A very dark and experimental genre of music. The genre was first created by Throbbing Gristle in the 1970's. The sound is characterized by drone-like noises in an ambient style and frequent use of found objects and electronic instruments (mainly the keyboard and computer programming but electric guitars, bass, and drums are found in it). Industrial music became more well-known when the genres of Industrial Rock and Industrial Metal first came into being. Fans of Industrial music are called rivetheads though Industrial is very popular with straight up Goths.

Contrary to what some people say, bands like Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, KMFDM, and some works of Marilyn Manson ARE in fact Industrial. Though these bands have had at least one period of mainstream exposure, they remain relativley underground compared to a lot of other musicians, not to mention a lot of them are back in the underground (while NIN and Manson have performed in stadiums before, they mostly play in smaller venues that barely hold more than 500-1000 people). Bands like the above mentioned ones are great for starting out with Industrial, though if you want to become serious about it you should also check out bands like Controlled Bleeding, Whitehouse, and Coil.
When you listen to Industrial Music, whether it be Throbbing Gristle's "20 Jazz Funk Greats" or Ministry's "The Land of Rape and Honey", you get a certain satisfaction and creative feeling you can't get from most other music.
by Gaaraofthedamned May 23, 2011
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Alternative music style of 1980s mixing boosted guitar sound with non-musical instruments for percussions - such as, e.g. steel bars, scrap metal, oil barrels, iron springs, etc. Represented by bands like Einstürzende Neubauten, Throbbing Gristle, Test Departement or Paprsky inzenyra Garina.
Have you heard this guy's solo on electric cutter? That's what I call industrial music!
by garin October 13, 2007
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1. Industrial Music is difficult to define but it has to do with experimentation, improvisation, and pure noise. Is about programing hard noisy sounds on samplers, scratching the guitar strings by adding distortion and phaser, hitting hard on metallic devices, and screaming or talk loud on a voice machine.

2. Industrial Music is not just music is a movement that confronts pop culture, commercialism, or anything that is mainstream. Music that is not sold in the market or they don't play it on the radio. It was made noisy for a purpouse so it would not attract popular kids, like jocks, preppies, or posers. Bands like Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, KMFDM, or either Marilyn Manson are NOT Industrial because they are part of the market and they are already mainstream. Industrial Music is EXTREMELY UNDERGROUND.

3. Industrial Music doesn't have any lyrics is mostly instrumental but they are some bands that predict messages on their improvasations or they just say strange stories. They talk about strange things that happen(like Throbbing Gristle's lyrics), and others they protest against politics, religion, and social norms, similar messages like Punk Music.

History:
It all started in the late 1800's by an author named Luigi Russolo that wrote a book called "L'Arte Dei Rumori", in italian means "The Art Of Noise". Along with his friend Balilla Pratella they had the idea of futuristic music, creating natural sounds on machines. In the 1950's William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin they invented this instrument called the sampler and they began to record strange noises. In the 1960's artist like The Residents, Can, and John Cage they began to compose "strange music", by improvising and recording their musical experimentaion. In the 1970's Kraftwerk began to play electronic instruments and voice machines. In the same decade four art students form a group called Coum Transmission that started experimenting noise by metallic devices and doing shocking and perverted theatre. In the mid 1970's they changed their name to Throbbing Gristle and they started recording noises and minimal rythms on tapes, scratching the guitars and the violins, playing a minimal distorted bassline, screaming or just saying strange stories. In the same time they found "Industrial Records", Industrial Music was named after Monte Cazzaza. Other bands like Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, Clock DVA, William Burroughs, Monte Cazzaza, Leather Nun, and NON used to be part of Industrial Records. In the 1980's Throbbing Gristle broke up and Genesis P-Orridge formed Psychic TV and Peter Christopherson formed Coil, and Chris and Cosey formed their duo. In the same decade Industrial die and it was resurrected by bands like Chrome, Einsturzende Neubaten, and Whitehouse. Original Industrial was still continue by Einsturzende Neubaten but Whitehouse and Chrome created new subgenres. Chrome began to experience electronic beats and guitars and they influence bands like Ministry and Nine Inch Nails evendough they are not part of the Industrial genre. Whitehouse started making harsh and distorted noises on electronic devices and they created a subgenre today known as "Noise". Today Industrial Music is forgotten and many teenagers support non-industrial bands by calling it Industrial. They created a subculture that many of them they don't recognize Throbbing Gristle and they don't care about the roots of Industrial, and that makes them "lesser industrial than thou". Industrial music has always been experimental electronic music that improvises hard noisy sounds. Industrial is still enigmatic to define but it has an interesting history to find it's definition.
Industrial is experimental electronic music with hard noisy sounds

Industrial is not mainstream pop music is EXTREMELY UNDERGROUND

Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, KMFDM, Marilyn Manson ARE NOT INDUSTRIAL

Those who deny Throbbing Gristle and the roots of Industrial Music are "lesser industrial"

Those who give me thumbs down they don't know about Industrial Music, they need to find out what it is
by Charlie Shake November 26, 2007
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Industrial music is the genre of music based on dark technology.Industrial music is a blend of electronic music, drone music with hardware heavy sound.almost all of the lyric is unclear due to the distortion.Sometime Industrial fuse electronic instrument(synthetizers, musique concrete, white noise, sequencer, etc) with non-musical instrument(smashing hard on the hard device e.g. iron, machine, silver) in order to create thunder like voice.

People who love industrial music known as 'Rivethead'.They are the people who love war, technology, violent and mass slaughter.Some of them are respect to fascism similar to Skinhead.
Rob : do you know anything about industrial music band ?
Grunt : yes i do,one of them is Magitek and Megaherz
by Starsuck January 14, 2012
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-The music industry won another grammy.
-Not surprised at all. She's a queen
by _str22_ April 19, 2021
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