Use distortion to create the signature industrial drum sounds. Isolate the kick drum, hi-hats and snare tracks so you can edit each one individually. Place a large amount of distortion on the kick drum and a small amount on the snare drum. Leave the hi-hats unprocessed.
Layer synthesizers to create the distinct industrial lead-synthesizer sound. The average industrial lead-synthesizer begins with a sawtooth-based keyboard patch. By doubling the melody of the lead both an octave above and below the lead synthesizer with different sounds, you create a powerful and uniquely industrial tone.
Create typical industrial vocal tracks by harmonizing the vocals. Use a harmonizer effect to double the vocals both a semitone above and below the original vocals. Delay each of the harmonized vocal tracks by no more than 12 milliseconds.
Use digital delay to create movement and harmonics in your industrial track. Use a digital delay track and sync the delay to the BPM (beats per minute) of your song. Add delay to the lead vocals and lead synthesizer.
Equalize your industrial track to enhance its sound. The kick drum in industrial songs features a 3-6dB EQ boost at both 60 Hz and 10 kHz and a large cut at 500 hz. The vocals fall in the 2 kHz range. Arpeggiated synthesizers take up the mid rages between 500-2,000 Hz, and the lead synthesizers fall in the 4,000-10,000 range.