10 Classic Industrial Albums for People Who Don’t Know Shit About Industrial Music

Ojai Sam

Ojai Sam

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Our local alternative newspaper has always had a strong music section. One long-running feature is the "Don't Know Shit" series. This week's installment caught my eye as I certainly qualify for the target audience when it comes to industrial music. So, I'll post the ten albums and invite those of us who do know shit to add their insight.

Spotify playlist is here:

 
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10. Throbbing Gristle - The Second Annual Report (1977)


LA Weekly sez:

Besides maybe the Sex Pistols, few bands had such a massive impact in such a short lifespan as Hull, England’s Throbbing Gristle. Between 1976 and ’81, they essentially invented industrial music as we know it today. Sure, influences arrived from elsewhere (Suicide and Kraftwerk, to name just two), but it was the experimental, captivating and dark-to-the-point-of-disturbing approach of Throbbing Gristle that would encourage artists in cities as far-flung as Chicago, Berlin and Birmingham (England) to tear up music’s rulebook regarding structure, melody and production. The Second Annual Report (the first being a bootleg album) is a perfect illustration of what makes them special. Frankly, it’s terrifying, and way ahead of its time. The band re-formed in 2004 for another stab, but they never rose to these heights again.
 
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9. Skinny Puppy - VIVIsectVI (1988)


LA Weekly sez:

Formed in Canada in 1982, Skinny Puppy were certainly among those paying attention to Throbbing Gristle. Where TG were sparse, though, Skinny Puppy were intent on filling out the sound a little more. In Ogre, the band had a phenomenal frontman capable of both charming and terrifying crowds, years before Marilyn Manson played the same cards. The early Puppy albums are fantastic and important, but by the fourth, 1988’s VIVIsectVI, the group had really hit their stride. Sinister and threatening, the production is genre-defining in that the drum effects truly sound like they were recorded on an assembly line. There are also several tremendously effective uses of samples from movies, including The Evil Dead II and The Tenant.
 
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8. Ministry - The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste (1989)


LA Weekly sez:

There can be no list of industrial albums, songs or bands without including Ministry. Not only were Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker involved with the seminal Wax Trax! label in their native Chicago, but Ministry were heavily influential in taking industrial music to metal audiences (for better or worse) along with Nine Inch Nails, leading to the likes of Fear Factory, Spineshank, Static-X, White Zombie and more down the line. There’s no doubting Ministry’s impact. But then the problem is, which Ministry album to choose? Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs was the commercial hit, including surprise singles like “Jesus Built My Hotrod,” but the pure aggression on the preceding The Mind, balanced with some beautiful melodies on songs such as “Thieves,” makes it vital.
 
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Well, here is Einstuerzenden Neubauten's first album, via Youtube. They took industrial to en extreme. And for them, Industrial meant finding instruments in Industrial settings. Not as much noise as reality. Need instruments for your show? Hit the local dump and find "instruments" that you can beat on and bang to make music. Drum sticks on an old radiator? We've got drums! Strum across old bed springs on a mattress? We've got rhythm guitar! Industrial? I think these guys started it. And they are from Berlin. Surprise! I find it interesting!!

Check out their first:
 
Nickyboy said:
Need instruments for your show? Hit the local dump and find "instruments" that you can beat on and bang to make music. Drum sticks on an old radiator? We've got drums! Strum across old bed springs on a mattress? We've got rhythm guitar!
Click to expand...

Sounds like Spike Jones! :thumbsup:

Gotta check this out. Thanks, @Nickyboy ! :cheer:

This one is actually on the 1001 Albums You Must Hear list popularized by @Zeeba Neighba at the old site.
 
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7. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (1989)


LA Weekly sez:

If you're thinking, "Hold on a minute — surely The Downward Spiral is the NIN masterpiece," then we happen to agree. But the impact that Pretty Hate Machine had upon its release mustn't be ignored. Suddenly, this formerly underground industrial band was touring stadiums around the world with a Use Your Illusion–era Guns N’ Roses. The standout "Head Like a Hole" could be heard pumping at metal clubs alongside Metallica and Mötley Crüe, and things were changed. Even after reaching mega-stardom, Trent Reznor remained rooted in the industrial world, and his influence stretched to him producing Marilyn Manson's breakthrough album. Though purists sometimes scoff at NIN, there's no denying they had a lot to do with how industrial music is perceived today.
 
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6. Sheep on Drugs - Greatest Hits (1993)


LA Weekly sez:

There are those industrial-influenced metal bands and, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are those bands coming from a purely electronic place. British duo Sheep on Drugs are among the latter. They were initially considered a part of the early-’90s rave scene, but there was just enough sleazy rock and twisted punk in their hard techno to attract industrial fans as that scene began to blossom in the U.K. The Greatest Hits album is actually their debut studio effort.

Note: Greatest Hits is not on Spotify but Best of a Bad Bunch covers much the same territory.
 
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5. Godflesh - Streetcleaner (1989)


LA Weekly sez:

Arguably the heaviest band on this list, Godflesh (another British band) were formed in Birmingham in the late ’80s by Justin Broadrick, who had previously been a member of Brummie grindcore heroes Napalm Death. True to Broadrick’s form, he took what was happening with electronic music in the U.K. at the time and melded it with his own brutal sensibilities. The results, particularly on debut album Streetcleaner, were mind-melting. Streetcleaner remains beloved by metal and industrial fans alike: In 2000, Kerrang! placed it at No. 5 on a list of the best industrial albums while, in 2017, Rolling Stone placed it at No. 64 on "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time."
 
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4. KMFDM - Naive (1990)


LA Weekly sez:

Originally formed in Hamburg, Germany, in 1984 as a performance-art project for Sascha Konietzko, KMFDM now have 20 albums in their discography, and not one of them is terrible. Any of the early albums could have made this list, as they worked with Wax Trax! in Chicago to help forge a scene in this country. But Naive is a gem. There's a pop and R&B swing to the title track that, when placed alongside a project like Godflesh, illustrates just how far-reaching this genre can be. KMFDM always used female vocals alongside Konietzko's croak beautifully, and they continue to do so. Take a listen to this year’s Hell Yeah album, too. Bonus: They’ll be in L.A. later this month, co-headlining the new Cloak & Dagger Festival in downtown L.A.

I suspect @Nickyboy might like this one.
 
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3. Front Line Assembly - Tactical Neural Implant (1992)


LA Weekly sez:

Vancouver, unlike Chicago and Berlin, doesn't always get the props it deserves when discussing the roots of industrial music. Front Line Assembly formed in 1986 when Bill Leeb left fellow Vancouver band Skinny Puppy to start his own group, and these guys have gone on to a stellar career. 1992's Tactical Neural Implant is inarguably their most complete album — by this time, the group had found their sound and the record features some of FLA's best songs. It's also their most accessible, which might annoy longtime fans. But there's nothing lightweight about the record; its dark, techno-inspired beats pulse, filled with scattered samples, while Leeb purrs his way through it.
 
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I love this one.

:nom: :nom: :nom: :blech!:

Ojai Sam said:
8. Ministry - The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste (1989)


LA Weekly sez:

There can be no list of industrial albums, songs or bands without including Ministry. Not only were Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker involved with the seminal Wax Trax! label in their native Chicago, but Ministry were heavily influential in taking industrial music to metal audiences (for better or worse) along with Nine Inch Nails, leading to the likes of Fear Factory, Spineshank, Static-X, White Zombie and more down the line. There’s no doubting Ministry’s impact. But then the problem is, which Ministry album to choose? Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs was the commercial hit, including surprise singles like “Jesus Built My Hotrod,” but the pure aggression on the preceding The Mind, balanced with some beautiful melodies on songs such as “Thieves,” makes it vital.
Click to expand...
 
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