Best of 2020 : industrial music

 Here's a short list of what I liked the more in industrial music in 2020. Click to go to the review. And feel free to say what you feel is missing in comment.

Industrial metal

5RVLN5 - The Black Mark

Black Magnet - Hallucination Scene 

Uniform - Shame

Industrial tech

Dark Machine Nation - Hail of Iron

Frett - The World as a Hologram

Retrograde Youth - Mass Asphyxia

 

 

Emphysematous Excretion of Gangrenous Debridement / Empyaema - Landslide of Organs (split 2020)

I usually don't listen to goregrind  (I love grindcore but I'm more into grindpunk, death/grind, or nosiegrind) but this split with Emphysematous Excretion of Gangrenous Debridement and Empyaema, nicely called Landslide of Organs has been released by the excellent label Nerve Altar, so I gave it a try. And definitely don't regret it since it has what I can like in goregrind aplenty : the manic snare drum beating and the savage groove. Also, its rooted in old school death with real riffing and the vocals are fittingly grotesque but not too artificially so. It's more on the Carcass/Regurgitate side of goregrind than on the more modern slam side. ExExGxDx side of the split is the one with more old school death in it, while the Empyaema is more pure gore, but both are excellent at what they do, and I enjoy both of them. Cool stuff! (If I dare say...).

The BC page.

 

Viagra Boys - Welfare Jazz (2021)

Viagra Boys already were more than just another post-punk band (and not just because of the smart use of the saxophone), but with their second album Welfare Jazz they're making one step further in creating a style of their own. At the same time more unique and more universal and rooted in traditions since they're getting more bluesy / soulful. Their post-punk is now clearly more Gun Club than Joy Division, reminding also Nick Cave's Abattoir Blues or Mark Lanegan or Tom Waits music, but why not also David Bowie on one hand, and Brainbombs on the other? The album start with "Ain't Nice" that reminds the best of what they did before, but the rest is more like a further exploration of what they first tried with "Just like you" in the first album. But anyway so far they succeed brilliantly whatever direction they take... Welfare Jazz is a flawless album filled with very enjoyable, memorable and interesting songs. I already guarantee we'll see this one pop up in many "best of 2021" lists in the end of the year, and totally deservedly. Warmly recommended!

 

Their website.

 

Murderous Vision - Caustic Coagulation (2020)

Murderous Vision is the work of Stephen Petrus and Caustic Coagulation is one of the albums he released in 2020. It covers a wide range of industrial music, from creepy dark ambient to more abrasive power electronics, and that diversity is definitely not at the expense of quality, which is maintained at a high level throughout the album. Good dark and industrial music.  

The Bandcamp page.

 

Human Impact - Human Impact (2020)

Since I've been listening regularly to Unsane for twenty years now, and like Cop Shoot Cop and Swans as well I feel a bit embarrassed to discover only now, thanks to the "best of 2020" lists, that Chris Spencer (guitar and vocals in Unsane) formed Human Impact with guys from Cop Shoot Cop and Swans and that they released their first, self-titled album in March 2020. Anyway that's a very good surprise, and it totally deserves being featured in many "best of 2020" lists. As could be expected it sounds a bit like a more polished, subtle and slightly experimental version of Unsane, on the smart side of noise rock, and at home in the Ipecac catalogue. Obviously recommended.

The Bandcamp page.