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Electro-industrial is a
music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...
that emerged from
industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...
in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound with a more experimentalExplore Music
Pop/Rock » Alternative/Indie Rock » Electro-Industrial
@ AllMusic. ''RhythmOne Group''. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
approach. The style was pioneered by
Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...
, Front Line Assembly, Numb, and other groups, either from Canada or the Benelux. In the early 1990s, the style spawned the ''dark electro'' genre, and in the mid-/late-1990s, the ''aggrotech'' offshoot.Interview with Axel Machens, Vendetta Music, 23 April 2007

Access date: 23 December 2008.
The fan base for the style is linked to the
rivethead A rivethead or rivet head is a person associated with the industrial dance music scene. In stark contrast to the original industrial culture, whose performers and heterogeneous audience were sometimes referred to as "industrialists", the rivethe ...
subculture.


Characteristics

After the EBM 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 to industrial rock, electro-industrial groups mostly avoided guitars, other than Skinny Puppy, who used electric guitar elements since the mid-'80s in songs like "
Testure "Testure" is a song by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy, taken from its 1988 album '' VIVIsectVI'' and released as a single in 1989. "Testure" was the group's first and last song to chart on '' Billboards's'' Dance Club Songs, an ...
" or " Dig It", and Numb on songs like "God Is Dead". Electro-industrial was anticipated by 1980s groups such as SPK, Die Form,
Borghesia Borghesia is a Slovenian electronic music/rock music group, created in Ljubljana (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1982. The band was formed by members of the alternative theatre group ''Theatre FV-112/15''. Borghesia created its aesthetics using th ...
,
Klinik Klinik, (sometimes called The Klinik), is an industrial music band from Belgium, originally formed around 1982 by electro-synthpop practitioner Marc Verhaeghen, who is the only constant member. History Marc Verhaeghen originally formed Klinik ...
,
Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...
,Manny Theiner, "Local Electro-industrial duo Prometheus Burning turns up the heat", ''Pittsburgh City Paper'', 29 November 2007

Access date: 24 October 2008.
Numb, and Front Line Assembly. Prominent electro-industrial groups of the 1990s include
Mentallo and the Fixer Mentallo and the Fixer (sometimes written as Mentallo & the Fixer) is the project name used by Texan electro-industrial musicians Gary Dassing (Mentallo) and Dwayne Dassing (The Fixer) from 1988 to 1999, and by Gary Dassing alone from 1999 to t ...
, Yeht Mae, Velvet Acid Christ, and Pulse Legion (U.S.); Numb and
Decoded Feedback Decoded Feedback is a Canadian musical project which incorporates styles of electro-industrial and aggrotech. The duo releases music on the North American distributor Metropolis Records, and the European record label Infacted Recordings. Histor ...
(Canada); X Marks the Pedwalk, Plastic Noise Experience, Wumpscut, Haujobb,
Forma Tadre Forma Tadre is a German electronic music project performed solo by Andreas Meyer. Forma Tadre's music spans numerous styles, from darkwave / Neue Deutsche Welle to industrial / EBM to ambient. History Forma Tadre began as a three-piece band in 19 ...
, KMFDM, Putrefy Factor 7, and Abortive Gasp (Germany); Leæther Strip (Denmark); and early
Hocico Hocico () is a Mexican electro-industrial duo that was formed in 1993 in Mexico City. History Hocico was officially formed in 1993 by cousins Erik Garcia (aka Erk Aicrag) and Oscar Mayorga (aka Racso Agroyam), with Erik writing lyrics and perfo ...
, Cenobita, and
Amduscia Amduscia is a Mexican aggrotech band from Mexico City consisting of Polo Acevedo (vocals, lyrics, sampling), Raul Montelongo, and Adrian Ruiz. History and origin of name Amduscia was founded in 1999 in Mexico City. However in March 2010, Edgar Ac ...
(Mexico). Since the mid-1990s, some electro-industrial groups added guitars and became associated with
industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...
; other groups, e. g.
Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...
, Download, Gridlock, and Haujobb, have incorporated elements of experimental electronic music styles like
drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
, IDM, glitch, and other electronica genres.


Conceptual elements

Electro-industrial groups tend to feature themes of control,
dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
, and science fiction. Electro-industrial groups sometimes take aesthetic inspiration from
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
s, including '' The Exorcist'' and the work of Roman Polanski,Tim DiGravina, Bites review, Allmusic. [] Access date: 23 December 2008. and the science fiction films ''Blade Runner'' and ''Alien (franchise), Alien''.


Derivatives


Dark electro

Dark electro is a similar style, developed in the early 1990s in central Europe. The term describes groups such as
yelworC yelworC was an electro-industrial band from Germany. The group was formed in 1987 by Peter Devin and Oliver Büttner (a.k.a. Dominik van Reich). Their name is derived from the name of Aleister Crowley, and their music reflects themes of dark m ...
and Placebo Effect, and was first used in December 1992 with the album announcement of ''Brainstorming'', yelworC's debut.Zillo Music Magazine · Issue No. 12/92 · Album announcement of "Brainstorming" · Pages 43 · Germany · December 1992. The term was repeated in a review of the same album in Zillo Music Magazine · Issue No. 2/93 · Review of the album "Brainstorming" · Pages 49 · Germany · February 1993. The style was inspired by the music of
The Klinik Klinik, (sometimes called The Klinik), is an industrial music band from Belgium, originally formed around 1982 by electro-synthpop practitioner Marc Verhaeghen, who is the only constant member. History Marc Verhaeghen originally formed Klinik ...
and
Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...
. Compositions included gothic horror soundscapes, occult themes, and grunts or distorted vocals. yelworC were a music group from Munich, formed in 1988. They laid the foundations of the dark electro movement in the early 1990s, and were the first artist on the German label Celtic Circle Productions. In subsequent years, dark electro was displaced by techno-influenced styles such as aggrotech and futurepop. Other groups to practice the style included amGod, Trial, early
Evil's Toy T.O.Y. (Trademark of Youth) is a German futurepop/synthpop band headed by Volker Lutz. The project originated as electro-industrial band Evils Toy until a change in membership and sound style precipitated the rebranding in the year 2000. Histo ...
, Mortal Constraint, Arcana Obscura, Splatter Squall, Seven Trees, Tri-State, and Ice Ages.


Aggrotech

Aggrotech (also known as Terror EBM and hellektro) is a derivative form of dark-electro with a strong influence from industrial hardcore (straight techno bassdrum from
Roland TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to sy ...
and oscillator sounds, especially
Supersaw The Roland JP-8000 is an analog modeling synthesizer released by the Roland Corporation in 1996. Overview The Roland JP-8000 was released in early 1997 as part of the first wave of virtual analog modeling synthesizers (VA synths). Others fro ...
leads from
Roland JP-8000 The Roland JP-8000 is an analog modeling synthesizer released by the Roland Corporation in 1996. Overview The Roland JP-8000 was released in early 1997 as part of the first wave of virtual analog modeling synthesizers (VA synths). Others fro ...
) that first surfaced in the mid-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 include
Agonoize Agonoize is a German aggrotech band consisting of Mike Johnson (composition, programming, production and mastering), Oliver Senger (composition and programming) and Chris L (lyrics and vocals). The band's 2005 EP, ''Evil Gets an Upgrade'', peaked ...
, Alien Vampires,
Amduscia Amduscia is a Mexican aggrotech band from Mexico City consisting of Polo Acevedo (vocals, lyrics, sampling), Raul Montelongo, and Adrian Ruiz. History and origin of name Amduscia was founded in 1999 in Mexico City. However in March 2010, Edgar Ac ...
,
Bestias De Asalto Bestias De Asalto is an industrial- electro band from Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the s ...
, Cenobita,
Chiasm Chiasm may refer to: * ''Chiasm'' (musical project), an electronic music project by Emileigh Rohn * Chiasm (anatomy), an X-shaped structure produced by the crossing over of the fibers, with the prefix chiasm- means cross examples include: ** A ne ...
, Die Sektor,
Combichrist Combichrist is an American aggrotech / industrial metal band formed in 2003 by Norwegian vocalist Andy LaPlegua, who also founded the bands Icon of Coil, Panzer AG, Scandinavian Cock and Scandy. Combichrist was formed in Atlanta, Georgia and is ...
, Dawn of Ashes,
Detroit Diesel Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) is an American diesel engine manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck North America, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the mulitinational Da ...
, Dulce Liquido, DYM,
Feindflug is a German electro-industrial band founded in 1995 by DJ Felix and DJ Banane. Translated, ''der Feindflug'' (literally "the foe-flight") corresponds in military use to the French/English word "sortie". Style and themes Feindflug's music i ...
,
God Module God Module is an American dark electronic band founded in 1999 from Orlando, Florida. Since 2006 they have been based out of Washington state. God Module is currently signed to Metropolis Records. History God Module was formed in 1999 by Jasy ...
,
Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem '' Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by a ...
,
Hocico Hocico () is a Mexican electro-industrial duo that was formed in 1993 in Mexico City. History Hocico was officially formed in 1993 by cousins Erik Garcia (aka Erk Aicrag) and Oscar Mayorga (aka Racso Agroyam), with Erik writing lyrics and perfo ...
,
iVardensphere iVardensphere is a Canadian band that plays a mixture of tribal-tinged industrial, EBM and power noise music, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. History On June 16, 2009 via Synthetic Sounds the band released their full-length album titled ' ...
,
Nachtmahr Nachtmahr is the solo project of Thomas Rainer (also known for his other projects: L'Âme Immortelle and the now defunct Siechtum). Nachtmahr's musical style is best characterized as Techno Body Music. History In September 2007, Nachtmahr had its ...
, Machine Sonata,
Panic Lift Panic Lift is an electro-industrial band from Newark, New Jersey, comprising James Francis on vocals, Dan Platt on keyboards, Ben Tourkantonis on drums, Cristian Carver on guitars and Justice Burke on bass. Reception Panic Lift's second album ...
, Psyclon Nine, Reaper,
Suicide Commando Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial music act formed by Johan Van Roy in 1986. For live shows, it consists of Van Roy himself on vocals, Torben Schmidt on keyboards, and Mario Vaerewijck on drums. History Van Roy began experime ...
, Tactical Sekt,
Tamtrum Tamtrum was an Aggrotech duo from Aix-en-Provence (France), composed of artists Benoit XVI and Sylvicious. They released many singles on many different compilation albums such as ''Cyberlab Volume 5.0''. The friendship of Benoit and Sylvicious ...
,
The Retrosic The Retrosic is a German electro-industrial project. History The Retrosic project was born in April 2001 with the release of the debut ''Prophecy''. The Retrosic's second release, ''Messa da Requiem'', reached the top of the Deutsche Alternativ ...
,
Ritual Aesthetic Ritual Aesthetic is an American industrial band founded in 2013 based in Denver, Colorado, United States. History Ritual Aesthetic began in 2013 as the solo project of Sean Ragan who was then drumming for Metropolis Records industrial horror out ...
, Unter Null,
Virtual Embrace Virtual Embrace is an aggrotech band from Berlin, Germany formed by Mike Johnson (a current member of Agonoize, Sero.Overdose, and Infekktion) and DJ CyberChrist. Their first release was ''Roots of Evil'' EP in 2004 and became successful. Influ ...
, and
X-Fusion X-Fusion is a solo electronic music project by German musician, producer and DJ, Jan Loamfield known as Jan L.. Loamfield began releasing acid house tracks in 1988, and by 2000, had moved to harsh industrial/aggrotech. Loamfield has also released ...
, among many.


See also

*
List of industrial music festivals The following is an incomplete list of industrial music festivals, which encapsulates music festivals focused on industrial music. The list may have some overlap with list of electronic music festivals, list of gothic festivals, and list of hea ...
*
List of electro-industrial bands This is a list of bands that play electro-industrial and its subgenres: dark electro, aggrotech, and power noise. !? * SITD:* :wumpscut: 0–9 *3Teeth A *A Split Second * à;GRUMH... * Accessory *Advanced Art *Aesthetic Perfection * Ago ...


References

{{Electronica Industrial music Electronic music genres de:Electro (Sammelbezeichnung)#Electro-Industrial