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