For years I’ve argued with people on whether industrial is “dead” or not, mostly because I feel that a genre doesn’t die just because an individual does not enjoy what it has evolved into. Industrial is not dead, and it likely never will be, any more than hip hop, rock, or any other form of music will be. Musical evolution may take a genre you like into a direction you do not, but it’s pretty arrogant to assert that a genre becomes deceased just because you don’t like it anymore.
In the interest of maintaining this stance, I will consciously avoid saying that industrial is dead, but will admit that I do roll my eyes pretty damn hard at what it’s become. I am finally just plain sick and tired of the cookie-cutter formulas, the albums that are indistinguishable from one another, the rotation of micro-genre trends, the lack of experimentalism and the ever-growing obsession with transporting the ideals of pop success onto the genre. The problem isn’t whether industrial as a musical genre is on even footing sales-wise or not; that albums are being sold at all in the current music industry climate is telling in and of itself. In my opinion, the biggest complaint you could make of industrial is its increasing sterilization of risk-taking. I’ve heard it said by some artists in the genre that the term “interesting” when applied to a musical release is code for, “not going to sell well.” I think that terminology is a shame, simply because I find it distasteful when lucrative potential outranks creative effort for many artists.
Still, if you are interested in music that shares a lot of traits with industrial (specifically first wave EBM and the experimentalism of very early industrial) without being caged by the growing drive to turn the genre into a profit monster, there is a burgeoning movement you may be interested. On one hand, there is a sound typified by a return to the new beat sound that came out of Belgium in the ’80s and early ’90s, a genre which bridged the gap between EBM and acid house; on the other, a more understated, less dance-oriented movement known by genre names such as “witch house,” which seems to be more influenced by first wave industrial, as well as goth and shoegaze. Superficially this collective movement seems to be one fueled by a reassessment of the old industrial sounds, but a reassessment being made by people who have not been involved in the related scenes at large.
That factor is important; the problem with a long-standing musically-related social scene is the same as the problem with any closed-loop, myopically-defined clique. The commonality of a relatively small set of interests being the basis for social association does not leave much hope for the associated genre to remain vital and dynamic. Since the clique in question has created a consensus identification model for itself based on music, style of dress, and so on, it is difficult for people unwilling to subscribe to this identification model to endear themselves to the clique. Some creativity might be encouraged (surely there is creativity in the modern industrial club attire, even if it does make people look like they’ve seen Tron or Blade Runner too many times), but only within a specific set of boundaries. You might be incredibly well-versed in industrial music and possess a keen, nuanced appreciation for it, but if do something as superficially meaningless as set foot in an industrial club dressed in attire that deviates too far from the accepted norm, you’re likely to receive nothing but passive-aggressive shunning.
In the same theme of my earlier tangents on sexism, I’m not about to make the claim that industrial has the market cornered on unconscious enforcement of conformity. However, if you’re like me and you’re tired of the consensus reality that has created such a problem, the growing influence of industrial on musicians who reside outside of the scene becomes more and more attractive. Since it is just now beginning to take form, now is a pretty golden opportunity to get in while the getting is good, as it were, and take part in something that most contemporary industrial fans did not have the opportunity to experience: seeing the birth of a risky, experimental genre.
Below are some artists you should check out:
Total Accomplishment
Gatekeeper
oOoOO
White Ring
//TENSE//
Raytrace
White Car
Note that a lot of it does not have club appeal, but I’m not of the opinion that club appeal is a particularly valid metric of value when it comes to music. Even if it is for you, I encourage you to check these bands out, as it may well be something that turns your head. I for one am excited to find that this scene is growing, and I’m looking forward to seeing what potential it holds.
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For years I’ve argued with people on whether industrial is “dead” or not, mostly because I feel that a genre doesn’t die just because an individual does not enjoy what it has evolved into. Industrial is not dead, and it likely never will be, any more than hip hop, rock, or any other form of music will be. Musical evolution may take a genre you like into a direction you do not, but it’s pretty arrogant to assert that a genre becomes deceased just because you don’t like it anymore.
In the interest of maintaining this stance, I will consciously avoid saying that industrial is dead, but will admit that I do roll my eyes pretty damn hard at what it’s become. I am finally just plain sick and tired of the cookie-cutter formulas, the albums that are indistinguishable from one another, the rotation of micro-genre trends, the lack of experimentalism and the ever-growing obsession with transporting the ideals of pop success onto the genre. The problem isn’t whether industrial as a musical genre is on even footing sales-wise or not; that albums are being sold at all in the current music industry climate is telling in and of itself. In my opinion, the biggest complaint you could make of industrial is its increasing sterilization of risk-taking. I’ve heard it said by some artists in the genre that the term “interesting” when applied to a musical release is code for, “not going to sell well.” I think that terminology is a shame, simply because I find it distasteful when lucrative potential outranks creative effort for many artists.
Still, if you are interested in music that shares a lot of traits with industrial (specifically first wave EBM and the experimentalism of very early industrial) without being caged by the growing drive to turn the genre into a profit monster, there is a burgeoning movement you may be interested. On one hand, there is a sound typified by a return to the new beat sound that came out of Belgium in the ’80s and early ’90s, a genre which bridged the gap between EBM and acid house; on the other, a more understated, less dance-oriented movement known by genre names such as “witch house,” which seems to be more influenced by first wave industrial, as well as goth and shoegaze. Superficially this collective movement seems to be one fueled by a reassessment of the old industrial sounds, but a reassessment being made by people who have not been involved in the related scenes at large.
That factor is important; the problem with a long-standing musically-related social scene is the same as the problem with any closed-loop, myopically-defined clique. The commonality of a relatively small set of interests being the basis for social association does not leave much hope for the associated genre to remain vital and dynamic. Since the clique in question has created a consensus identification model for itself based on music, style of dress, and so on, it is difficult for people unwilling to subscribe to this identification model to endear themselves to the clique. Some creativity might be encouraged (surely there is creativity in the modern industrial club attire, even if it does make people look like they’ve seen Tron or Blade Runner too many times), but only within a specific set of boundaries. You might be incredibly well-versed in industrial music and possess a keen, nuanced appreciation for it, but if do something as superficially meaningless as set foot in an industrial club dressed in attire that deviates too far from the accepted norm, you’re likely to receive nothing but passive-aggressive shunning.
In the same theme of my earlier tangents on sexism, I’m not about to make the claim that industrial has the market cornered on unconscious enforcement of conformity. However, if you’re like me and you’re tired of the consensus reality that has created such a problem, the growing influence of industrial on musicians who reside outside of the scene becomes more and more attractive. Since it is just now beginning to take form, now is a pretty golden opportunity to get in while the getting is good, as it were, and take part in something that most contemporary industrial fans did not have the opportunity to experience: seeing the birth of a risky, experimental genre.
Below are some artists you should check out:
Total Accomplishment
Gatekeeper
oOoOO
White Ring
//TENSE//
Raytrace
White Car
Note that a lot of it does not have club appeal, but I’m not of the opinion that club appeal is a particularly valid metric of value when it comes to music. Even if it is for you, I encourage you to check these bands out, as it may well be something that turns your head. I for one am excited to find that this scene is growing, and I’m looking forward to seeing what potential it holds.
Like this: