download here for free! - Avantgarde-Metal.com

The BUTTHOLE SURFERS came out with their self-titled EP in 1983. They are definitely thestrangest of the prototypes. Way more avant garde than the rest, they continued this insaneamalgamation of industrial/ electronica, noise-rock and punk well into the 2000’s (receivingeventual semi-mainstream-college crowd acceptance along the way). But their 80’s output isdefinitely their most abrasive and lunatic. And yes, the imagery has always been as sick asthe music.SKINNY PUPPY (formed 1982) are another seminal act that has changed its output over theyears but there is always an element of industrial metal present in the sound. Even whenthe guitars were minimal the sound wasdenser, heavier and more haunting thanmost metal bands (Mind: The PerpetualIntercourse, Cleanse Fold and Manipulate).The later ones added more metal and gothicelements and to date they have neverreleased a bad record. There is a wealth ofweird synths and strange samples on alltheir albums.From their first EP, THE SWANS establishedthemselves as masters of repetitiveugly noise rock. It was one of the few earlycases of a traditionally instrumented rockband sounding more ‘industrial’ than mostelectronic outfits. The pounding drums,fuzzy bass, sludgy yet strangely funkyrhythms and Gira’s monotone baritone allbirthed countless imitators in the years to come. Later they experimented with gothic folkand more traditional rock formats.The second half of the eighties saw the rise ofbands like MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILLKULT, bringing the sleazy fun element (and occultimagery!!) back to an increasingly dark and morosescene. Not that their post-apocalyptic lyricalcontent and satanic imagery was any less disturbing,but it had wit and you could groove to thebeats and riffs of I See Good Spirits and I See BadSpirits (1988). They kept morphing, but keepingtheir evil sense of humor and the layers of electronicaintact.At this point it seems necessary to mention theiconic Wax Trax records, who have been responsiblefor the distribution and popularity of a numberof electronic/rock/goth /metal bands whodared to be different. They dominated most of 80’sand 90’s with their roster of cutting edge artists. Sadly their output ventured more and moretowards the club scene in the late 90’s. They are all forgotten now as an Industrial AGMlabel.Other bands who I cannot extrapolate on due to lack of time and space, but can be consideredintegral and influential to the early scene include Cabaret Voltaire, PiL, ControlledBleeding, Throbbing Gristle, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, Nitzer Ebb or EinsturtzendeNeubauten.The second wave of industrial metal or as some pundits put it: Industrial Metal properlystarted towards the end of the 1980’s and the beginning of the 1990’s. To study the phenomenawe should look at the purveyors of this sound, who developed in isolation from eachother or in parallel.