With their confrontational, stridently politically correct dance music, Consolidated became a small sensation in the early '90s. Not only was the group openly socialist, but the group incorporated all of their messages into their music; their records are unapologetically political and sometimes antagonizingly so. And it was the politics, not... [+] Read More

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From the group's inception in the mid-'70s onward, the New York-based Controlled Bleeding remained one of the most prolific and unpredictable American industrial bands, exploring the extremes of both unchecked sonic fury and free-floating ambient dub.

Led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Lemos, a high-school English teacher... [+] Read More

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Industrial innovators Death in June emerged in 1980 from the remnants of the punk unit Crisis, reuniting singer/multi-instrumentalist Douglas Pearce and bassist Tony Wakeford; drummer Patrick Leagas completed the original lineup, which made its live debut late the following year with an opening slot for the Birthday Party. The 12-inch "Heaven... [+] Read More

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Along with Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle, Germany's Einstürzende Neubauten ("collapsing new buildings") helped pioneer industrial music with an avant-garde mix of white-noise guitar drones, vocals verging on the unlistenable at times, and a clanging, rhythmic din produced by a percussion section consisting of construction materials,... [+] Read More

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Along with Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle, Germany's Einstürzende Neubauten ("collapsing new buildings") helped pioneer industrial music with an avant-garde mix of white-noise guitar drones, vocals verging on the unlistenable at times, and a clanging, rhythmic din produced by a percussion section consisting of construction materials,... [+] Read More

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Although White Zombie received most of the credit for mixing tales of sex, Satan, and gore with a rock/dance beat (although admittedly with more of a heavy metal edge), Chicago's My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult specialized in similar territory for just as long. Originally formed in 1987 by Buzz McCoy (who had recently relocated from Boston)... [+] Read More

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A loose experimental project formed in 1978 by Steven Stapleton, Nurse With Wound has explored abstract music -- influenced by Krautrock, freewheeling jazz improvisation, and Throbbing Gristle but including a heavy debt to surrealists Dali and Lautréamont -- with an overpowering release schedule of limited-edition albums and EPs. Stapleton... [+] Read More

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Just as lighthearted ambient house began to hit the mainstream in the early '90s, Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia foreshadowed a move to sinister downtempo music, more influenced by Coil and Psychic TV than the Orb. The Dutch group's shadowy nature and lack of connection to the close-knit dance community mystified some (their live shows were often... [+] Read More

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More than any pop band in history, the KLF ripped off the music industry for a bucketful of loot and got away with it -- as illustrated in their own guidebook to creating number one singles, The Manual. Bill Drummond and Jimi Cauty applied the tactics of punk shock-terrorism to late-'80s acid house and became one of Britain's best-selling... [+] Read More

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The ambitious Swiss electronic duo Yello comprised vocalist/conceptualist Dieter Meier -- a millionaire industrialist, professional gambler, and member of Switzerland's national golf team -- and composer/arranger Boris Blank. Meier, a former solo artist who also spent time with the group Fresh Colour, began collaborating with Blank in 1979, and... [+] Read More

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