The Industrial Thread

Throbbing Gristle - "At the Factory, Manchester" (1979)

This live album is highly regarded in terms of the early industrial scene & you can easily see why too as it presents one of the coldest & most barren visions of the world you're likely to find. There are some fabulous highlights included here but there's also a bit of inconsistency as the line that Throbbing Gristle tip toe along between pure noise & genius is a difficult one to get exactly right. Still,,, the wins easily outweigh the losses so I find myself coming out of the experience (& it IS an experience) feeling largely fulfilled.

For fans of Psychic TV, Cabaret Voltaire & Nurse With Wound.

3.5/5

Lustmørd - "Lustmørd" (1981)

The first album from the Welsh dark ambient legend is more of a combination of his industrial roots with his earliest dark ambient ideas. It's generally not well regarded & you can see why because the tracklisting is extremely inconsistent although there are a couple of real gems here, especially the wonderful early dark ambient classic "Slabstone" which I've always loved. I wouldn't suggest that this is a release to hunt down though as Brian has done so much better over the years.

For fans of Nurse With Wound, Big City Orchestra & Psychic TV.

3/5

Uboa - All the Dead Melt Down as Rain (2025)

Genres: Death Industrial, Dark Ambient

I had no idea Uboa had a new EP out a couple months ago.  I just now checked wondering if she had a new album announced.  Didn't expect one so soon, and I'm super happy about this because Impossible Light and Origin of My Depression are just flatout phenomenal, doing much of what Lingua Ignota does but creepier and more wild.  Sitting pretty at 37 minutes, this EP manages to do A LOT and never break its horrifying vibes.  This one was extra-diversified in its range of ambiance, noise and industrial sounds.  This is as freakishly creepy as I'd expect from Uboa, and almost reaches the heights of Impossible Light.

95