Industrial War
The Agony And Ecstasy Of Industrial Music (Beloved/Sanachie)
By: Joshua Porter
"Industrial music probes the dark underbelly of modern society- growing, mutating and otherwise infiltrating pop culture with subversive beats and sounds", reads the opposite cover of "Industrial War- The Agony And Ecstasy Of Industrial Music".Industrial music can be difficult to describe. Basically, if someone has obtained an understanding of what industrial is, fitting artist into the genre is much easier. With everything from rock, techno, synth-pop, electronic, metal, ambient, and gothic just along the border of the classification, clarifying specific membership to the industrial family comes down to a very recognizable style.
Industrial War... is a collection compiled by Beloved and Sanachie Records. Produced by Wagner Bucci, the collection contains artists such as Pigface, Chemlab, Apparatus N.C., Die Krupps, Numb, Hate Dept., Diatribe, Deathline International, Iron Lung Corporation, Klute, Spahn Ranch, Steril and more. With artists blurring the name of industrial with the overuse of guitar oriented style, or the overuse of the electronic techno style, to the point where it falls into metal or techno leaving its industrial origin, this album depicts the fine line of what industrial is, never smudging the borders or misrepresenting the style.
Whether it is the obvious electronic drum sounds along with crunching guitars clarifying the style, or the beeps, clanks, distorted ringing, squeals or other computer mannered sounds, identifying the classification is easily achieved. By putting the rock essentials on one side of the scale, and electronics on the other, the balance is clarified to its industrial belonging.
"Some of the most exciting industrial tracks of the last decade as both seminal pioneers and latter-day experimenters push the envelope" on this album. By leaving the mainstream culture of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Skinny Puppy, fans of industrial find that what they were not hearing was what they really wanted. The underground scene houses some of the most exciting artists in industrial music. This CD offers what fans missed by watching the popular flow. Consider it an eye opener, a door to a warehouse of industrial musicians.
Constantly let down by industrial that just is not industrial, I blindly purchased a compilation in hopes of new discovery. I found myself ignorant to a world of new music. The industrial I knew, wasn't all there was to be heard.
