Industrial

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My friend Scott and I were recently discussing the history of industrial music. We were debating the contributions of Al Jourgensen vs. those of Trent Reznor to industrial music. We agreed that Reznor and Nine Inch Nails brought industrial music to the malls, MTV and so on. NIN’s "Pretty Hate Machine" has sold over a million copies, afterall. We agreed more strongly that Jourgensen as an individual musician has done the most for industrial music as an art form and musical movement. Jourgensen couldn’t have done it without WaxTrax! Records though. WaxTrax! is synonymous with industrial music.

Some early purveyors of industrial have included Lou Reed, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, and Einsterzende Neubauten. Reed’s album "Metal Machine Music" was a noise infested early manifestation of what was to develop. Eno’s out there ambient musical experiments also would have influence on the industrial movement.

Einsterzende Neubauten and Kraftwerk are more directly hailed as influences on industrial and electronic based music. These bands took the industrial tag literally, beating on metal with hammers and other tools and setting it to a drum beat.

In addition there was Skinny Puppy, the Canadian industrial band on Nettwork records. Skinny puppy formed in the late Eighties and just released their final album, "Process". Their noise distorted sample filled music has had great influence as well.

The founders of WaxTrax!, Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher started a record store in 1973 in Denver. They began by raiding their own record collections and ordering stuff from record and tape clubs. They moved to Chicago in 1978 and opened Waxtrax! Records. It not only was a cool record store but became a hang out for the local Chicago alternative scenesters. WaxTrax! became a record label with the release of it’s first single "Immediate Action" from the band Strike Under.

When you own your own record label, you can release whatever you want. Flesher and Nash met B-movie drag queen Divine and offered to release a couple tracks he/she had recorded but never released. "The Name Game" by Divine was the second WaxTrax! single to be released. The original producers subsequently sued Divine and WaxTrax! but the charges were dropped when the low sales returns on the single were presented. It barely sold a few hundred copies.

Then along came Al with the sound that would come to define WaxTrax! Records. Al Jourgensen that is. Jourgensen would eventually release only a couple of Ministry singles on WaxTrax!, "Cold Life", and "Everyday is Halloween". More importantly, Al would become a core member of many WaxTrax! bands and do production work as well.
The next major artist to release on WaxTrax! was the Belgian band Front 242, with the single "Endless Riddance". Front 242’s classic album "Front By Front" would become the biggest selling WaxTrax! release.

Jourgensen’s first side project to record for WaxTrax! was called The Revolting Cocks. The first RevCo album was "Big Sexy Land" and was recorded with Richard 23 of Front 242. Before RevCo’s second WaxTrax! release "You Goddamned Son of Bitch", Richard 23 would leave the band. Paul Barker, William Rieflin, and Chris Connelly jumped on board. RevCo at one time or another would also include Ogre of Skinny Puppy and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

Barker and Rieflin also became core members of Ministry. Barker and Jourgensen began to collaborate on a number of WaxTrax! projects together. These bands included Lead Into Gold, PTP (with Chris Connelly), Pailhead (with Ian Mackeye of Fugazi), Acid Horse, and 1,000 Homo Djs (with Trent Reznor). Barker and Jourgensen also began producing together, calling themselves Hypo Luxa and Hermes Pan.

Another well known WaxTrax! original was My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. Their first album, "I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits" was the sound track to a film that would never be made. Other releases would include "Confessions of a Knife", and "Sexplosion".

Next up was KMFDM and "Don’t Blow Your Top". This was followed by "UAIOE". Despite what you’ve heard, KMFDM is a German acronym that translates to "no pity for the majority". It does NOT stand for "kill mother fucking Depeche Mode".
Other prominent WaxTrax! artists included Front Line Assembly, Sister Machine Gun, Coil, Psychic TV, Mussolini Headkick, and the KLF.

WaxTrax! went bankrupt in 1992, despite it’s important musical legacy. TVT records took over distribution soon after. Many bands used WaxTrax! as a spring board to the major labels. Despite this, most remained loyal to their early beginnings with the king of industrial labels out of Chicago.