Industrial? Goth?
What is industrial? What is goth? The uninitiated music fan's first visual observation of these closely related genres will probably include the words "weird," "scary," and "dark." After all, the color black is used quite prominently, sorrow is an overriding theme, and most of those involved — especially on the mainstream end — are weird, scary and dark on purpose.
The entire genre is considerably wide spread, as far as variety goes. Goth and industrial are generally considered two completely different styles of music, but there are so many sub-genres that link the two, we thought doing a story on it all would be the most efficient and effective way to cover it. (In fact, there are practically as many "linking genres" as there are people in the scene!) Even the most highly respected mainstream music magazines receive criticism from people involved in various genres for not explaining and describing whatever obscure style the nitpicker happens to be a part of. Therefore, we have contacted as many people as possible who are involved in these musical species to help us out in letting you, the average reader, know about this often ignored subculture.
"Both industrial and goth can really be as unspecific as saying a band is ‘alternative' at times," says Geoffrey Grimstad, the driving force behind Industry Eleven. "I think a lot of dance and techno bands achieve what some would call industrial. For instance, the Prodigy is considered a more dance-oriented band, but the drum beats and some of the vocals seem somewhat industrial. Also, it seems like anything that is dark or kinda subdued sounding can fall under the gothic category, depending on who you talk to."
Mental Destruction's Samuel Durling has a more specific belief of what industrial is. "Everyone in the scene ‘knows' what is industrial, and what is not," he proclaims. "We were the first band that played ‘doom industrial,' and it's now a widespread genre here in Europe. Some consider bands like NIN, (Marilyn) Manson, and Ministry to be industrial, but they only use industrial elements in basic rock songs. Industrial is something else, very different from the above, with a whole new dimension added."
The bare truth is, labels are labels, and you can rarely know exactly what a band sounds like until you hear them yourself. "This happens in any genre," says Josh Pyle of Audio Paradox, who has worked with both Spyglass Blüe and Eva O., "especially if a band has a style which doesn't fit nicely into a label. Although ‘goth' and ‘industrial' may not be the best labels to throw at any particular band whose sound is reminiscent of said terms, sometimes that's just the way it works!"
"Prejudgement is a killer," expounds Tim Haase, leader of Denver-based horror/goth/industrial band Rackets & Drapes. "A problem I see in the Christian scene is that a lot of bands are referred to as a ‘Christian version of' a certain band. I wish everybody would just take a moment and realize how damaging that can be. For example, sixfeetdeep was a wonderful band, a powerful ‘on fire for God' type band. But a lot of people here in Denver didn't go see ‘em, because they don't like Pantera. And I'm like, ‘What's that got to do with sixfeetdeep?' And that takes away the credibility of their musicianship. Those guys were spreading their talents, and using them to glorify God, but they were basically robbed, because the Christian scene always wants to put bands in a box, and say, ‘Well, this is the Christian version of so & so.' Yeah, we're spooky, and we're a horror metal band, but we're not just a Christian version of another!"
Carson Pierce, of Flaming Fish Music, one of two indie labels dealing exclusively with industrial music of all kinds, reports that related sub-genres include the following: "EBM" (electronic body music) is mostly electronic and is very danceable. "Post-industrial" is a term used to refer to most of what's out there now (i.e.: Manson, Ministry, NIN, etc.), like all the stuff that isn't "true" to the original experimentations of the genre. "Traditional/true industrial" refers to old school stuff, and is closely related to "experimental" and "noise." Meanwhile, "darkwave," leans more towards goth, and is usually instrumental, with very dark undertones.
"It depends on how picky you want to be," Carson laughs, regarding the classification of sub-genres. "I've even labeled some of the stuff we've had on compilations as ‘electro-goth' because it seems to bridge the gap between electronic industrial and goth.
"I'm not a big fan of labeling bands," he continues, "but it seems that if you want a description to have any meaning at all, you have to be a little more specific than just ‘industrial.' And then with all these metal bands jumping in and using the term, it really doesn't mean anything anymore. I'm at the point now where I usually use a full sentence to label a band's sound."
Started in 1995, Flaming Fish Music was the first Christian industrial record label, and is still going strong. Projects to be released by the label include albums by The Way Sect Bloom, EnGrave, Neural Firing Squad, AutoVoice, and Cybershadow. The label is also releasing two compilations: Lethal Injection, and Awaiting the Dawn, the latter of which will be darkwave.
Another related genre is unblack metal, which is a Christian response to black metal. Black metal is basically an evolutionary progression of death metal that has had a decidedly purposeful Satanic message. The adherence of the black metal movement, predominantly located in Norway, have taken to expressing their "unfaith" by burning cathedrals and churches (some of which were centuries old). Some have even gone so far as to murder their rivals in the scene. One nameless Australian musician (not Steve Rowe) decided to do a project to reach this genre which was titled Hellig Usvart, under the moniker of Horde, which was released on Rowe Productions several years ago. To authenticate the project, the title of the album is in Norwegian, and the song titles refer to ritualistic imagery (like, "Release and Clothe the Virgin Sacrifice," and "Invert the Inverted Cross"). To spoof one of the fallen leaders of the genre, Eronymous, this artist called himself Anonymous.
To some, a story on the goth/industrial scene may seem like old news. After all, It's been over a year since the white-faced Marilyn Manson started appearing on the covers of every mainstream music publication in existence. But only now are these genres accounted for in such numbers.
Several large industrial compilations have come out in recent years: Electro-Shock Therapy, on REX in 1995 (which Flaming Fish's Carson Pierce put together), Flaming Fish's Full Frontal Lobotomy in early ‘97, as well as the first of a series of compilations Blacklight Records is putting together, called Escape the Furnace.
As well, a number of goth, or semi-goth bands are popping up. Also, Saviour Machine, long known for its gothic-influenced, progressive, orchestral alterno-metal, has spent recent years gaining widespread attention in Europe, and continues to hold a devoted fan base in the States.
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Comments
do you have any samples of the bands that you talk about?
This article looks interesting.. Please make it readable..
excellent article
Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote that article! Has to be like 5 or 6 years or so. Hope it's still at least somewhat relevant.
This article was pure shit. The gothic subculture isn't compromised of just Satanism, s&m, and drugs. Sure, there are some people who do enjoy some or all of the above, but it's ignorant to say that a whole culture of people are the same way. Get your facts straight.
