EBM was pioneered in the late 1970s and early 1980s by proto-industrial bands, including Throbbing Gristle, Einsturzende Neubauten and Cabaret Voltaire, which added danceable 4/4 beats to dissonant, experimental percussion and sound effects. It also was influenced by synth-punk bands, such as DAF. The term itself was codified by a member of Kraftwerk who was attempting to describe the sound of their 1978 album "The Man Machine." The genre's popularity reached its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s with bands like Front Line Assembly, Front 242, Ministry and Skinny Puppy.
Industrial music features the use of noisy, dissonant and sometimes patently "mechanical" sounds. Most industrial dance contains some electronic elements, particularly for the rhythm section, although distorted guitars are common as well. However, unlike industrial music, the vocals tend to remain undistorted, the beat is danceable and the rhythms tend to include some melodic elements, all of which are almost unheard of in purist industrial music.
EBM grounded the experimental tendencies of industrial music in a more listenable, danceable form, opening avant-garde techniques up to a wider audience. It also provided an alternative for listeners in the 1990s who were disinterested in both the sluggishness of alternative rock and the feel-good melodies of other dance acts.
Although itself a subgenre of industrial music, EBM comes in a number of different varieties. Some bands, such as Front 242, lean toward the synthetic, all-electronic sound of Kraftwerk, while others, such as Nine Inch Nails, try for a more guitar-heavy, rock-oriented sound. Differences can also be identified by the style of performance. While some EBM artists put on shows that are little more than DJs spinning records, others, such as My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult, are renowned for their elaborate theatrics.
EBM has largely fallen out of favor in the mainstream, although traces of it remain in some popular acts such as Nine Inch Nails and the genre retains a group of hard-core devotees. Elements of EBM have also been appropriated by some popular techno DJs, such as Green Velvet and DJ Hell, who have been known to sample EBM artists in their songs.