Gothtober-The Top 50 Industrial Albums : 40 - 31

This had to be done. Having read other lists from other publications that just were not getting it, I had to step up and set the record straight. What Industrial music should be about is to create an adversarial sonic force  that is transgressive, confrontational , the message should be we are fucked, the system is corrupt and now we living in a post apocalyptic nightmare. o I made sure my list reflected this. Certain   artists are darlings of the critics, because the cool kids are supposed to like them, but are making artful challenging music that might sound cool, but lacks aggression or just isn’t industrial . 

I saved this for October, despite the fact Industrial and goth are not the same thing, It is almost like comparing science fiction to horror, at times they share the same elements and cross over, industrial should be more aggressive. In making this list aggression was at the forefront when deciding what was or was not industrial music. The name itself suggests the machine-like gears of a factory pounding, which in fact are staple sounds found in the earlier works of the genre.  

I gave myself a few guidelines first off only one album by each artist, though side projects stand separate in this regard. The other guideline being to consider not what album  sold the most, or was supposed to be the most influential , but think of the albums that have the best songs that have stood the test of time and find me returning to the album again and again? After all that is what makes good music. So with that lets continue deeper down our list of the Top 50 Industrial Albums.. 

40-Bestial Mouths - "Resurrectedinblack " 2020

The first modern band on the list, this album was created under the full creative control of  front woman Lynette Cerezo. This project has slowly grown darker with each released and this album found it shedding the post-punk influence in favor of the machine like crunch of industrial as more electronic elements worked their way in. 

39-X Marks the Pedwalk-"the Killing Had Begun"1994

The German project's third album is also the first to feature vocals from Andre's wife Stephanie. This added another layer to their already varied tapestry fast paced anxious grooves for paranoid musings.

   

38-3Teeth - "Metawar" 2019

When it comes to newer acts , this band gets it right by not being bound to not emulating a specific artist, but drawing inspiration from an entire era of music. The nail the brand of aggression acts like Frontline Assembly brought down from the heavens. The vocals are dynamic rather than a robotic scream.

   

37- Leaether strip-" Science for the Satanic Citizen" 1990

I would think few would be surprised this is my favorite album by these guys. The excel at using sonic darkness to create a seething violence lurking in alley ways at night rather than just being in your face.

   

36-Chem Lab- "Eastside Militia"1996

The second album by the band finds more electronic elements picking up the slack for a less metallic guitar attack than what was delivered on their previous, this allows the songs to breathe, and made for catchier songs that I return to more often . 

 

 35- Psyclon 9-"Order of the Shadow Act 1"  2013 

Five albums into things they find the perfect blend of metal and industrial. The production of this album gives things a massive scale., The blackened screams of Nero echo out like a tortured soul falling into the hell the world had collapsed into. 

34- Negativeland-"Escape from Noise" 1987

San Francisco's purveyors of weird took a swing at popular music as a reflection of society it self and uses noise, ambiance and atmosphere in a manner that brings the smoke in a manner with as much malice as a wall of guitars. The staccato synth attack gets the point across more than most full on rock bands did in 1987, as they hit you with relentless samples.

   

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33- Laibach- "Jesus Christsuperstars"1996

One of the bands where it became hard to just pick one after I dug in and began revisiting their catalog, so after a few listens I was reminded that this album is their best due to their attack on Christianity, blasphemy should be included in my requirements of what industrial music should be. 

 

 32-Pop Will Eat Itself-"dos dedos mis amigos" 

A criminally underrated band, that wrote some incredible music, this album should have gotten them more notice given that it came out during the peak of industrial music, but regardless of that this is a classic that holds up everything I bump it.

   

31- Youth Code-"Commitment to Complications" 2016

I am still waiting on these kids to bring it like they did on this album, which was produced by Rhys Fulber of Frontline Assembly. They got the aggression right, and the rest of it all fell into place.  

Laibach: "Spectre"

Since their inception Laibach has kicked down creative doors, while maintaining a certain sound of their own, though a large percent of their work is cover - songs and re-mixes, the band claims it is against originality, so they are a bit of a creative conundrum. To say there is some new about this albums is  a  bit of a misnomer , but I find the sounds that are gathered here be they begged borrowed or out write stolen...er sampled, to be entertaining.

For the purpose of this review I am focusing on the meat of the album and not covering the bonus tracks , as if they were intended to be on the album then they would have rather than just be relegated to pre-releases or deluxe editions.

Despite the opener when sounds like a Nazi drinking song, then rest of the albums tends to take a very dark turn. With lyrics focusing on the very dystopian direction the world is headed and the 1984 themes prevalent in the world today. Their album came with a manifesto that you can sign and pledge to their party and from the gist of the lyrics , it doesn't sound like a bad idea, as most of the lyrics have an anti-religious slant to them.

I had to a/b the song "No History" against Awolnation's "Sail" and found the two were not connected though there is a similar dub step inflected punch to both songs. There is a harsher dance groove to "Eat Liver!" that reminds me of  KMFDM and makes me very curious about some of the guest vocalists on this album as it sounds like it could be Siouxsie Sioux singing not only on this song but a few others.

"Americana" finds the band returning to more of the sound that Rammstein once emulated. "Eurovision" sounds like it samples Massive Attack. I like the chorus chant of "Europe has fallen apart." The collision of sounds is not always unsettling as "We are Millions and Millions are One" glides into what turns into a more electronic infused Siouxsie sounding number. "Bossanova" finds itself in a similar territory though , the vocals here sound less like Siouxsie and more like the singer from Savages.  

 The big difference I hear on this album is it is more edm and less industrial if we are even going to say this is industrial at all. I there is more of their traditional sound from the single of the album "Resistance if Futile", though it is way more dancey than expected. The vocals that creep up here remind me of Imogen Heap. The song does work well and combines ambiance with the more scathing grooves. I think this is what Daleks would dance to if they had a club.

I wonder if there will be any back lash for the band naming a song "Koran" as Muslim's tend to be rather protective of their religion in the media, just ask Salman Rushdie. The song starts of as an airy ballad.The gravelly baritone vocal counter point this as a call and response, though it can't say they take as daring of a swing at Islam as you would hope they might have the balls to .

I'll round this up to an 8.5 as I plan to keep this in my iPod for a while just off the initial listens , we shall see which way this grows on me but so far it's a pretty enjoyable listen.