This Cleveland, Ohio, industrial band, lead by Trent Reznor, was founded in 1988. Nine Inch Nails touts electronic instruments and processing to give the band its industrial sound. These artists' popularity still lingers, and they have sold over 20 million albums in their time.
This German band has "no pity for the majority"--a loose translation of the German that the band's name stands for, "Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid." KMFDM is popular in many circuits, crossing from the German music scene to the United States. The audio accompaniment gives this band its popular sound, its feel of angst toward, well, just about everything, and its industrial feel.
Another German industrial band came across the ocean to America with its hit "Du Hast Mich"--in English, "You Hate Me." The vocals are grungy screaming, repeating these three words over and over. The background music sounds electronic and metal and everything industrial. The production quality is high, but the musicians chose a low-quality sound for an even grungier feel.
SMG first recorded an album in 1992. Since its first album, SMG has released seven full-length albums, three EPs and a number of singles and side projects. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix, the band has released a number of industrial music genres, such as electro funk and industrial strength rock. These Chicago-based artists call themselves the "Ambassadors of Industrial."
One of the first industrial music groups, Throbbing Gristle was formed in London in 1976. The band evolved from a performance arts group to create a loud, noise-filled sound, keeping some of their performance arts skills. The lyrics, often screamed or spoken, rang out over the distorted drums, guitars and background vocals. The group complemented the music at their shows by showing disturbing images, often of Nazi concentration camps and pornography. Though the band broke up in 1981, a boxed set of their 24 CDs was released in 2002. This release documented all of their live performances, which gave the band its fame, while frightening and intriguing audience members. In 2004, Throbbing Gristle played a one-time reunion show entitled "A Celebration of Industrial Musics in the 21st Century."