Where to start with Industrial
Industrial is a genre from Global (Sheffield, Kingston upon Hull, Chicago, Cleveland), 1976–1999. Its principal artists include Throbbing Gristle, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 20 dated events.
Start here
- 1
The Second Annual Report
Throbbing Gristle · 1977Original release: Industrial Records · IR 0002 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1977Industrial Records' first LP established the confrontational aesthetic that would define the genre for two decades.
- 2
Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails · 1989Original release: TVT Records · TVTD 2610 · CD · US 1989It made industrial radio-friendly without sanding off its edge, fusing aggression with genuine pop songwriting.
- 3
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails · 1994Original release: Interscope Records · 7 92346-2 · CD · US 1994It turned industrial into a stadium phenomenon, four million copies sold, showing the genre's commercial peak.
Go deeper
- 4
D.o.A: The Third and Final Report
Throbbing Gristle · 1978D.o.A continued Throbbing Gristle's work in tape manipulation and transgressive subject matter, cementing their place as industrial's founding act.
- 5
20 Jazz Funk Greats
Throbbing Gristle · 1979Original release: Industrial Records · IR0008 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1979The title alone was a joke, and a good one: an album that promised easy-listening jazz funk delivered disturbing content wrapped in an accessible-looking package.
- 6
The Land of Rape and Honey
Ministry · 1988Original release: Sire Records · 9 25799-4 · Cassette · US 1988Ministry's fusion of thrash metal guitar with EBM rhythm went gold and turned Chicago into a second capital of industrial music.
- 7
Psalm 69
Ministry · 1992Psalm 69 was Ministry's commercial peak, going platinum on the strength of the hit single "Jesus Built My Hotrod" and defining early-1990s industrial metal as a genre in its own right.
- 8
Broken
Nine Inch Nails · 1992Original release: Island · ILPM 8004 · 12″ Vinyl · France 1992Recorded at 10050 Cielo Drive, the house where the Manson family murdered Sharon Tate, this violent EP reached the top 10 and dragged industrial onto MTV via censored videos.
For the obsessed
- 9
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Ministry · 1989Original release: Sire Records · 926 004-2 · CD · Germany 1989Featuring a ten-piece touring band that included Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre, this record went gold and locked in Ministry's industrial metal sound for the next decade.
- 10
The Fragile
Nine Inch Nails · 1999Original release: Nothing Records · 490 473-2 · CD · Australia 1999This double album debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, even as it marked the beginning of industrial's retreat from the commercial mainstream.
The stories behind every record are in Industrial, a members' issue.