s, electro-industrial spawned thedark electro genre, and later theaggrotech offshoot. The fan base for the style is linked to therivethead subculture.[1]
After theEBM (electronic body music) movement faded in the early 1990s, electro-industrial increasingly attained popularity in the international club scene. In contrast to the straight EBM style, electro-industrial groups use harsher beats and raspy, distorted, or digitized vocals. In contrast toindustrial rock, electro-industrial groups mostly avoided guitars, other than Skinny Puppy, who used electric guitar elements since the mid-'80s in songs like "Testure" or "Dig It",[2] andNumb on songs like "God Is Dead".[3][4] While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound with a more experimental approach.
Electro-industrial was anticipated by 1980s groups such asSPK,[1][5]Die Form,Test Dept,Borghesia,Klinik,Cabaret Voltaire,Front 242,Skinny Puppy,[6][7]Numb,[3] andFront Line Assembly.[7][8]
Prominent electro-industrial groups of the 1990s includeMentallo and the Fixer,Nine Inch Nails,Yeht Mae,Velvet Acid Christ, and Pulse Legion (U.S.);[9]Numb andDecoded Feedback[10] (Canada);X Marks the Pedwalk, Plastic Noise Experience,Wumpscut,[11][12][13]Haujobb,[14]Forma Tadre,KMFDM, Putrefy Factor 7, and Abortive Gasp[15] (Germany);Leæther Strip[16] (Denmark);[17] and earlyHocico,Cenobita, andAmduscia (Mexico).
Since the mid-1990s, some electro-industrial groups added guitars and became associated withindustrial metal; other groups, e. g.Skinny Puppy,Download,Gridlock, and Haujobb, have incorporated elements of experimental electronic music styles likedrum and bass,IDM,glitch, and other electronica genres.
Electro-industrial groups tend to feature themes of control,dystopia, andscience fiction. Electro-industrial groups sometimes take aesthetic inspiration fromhorror films, includingThe Exorcist[18] and the work ofRoman Polanski,[19] and thescience fiction filmsBlade Runner andAlien.
Dark electro is a subgenre of electro-industrial, developed in the early 1990s in central Europe. The term describes groups such asyelworC[20] andPlacebo Effect,[1] and was first used in December 1992 with the album announcement ofBrainstorming, yelworC's debut.[21] The style was inspired by the music ofThe Klinik andSkinny Puppy. Compositions included gothic horror soundscapes, occult themes, and grunts or distorted vocals. yelworC were a music group fromMunich, formed in 1988. They laid the foundations of the dark electro movement in the early 1990s, and were the first artist on the German labelCeltic Circle Productions. In subsequent years, dark electro was displaced bytechno-influenced styles such asaggrotech andfuturepop.[1] Other groups to practice the style included amGod, Trial, earlyEvil's Toy, Mortal Constraint, Arcana Obscura, Splatter Squall, Seven Trees, Tri-State, andIce Ages.
Aggrotech (also known ashellektro andaggrotek)[1] is a derivative form of dark-electro with a strong influence fromindustrial hardcore (straighttechno bassdrum fromRoland TR-909 and oscillator sounds, especiallySupersaw leads fromRoland JP-8000) that first surfaced in the mid- to late-1990s.
Aggrotech typically employs aggressive beats, prominent lead synth lines, and lyrics of a dark nature. Often, vocals are distorted and pitch-shifted to sound harsh and synthetic; static and glitching effects are also added. Aggrotech musicians includeAgonoize,Amduscia, Bestias De Asalto,Combichrist,Dawn of Ashes,Detroit Diesel,Feindflug,God Module,Grendel,Hocico,iVardensphere,Nachtmahr,Panic Lift,Psyclon Nine,Reaper,Suicide Commando,The Retrosic,Ritual Aesthetic,Unter Null,Virtual Embrace, andX-Fusion, among many.