What do you get when you cross Tears for Fears, Skinny Puppy, Devo, Cabaret Voltaire, The Pet Shop Boys, Ministry, Nitzer Ebb, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, and Debbie Deb? A DJ set out of the late eighties that showcased icons from the Golden Age of Industrial.

Gone are the good ol’ days of clubbing. Dance clubs today are like living nightmares of your worst homogeneous radio conglomerate. They are bereft of creative diversity, freedom and authenticity. Unless you’re lucky enough to find a “blue light ‘til dawn” sweathouse of grooves, your average club experience is guaranteed to be as stale as recycled airplane oxygen. Let me explain.

It was the eighties, where women wore spandex and men wore... uh… spandex. But, aside from questionable fashion, there existed a freedom in music where a much wider palette of musical styles painted the dancefloor of your average club – and Industrial was part of the mix.

Today, we may have what appears to be a melting pot of music (as far as the feigned diversity of programming goes) but these different styles are never allowed to co-exist or cross-pollinate. You will only hear Hip-Hop in a Hip-Hop club; Rock in a Rock club; New Wave in a New Wave club; and Industrial in an Industrial club.

So, I offer this to you (my twisted music listener) the cream of the crop of Industrial. Because, we have forgotten that the dancefloor was laid waste years ago with a ferocity that has yet to be matched since by these subsequently mentioned kings of the cyber-beats. We have forgotten what Industrial music even sounds like. The genre is fading fast.

Many bands that people claim are Industrial are actually Prog Rock or Nu-Metal. And, to a large degree, the revolutionary voice of forgotten youth that was once present in Industrial and these aforementioned genres has largely been marginalized by the carmelization of a consuming MTV culture. Political retorts have been exchanged for mindless grunts like, “Let the bodies hit the floor” without a context. Industrial music is no better off. Limp, pseudo-House-Pop-Rock-undertones and quasi-hard beats have been thrown together to produce the sound of nothing dancing.

Initially, Industrial music was born of the neglected youth of the working lower/middle-class. From Europe to the U.S., the sound of the disenfranchised blue-collar white male, could be heard against the sound of metal on metal beats and thick basslines – props to the Godfathers of Industrial, Throbbing Gristle, for their disestablishmentarianism. Guitars were replaced with synths; spandex, Chuck Tailors, and cowboy boots with fatigues and army boots; and melodies were replaced with drum machine rhythms and deep keyboard grooves.

These kids were at war against what they considered a neo-fascist society. They used the harshness of machinery to reflect the soulless “Industry” of which we were all slaves. They weren’t concerned with appeasing the powers that be – it hadn’t worked before, so why do it now? They wanted to stir shit up; scare you. They wanted to wake up the sleeping beauties and revolt.

But, to what end?

And alas, the chink in the armor was exposed and the pinky-finger of the corporate media conglomerate slithered in. The cry for justice turned to self-absorbed wining from the bastard child formerly known as Industrial. Consequently, Daddy Wal-Mart wiped its ass and sold it for $16.88 (you save $1.90). History once again showed us that you can’t have a revolution without a united front and a united purpose. Afterall, it’s not enough to dismantle an oppressive regime; you have to then replace its ideology with justice.

We can only close our eyes and dream until the next musical revolution comes around. But, it may come sooner than later because this new digital era has the powers that be scrambling to slap a DRM code on every track you own. And, this time the kids just aren’t having it; they’re converting tracks faster than you can say iTunes – so keep your ear to the ground.

Until then, keep your fists in the air and nostalgia alive by buying these Synthetic Rebels’ albums at a store near you…

Just make sure it’s not Wal-Mart.

by Cazembe Abena

Industrial’s Golden Age Synthetic Rebels

1. Ministry (Twitch / Filth Pig)
2. Skinny Puppy (Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse / VIVIsectVI / Too Dark Park)
3. Front 242 (Official Version / Off)
4. Cabaret Voltaire (The Covenant, The Sword and The Arm of The Lord / Code)
5. Nitzer Ebb (Belief / Showtime)
6. Revolting Cocks (Big Sexy Land / Beers Steers & Queers)
7. Front Line Assembly (Gashed Senses & Crossfire / Caustic Grip)
8. Severed Heads (Come Visit The Big Bigot / Bad Mood Guy)
9. Haujobb (Freeze Frame Reality / Less / Polarity)
10. KMFDM (Money / Angst)