Top 10 Best Industrial Bands
One of the most talented music projects, Nine Inch Nails has evolved through the ages and had a significant influence on music history. Every album up to "The Fragile" is filled with state-of-the-art music production, incorporating strangeness, roughness, sensibility, and experimentation, all in a catchy style. Trent was present in every step of production.
However, since Trent decided to focus on arrangement and brought Atticus Ross into the production side with the album "With Teeth" (initially coming in as additional production), a slow decay has been sensed by many NIN fans. For now, in 2015, "Hesitation Marks" is really the least interesting accomplishment.
Rammstein will always be the best of the industrial bands. Tool has a lot of non-fans, which shouldn't be seen as a reason for them to be number one. To me, Tool is okay, but they have not had as many hits as Rammstein.
Their music sounds even harder live, and they put on a good show every time. They never do a concert without putting on an impressive performance. Trust me, I have seen many YouTube videos of their concerts and attended them as well. All the money you spend on tickets to see them is worth it. Even if you don't understand a word they say, it's easy to infer the meaning through the vocalist's reactions, which often resemble English words.
They were and still will be my favorite band in general.
I don't know why this unwanted trash "KMFDM" is on here. What kind of band name is that? Depeche Mode has more fans than you, and your name is the reason why none of their real fans will listen to that. Oomph deserves to be at least before or after Skinny Puppy. And people, please stop arguing about what industrial is and is not. The first word in each genre must be industrial. Get over it. At least there is no Nicki Minaj here. But Rammstein will always be at the top.
I like industrial music very much, and I actually love a lot of bands from the list, so it was hard to choose. I've chosen Marilyn Manson because, in my opinion, his music is nearly perfect. My favorite albums are Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and Born Villain. Plus, he is by far the best lyricist of all time.
Marilyn Manson has created an entire world of phantasmal freaks with just three albums. Heck, all of their albums are amazing! Love them!
Five best Manson albums:
Holy Wood
Antichrist Superstar
Mechanical Animals
The High End of Low
Eat Me, Drink Me
I couldn't live without a Ministry disc in my car. No Ministry, no NIN. Tool is a great band but sure as hell doesn't belong anywhere near this list, nor does Bullet For My Valentine (why they're here is an absolute mystery). Ministry, Rammstein, NIN, Skinny Puppy, Frontline Assembly, KMFDM, Stabbing Westward, and Front 242 are my picks.
90s Ministry, Godflesh, Skrew, early Pitchshifter, Testify, and the only NIN Broken EP - there you go when searching for the only true industrial metal music. Rammstein and their copies are bull for kids who like dressing up and listening to cheap marching music with no intellectual drive behind it. Sadly, this 90s industrial metal has been dying, so save memories when you can!
Been the best for damn near thirty years and always will be. Zombie is king!
Rob is the god of industrial. Love him always!
It's simple, really. Without Skinny Puppy, there would be no Nine Inch Nails or Rammstein. Skinny Puppy's level of genius and talent in this genre of music has never been reached since. Their amazing use of controversial and sometimes disturbing performance art makes them much more interesting than a lot of the bands on this list.
SP's electronic industrial, along with Neubauten, is what I consider the best industrial music. Then there's, of course, Throbbing Gristle, but they were never a favorite. Merzbow is experimental noise but, in my book, counts as more industrial than most on this list, and Merzbow can be amazing (listen to Bariken)! Nurse with Wound is another favorite - check out Thunder Perfect Mind!
Static X has taken influence from bands such as Ministry and Prong and has blended in a fuse of Korn influence. However, this doesn't automatically make Static X nu-metal. Their amazing catchy riffs (WDT) and their belly-blasting guitar solos (Cannibal) are sure to knock Marilyn Manson's socks off.
So, laugh out loud, Rammstein fans! Classic industrial all the way!
Static-X, have you ever heard their music? God, their music should be up there next to Nine Inch Nails. They are very good with many songs. The best album in my eyes is "Beneath... Between... Beyond..."
Agreed. Godflesh should be in the top 3. The fact that they aren't in the top ten is just indicative.
They are really good, and they deserve better. They should be in the top 5 or higher.
This list is so bad that it even includes non-industrial bands. First should be Turmion Kätilöt, second - Godflesh.
I'm baffled at how these guys are so far down. They are heavy and dark, yes, but industrially, they've got the core down and know what they are doing. Great music, great band, deserves more recognition.
How is the band sitting at 36? Maybe a bit too dark and heavy, not sure. But one hell of a band. Seen them live twice and wasn't disappointed either time.
These guys should be number 1. They've been around for 25+ years and have been pumping out countless gems throughout the years. They're still at it and as good as ever, even with the lineup changes and controversies.
The best industrial band of all time should rank way higher. Mushroomhead has dominated the underground for many years and deserves much better. They work very hard on what they do and are very good live. They don't just have the looks. They have the sound to back it up.
The best. They are the most creative, using rap, metal, industrial, and techno to create a sound that is all their own.
Mushroomhead is easily the best industrial band, both thematically and sound-wise.
One must distinguish between early KMFDM and recent KMFDM. Prior to their temporary breakup, KMFDM truly stood apart from other industrial groups in their complete disregard for accepted musical norms (i.e., What Do You Know, Deutschland) and their desire to genuinely embrace the spirit of industrial rock and counterculture.
Not many bands, certainly not any ranked above KMFDM on this list, had the guts to do that, as shown by their overwhelming dependence on pop-like music. Other bands may be catchy, accessible, and easy to listen to, but KMFDM and Coil ought to be at the top of this list. Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply a fan of pop-industrial.
As others have said, Oomph! deserves to be higher up on the list as they have actually inspired a lot of bands on this list, including Rammstein! They may not be as well known as some of the other bands here, but they definitely deserve more recognition. My life wouldn't be the same without Oomph!
They're original. They're the first industrial metal band. They created the NDH. They're Oomph! and many people should know them. Oomph! sounds completely different on each album, and that's why they're so awesome. The best German NDH/industrial metal band from my point of view.
That is, in my opinion, what industrial metal is all about!
Brilliant band from Switzerland. The whole Antares album is amazing.
Probably the most underrated band ever.
I discovered Filter years ago and haven't heard anything similar to their style since then. Richard Patrick is a god at songwriting. Every single song so far has just blown me away! Especially the first two albums, Short Bus and Title of Record, will make you love this band!
Filter is another band that should be on here. Richard Patrick from NIN quit and formed Filter, which is an industrial alternative band. It should be on here and has been influential since the '90s.
Filter is second to Skinny Puppy, which means they're the second goddamn best band!
Of course, they are industrial! You are concentrating on harder rock, but DM were pioneers of this sound back in the '80s. With Violator, they have one of the best albums ever. So much narrow margin needs comments on here and music snobbery.
Gravity Kills is the only industrial band besides Tool and Ministry I can really get into, so I might not be qualified to say that they're the best one ever. Even so, the songs "Drown," "Alive," and "Guilty" had a very profound effect on me when I was a little kid, not least because two of them were in "Test Drive Off-Road 2," and I played the heck out of that game. Gravity Kills indeed kills it.
Gravity Kills is one hell of a band with a raw sound, and they rock it hard by pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into their music! Perversion was an incredible experimental album with provocative themes, growling guitar, and badass keyboards. Superstarved was an amazing ride as well. Gravity Kills needed to come back to the scene yesterday!
As much as I LOVE Rammstein, Combichrist has somewhat surpassed them in my favorite industrial bands category. But I still love Rammstein and always will!
Even though I haven't seen them live yet, just from watching concert footage, I can tell how awesome Combichrist is. Their music is just epic. No other industrial band gets my blood pumping like Combichrist does!
Absolutely the most underrated industrial band I have ever heard. Their music is an audio energy pill! It's difficult to run or work out to this music without feeling so amped that I could either run a 5-minute mile or end up in the emergency room!
I love industrial music. I like it dark and electronic. I like noise and static.
A lot of these bands have influenced the industrial scene. Whether or not they can be defined by a genre label is not for me to say. I will say that I consider most, if not all, of these bands industrial, some more so than others.
I found Velvet Acid Christ to be the band I relate to the most. The music is consistently richly layered with a dark, electronic sound while continuing to vary and grow with each release.
Oh, all you sad people who have never heard of Celldweller. I feel very sorry for you. As someone who has taken "Industrial" to a whole new level that nobody ever got close to, Celldweller should be right up there with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. Oh, and what is Bullet for My Valentine doing on this list?
Just a truly great band. I mean, this is a list of truly amazing bands, but I have to vote for Celldweller over these huge bands in a small attempt to get at least one person to look them up. They're truly a great band, and Klayton is a terrific vocalist with some great lyrics worth anyone's time to listen to. I cannot recommend this band enough.
An all-around amazing band. Great lyrics, great sound, great art, great energy. I love the sci-fi theme too. Definitely one of my all-time favorites.
Fantastic band. Definitely top ten for me.
Swans aren't specifically an industrial band, but if you look into their output in the '80s with albums like Filth, Cop, Greed, and Holy Money, you can definitely hear those industrial sounds that would later be cited as an influence by bands like Tool, Godflesh, Earth, Sunn O))), and Neurosis. Incredibly influential and definitely deserve a higher rating.
Talented group from Toronto. Chibi has a beautiful and ethereal voice, but I wouldn't consider TBM industrial. Excellent they are, industrial they are not. They're goth if you want an easy label to describe them with.