killing joke

Initial Descent: October 23’s New Releases in Brief

Dan1 Comment

vhol band

Hey, a wild Friday appeared! Some good stuff dropping this week — and I wonder how many more Fridays we’ll be able to say that about in 2015. (Bear in mind, there are only nine more!) But let’s not waste any more time here. VHÖL leads us off this week, but here’s what else we’ve got on tap:
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Subgenre of the Week: Industrial Metal

CoreyLeave a comment

Metal Monday to everyone! It’s a new week and thus it’s time for a new Subgenre of the Week here on the Horns Up blog. So without further ado, let’s get right into this edition: Industrial Metal.

Berlin's Rammstein - one of the genre's best loved live acts.
Berlin’s Rammstein – one of the genre’s best loved live acts.

Industrial metal, per our friends at Wikipedia, is:

A musical genre that draws from industrial dance music, thrash metal and hardcore punk, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals.

Drawing initially from more experimental English bands like Throbbing Gristle and Killing Joke, the industrial movement attracted pioneers from a wide range of backgrounds–Godflesh founder Justin Broadrick came from grindcore heroes Napalm Death, for example, while Ministry’s Al Jourgensen came from more of a synthpop background. (No, really. Check out the band’s first album, With Sympathy, if you don’t believe us.) By the late 1980s, the genre had begun to take hold all over the place, from the UK (Godflesh, Pitchshifter) to Germany (KMFDM) and even the US (Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie).

Industrial hit its commercial peak in the early ’90s, with Nine Inch Nails and Ministry going platinum and picking up Grammy Award nominations. Next-gen bands like Fear Factory, Rammstein and Marilyn Manson attracted even broader audiences to the genre (so, too, did Orgy and Static-X, unfortunately)–so much so that even tired ’80s metal acts like Guns ‘N Roses and Mötley Crüe decided to get in on the fun, with disastrous results. Naturally, the increased exposure brought on a heavy backlash from critics and genre forefathers alike, but the genre continues to power on today, with bands like Stoneman and the Hypocrisy side-project Pain leading the charge. And in this week’s playlist, we’ve put together a little bit of everything for you to digest:

Dan’s Tracks:

  • Godflesh – “Christbait Rising”
  • KMFDM – “Juke Joint Jezebel”
  • Nine Inch Nails – “Head Like a Hole”
  • Fear Factory – “Self Bias Resistor”
  • Ministry – “Jesus Built My Hotrod”

Corey’s Tracks:

  • Rammstein – “Du Hast”
  • Stoneman – “Mord ist Kunst”
  • Pain – “Monkey Business”
  • Marilyn Manson – “(s)AINT”
  • White Zombie – “Real Solution #9”

Check it out below and start getting yourself up to speed on industrial metal!

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Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.