1988 RISE OF THE Machines
In 1988, industrial was at its peak. Not just in terms of the number of landmark albums that were released, but in the sheer breadth of vision that was encompassed under its banner. Like Florida’s emerging death metal scene, the bands active in the late 80s weren’t working from a template, but were determined to open up new facets, each with their own inventive, fiercely articulate yet complementary worldview. Whether in its US or European incarnations, industrial was capturing the zeitgeist in a way that no other music genre could, navigating psychological, social and political terrain where the tail-end of Cold War austerity and rictus-inducing paranoia met the opportunities, and the humanity-conditioning demands, of a new, technological age.
1987 had seen groundbreaking releases from Laibach, The Young Gods, Nitzer Ebb, Einstürzende Neubauten, Skinny Puppy and more, and the following year upped the ante even further, with a clutch of albums that would forever alter album, rewriting the rules of industrial to an unfathomable yet gripping code. Envisioning humanity as reduced to a discipline of iron-willed, self-sufficient survivalism, Front 242’s proved so consummate that no band since, including 242 themselves, has ever come close to replicating its immaculate, irresistible potency. Every track, including the unforgettable, dancefloor-filling lead single, , felt like it was being mechanically imprinted into your DNA.
