The Official EBM Thread.
 

I thought it was about time we had a dedicated thread to a form of music I really like and as it touches on Metal, Industrial and Experimental, it is surely worthy of it's own thread.

The early history was a form of Electronic music that used repetitive beats, distorted vocals, samples and sequences. With the rise of computer technology and Dance music EBM has been able to diverge and assimilate into many other genres. Early bands such as Nitzer Ebb and Throbbing Gristle were early forerunners as were the classic repepitive beats of Kraftwerk.

European bands such as Front 242, Cabaret Voltaire and later bands from father afield such as Frontline Assembly and Skinny Puppy were distorting Electronic music even further.

In the 90's and beyond many bands have toned down the extraneous samples and vocals and are playing an alternative Dance sound which appeals to both Metal, Goth and Dance fans alike. Icon Of Coil, Wumpscut and Cubanate are examples of this.

I know there are a few fans out there but if not, here is a few examples of the movement:

Haha, that Skinny Puppy video was quite good. :D

It's not a genre I pay much attention to these days, but I used to make a lot of electronic music in my late teens and I took some inspiration from artists like cEVIN Key (from Skinny Puppy), Front 242, KMFDM and The Future Sound of London .. Some of those fit the bill.

One of my favourite songs was Front 242's remix of Juno Reactor's classic "God is God". If you like them, you should check it out. It's usually named something like "Juno Reactor - God is God (Front 242 mix)" or something along those lines.

I can't find a clip for it on youtube, but here's the utterly crazy video for the original song. The Front 242 mix is better though!

You can add my name on your list.
The precursor Front two four two opened so many doors!

The video is crap but music keep his powerful.

Great stuff! EBM and it's related forms of music has a huge impact on me when I was in my teens and I still love it today though I don't listen to it nearly as much as I used to.

You guys are forgetting Front Line Assembly and Mister Leeb.

Read the first post again.

Great thread.

Skinny P is an awesome band-- we would not have
band's like NIN if it weren't for SP

They have a totally f#%*^d up history but
they always managed to put out great groundbreaking
mixes.

Think they got off dope and moved to Munich in the late 90s - what is so cool
about SP is they were into the loop movement which gave
birth to software technology that became mainstream--

Loved that video dude thanx 4 posting

Clock DVA always had something worth checking out.
Their earlier material were more post-punk with hints of Jazz thrown around and only later did they evolve into one of those dark-ebm outfits.

YouTube - Clock DVA - The Hacker (full version)
YouTube - Clock DVA - Sound Mirror

Then there's Leather Strip as well, who follows a path similar to Nitzer Ebb and Clock DVA. Test Dept's "Unacceptable Face of Freedom" is worth checking out too.
Most of the others have already been mentioned. There are a few more, but my brain isn't working rite now.

I have heard the name before but never heard anything. I have to admit to not really liking those tracks. :(

You definitely wont like Leather Strip then :(. I love the darker mood these bands bring about. Oh well, what would the world be if everyone liked everything?:D

Have your guys ever heard of Hellbent? I think they'd be considered EBM. They were a supergroup of sorts, made up of Eric Powell (16 Volt), Jared Louche (Chemlab), Bryan Black (Haloblack) and Charles Levi (Thrill Kill Kult). The album I have by them is pretty good.

^
I've listened to some Chemlab before, who are kind of...okay. Never really interested me. But I suppose this should be a lot different as it's a supergroup? Never heard of the rest though.

Anyways here's another one I just dug out while looking through my music today -

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...MG_0002-13.jpg

Chu Ishikawa - Tetsuo

Soundtrack for the Japanese horror movie, Tetsuo, this one never fails to amuse me! Not exactly 'ebm' I suppose, but definitely close to it. Should be a pretty nightmarish listen. Makes it even better with the movie. Might freak you out :thumb:. No youtube videos available. Check it out here!

You've never heard of Thrill Kill Kult?!

*Double Checks*
Nope, not at all I'm afraid. Why, am I missing out?!

Weren't they on the Crow soundtrack?

They're one of my favorite bands and were one of the major Wax Trax bands during the 80s and 90s. I'm really surprised you've never heard of them. Their first album sort of a hybrid of EBM, disco, and tongue-in-cheek, faux satanic chanting. After that their music became more about sounding sleazy than sounding evil and has ranged from drag queen disco to super sleazy house music to sounding a bit like a super-skanky version of the B-52s. Definitely not a band for everybody but if you like a little B-movie trashiness mixed in with your music à la the Cramps or Alien Sex Fiend (as I do :)) My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult are a band you really should check out.

As Jackhammer mentioned, they're on The Crow soundtrack. In fact, they've been on a lot of soundtracks, which is fitting because their first album was actually originally intended to be the soundtrack to a movie the two primary members of the band were making called My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. It wasn't until after they made the soundtrack that they decided to abandon the movie, become a band and name themselves after the unmade film.

Here's two of their songs from the very early 90s to give you some idea of what they sound like (though they have had a poppier sound on some later albums):

Yep. And the Cool World soundtrack, which was an awful movie but had one of the best soundtracks ever.

I may have to have a PM sent my way ;)

Oh absolutely. You know how I am when someone shows an interest in one of my favorite bands. :D

I liked A daisy chain for satan quite a bit but kooler than jesus didn't impress me too much. Do send their best stuff across here too! I'll give it a listen over the weekend and see how it goes :).