Willie
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Last Active 01-10-23 4:00 pm
Joined 07-09-07

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07.13.23 Willie's Five Star Songs ♦10.09.22 Willie Needs Some 2022 Recs
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01.21.11 Users' Best Of The Decade12.13.10 2010 - Finalized ♦
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Willie's Guide To Industrial

This was just done on the fly and is meant more to give people ideas of what to check out more than it is an attempt to give any history or comprehensive lesson on the genre. This isn't supposed to be a "definitive" list. I'm sure there's stuff missing but it's a good place to start.
1 Industrial
The Gateway Bands:

These are the bands/albums that could help ease people into the industrial genre. They're more mainstream than your typical industrial band, but there?s still enough of the genre in them to slowly ease people into it.
2Nine Inch Nails
The Downward Spiral

No band has introduced more people to industrial than Nine Inch Nails, and this album probably had the most to do with it. It's dark, aggressive and moody and easily one of the better gateways into the industrial genre.
3Stabbing Westward
Darkest Days

This album is probably easier for the uninitiated to get into because it is more metal/alternative than
industrial, and it is very catchy. Don?t let that deion fool you, though, because it is still as dark, aggressive and moody as any Nine Inch Nails release.
4Lo-Fi Scorpio
Noir

This album drops some of the more mainstream tendencies of the other three bands and embraces a more industrial direction. It should be the final album for people just getting into the genre before they move deeper. Also, it's free here: ://www.leonstemple.com/lofiscorpio.html
5Shotgun Messiah
Violent New Breed

This isn't really a definitive or necessary album but it's worth noting. This is the final album from a band that started as an 80s cock-rock band before finishing their career by whole-heartedly embracing industrial. This is catchy, heavy and surprisingly good. People may recognize the name Tim Skold as he
moved from this band to play in other bands such as KMFDM and Marilyn Manson.
6 Industrial
The Industrialized Metal bands:

If you're a regular at Sputnik then you probably listen to some sort of metal, so these bands might be the better "gateway" to the industrial genre.
7Ministry
Rio Grande Blood

Purists are going to dispute the inclusion of this album over older releases in the band's discography, but the fact of the matter is that this is the most consistent album of their career. It has everything one would expect from a Ministry release.
8Skrew
Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame

This is a good move from Ministry. This band still features plenty of crushing metal riffs, but they balance them out with an equal amount of samples, synths, pounding percussion, and vocal processing.
9Circle of Dust
Brainchild

This is simply relentless industrial metal. Easily one of the classics of the genre.
10The Shizit
The Shizit

This is one of the newest albums on the list. It?s free (read the reviews for a link) and a good indication of the quality that the industrial metal genre is capable of.
11 Industrial
The Industrial Metal Bands:

There is a difference between industrialized metal and industrial metal. The first category keeps the metal at the forefront while using the electronics as a supplemental element, whereas industrial metal does the opposite.
12Acumen Nation
The 5ifth Column

Drum&Bass, pulsating sythns, aggressive riffs and plenty of energy - definitely a good introduction into this side of the genre.
13Chemlab
Burn Out at the Hydrogen Bar

Chemlab have always done things a bit different than your average industrial band. There is a lot of sarcasm found on this album, and despite the edge found on these songs, the album still manages to come off as upbeat. Another difference is that their vocalist rarely uses any sort of processing on his voice.
14Cyanotic
Transhuman 2.0

Another dense dose of electronics, heavy riffs and pounding beats.
15Front Line Assembly
Millennium

Front Line Assembly's brief foray into industrial metal turned out to be one of the better releases out there. It features riffs from Metallica, Slayer and Sepultura and counts Devin Townsend as their guitar player.
16KMFDM
Nihil

KMFDM have always been one of the more fun industrial bands out there, and this is their peak album. Lyrics dripping with sarcasm, rhythmic beats, varied guitar riffs, and a bit of tongue-in-cheek.
17Rabbit Junk
Reframe

This is more specifically referred to as "digital hardcore". Drum&bass beats, black metal, funk, punk, industrial. Male/female vocal shouts alternate through most songs. Definitely industrial with a punk aesthetic.
18 Industrial
EBM/Industrial

If you've made it this far then it's time to move further into the genre. These bands might have the occasional guitar riff but they all stick mostly to rhythmic beats and electronics.
19Evils Toy
Human Refuse

This is pure dark electronics that still manages to convey a sense of sadness and regret through a lot of the songs. At first listen this may seem a bit sparse, but by the end of the album your opinion should be changed.
20Front Line Assembly
Tactical Neural Implant

Definitely one of the staples of the genre. It manages to be catchy and dark at the same time. Its age may make it sound dated to some, but it should still be given a shot.
21Kevorkian Death Cycle
Collection for Injection

This really is a varied collection of songs. The one thing they all have in common is pounding beats, distorted vocals and memorable synths.
22Nine Inch Nails
Pretty Hate Machine

What really needs to be said about this?
23Numb
Wasted Sky

One of the top albums in the genre. If you can't get into this then you might just not like the genre all that much.
24Project Pitchfork
IO

This is a strange album. It mixes weird fantasy/sci-fi lyrics with soft, strange synths that are contrasted with beats that continue to become more dissonant as the album goes on.
25SMP
Stalemate

This band goes back to the genre's roots by utilizing a ton of "found sounds" including using steel as a percussion instrument, jackhammer sounds, gunshots and a ton of other samples. They also integrated a rap influence into the album that only makes it even more rhythmic. The old style rhythmic delivery of a lot of the beats is what sets this album apart.
26Unter Null
The Failure Epiphany

This is a one-woman band that could be referred to as TBM in addition to other sub-genres purists might want to put her in. A lot of the music does adhere to the pounding 4/4 of techno, but it's a lot more varied and well thought out. It also has plenty of dissonance, dark synths, and the vocals of Erica Dunham.
27 Industrial
The Challenges

Now that you've taken your baby steps it's time to get into the albums that really reward you if you're willing to make the effort. These are all dark, dense, and dissonant. There is a lot going on within these albums for those willing to try.
28Acylum
The Enemy

Huge pounding beats, dense processed vocals, layers of samples and synths, and a dark, oppressive atmosphere. I can't recommend this enough (Just ignore the 2nd and 3rd tracks).
29Life Cried
Banished Psalms

An album full of dense synth melodies, violent, distorted vocals, and pounding beats.
30Skinny Puppy
Too Dark Park

This is the best the genre has to offer. It has Ogre's strange stream-of-conscious delivery coupled with his many different vocal styles. This is all complimented by the layers of music pumped out courtesy of Cevin and Dwayne.
31 Industrial
Other Notable Releases:

Other albums worth looking into.
32The Birthday Massacre
Violet

This is a strange album that mixes equal parts goth and industrial metal. The lyrics and female vocals seem to take on a innocent/evil approach that makes it very dark in a Steven King kind of way. It's also damn catchy.
33Collide
Chasing the Ghost

This band mixes goth with industrial to deliver a female fronted album that is as sensual as it is dark.
34Front 242
05:22:09:12 Off

I know there are those that would recommend older albums, but this album wins for it's top-quality collection of influences and styles. Every song is EBM/Industrial at its base but there is enough integrated into each track to give it it's own unique feel.
35I Scintilla
Optics

Another female fronted industrial band. This one takes guitar riffs, EBM/TBM beats and a few layers of synths and delivers an album that is energetic and catchy.
36Jakalope
It Dreams

This was Dave Ogilvie's (Skinny Puppy) attempt to mix equal parts pop and industrial. The album ends up leaning slightly more in the pop direction but it's still real good and the vocalist is hot.
37Psyclon Nine
We the Fallen

One of the only bands I've heard that successfully mixes black metal influences into industrial.
38Samael
Passage

One of the other bands to mix black metal and industrial. This is probably the best mixture of those two styles that I?ve ever heard. Black metal vocals, classical-influenced synths, heavy riffs.
39Velvet Acid Christ
The Art of Breaking Apart

This is an interesting album. Acoustic guitars, subtle synths, distraut vocals, eerie effects. If you like industrial than check it out.
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