What is Industrial?

Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of experimental music, especially but not necessarily electronic music. The term was first used in the mid-1970s to describe the then-unique sound of Industrial Records artists. Since then, an extremely wide variety of labels and artists have since come to be called "Industrial."

The first industrial artists experimented with varying degrees of noise, production techniques and what, at the time, were considered controversial topics. Their production was not only limited to musical output. It also included mail art, performance art, installation pieces and other art forms.

Originally, the term solely referred to music created by Industrial Records and related artists. As time progressed, the term began to refer to artists either directly influenced by the original movement, artists using an "industrial" aesthetic such as imagery devised around mechanical objects and industry itself and, more distantly, artists who were only minimally, often not at all, influenced or inspired by Industrial Records and related artists. The broadening of the term's musical definition has led to an overwhelming number of sub-genres and lines of influence.