What happened to power noise?

OK here's the 'rise and fall' of the niche cult sub-genre of industrial known as power noise. This stuff arose in the early nineties when a young German label Ant-Zen started putting out some very distorted and aggressive electronic music. People started really taking notice of it when they issued a double CD compilation "Ant-Hology" on their 5 year anniversary. Here was a collection of great music which really put Ant-Zen on the map, especially with the incredible live recording of "Tentack" by Imminent Starvation. Tentack is a brutal, beautiful, musical juggernaut, that steamrollers anyone foolish to stand in its way, and defined the style perfectly.

Several other acts (almost all German or Belgian) made impressions on this compilation, like Synapscape, Hypnoskull, PAL, and Morgenstern. These acts would all go on to put out numerous releases on Ant-Zen.
Also around this time, another German label called Hands started putting out power noise CDs in bizarre cardboard contraptions that made it difficult (especially for newcomers) to get the cd out without damaging it (hence the nickname 'Hands scratch-pack'). If anything, the music put out on Hands was even more harsh and abrasive than that put out by Ant-Zen, spearheaded by the rumored mastermind behind the mysterious label, Winterkaelte. Their sound was bordering on white noise, but it was about as good as noise got, and they quickly established a cult following.

However the genre really emerged onto the industrial scene with the rise of a quiet, unassuming American, Scott Sturgis, and his project Converter. Here was power noise at its most shocking, brutal and brilliant, and he redefined the landscape of this sound. Converter started getting played at goth/industrial clubs, he was remixing and appearing on compilations, and headlining festivals in Germany like Maschinenfest. He was quickly joined by another brilliant young talent from Canada, Iszoloscope, who jumped ship from small Belgian label Spectre to join the Ant-Zen wrecking crew.

Suddenly it seemed everyone was wearing a black hoodie with a small ant and some japanese characters on it. There were Ant-Zen bags, Ant-Zen t-shirts, Ant-Zen mugs, you name it. Deleted Hypnoskull cds started selling for ridiculous amounts on Ebay. Converter's "Death Time" would get played at every club you went to. Iszoloscope's "Au Seuil du Neant" was hailed as the new masterpiece of the genre. The new power noise cultists started attacking EBM and its fans as "soft" and "weak", and were of course all starting up their own home-made power noise projects on their PCs in Fruity Loops. But the bubble had expanded too quickly. Imminent Starvation declared he was sick of "repetitive power noise" music, smashed his mixer into a thousand pieces, and started making strange incomprehensible glitch music. The glut of new power noise bands started getting bad reviews on industrial websites, since many of them were, quite frankly, terrible. The endless barrages of noise released on Hands were becoming tiresome. Ant-Zen put out some cds which were of questionable quality (the recent Hypnoskull albums are in fact some of the worst rubbish I've ever heard.) Was there anything left in power noise? Is there a limit to what you can do with distorted kick drums and abrasive noise? In 2003 Converter put out a very slow, dark album, Exit Ritual, which many power noise purists attacked but I actually think was his best work, since he was taking it somewhere different. Hands has found some new form in the last few years, especially with the excellent 5FX project, and Synapscape and Morgenstern continue to plod along, putting out good but not great releases every couple of years. Winterkaelte popped their head up recently to put out another album which had nothing wrong with it, but featured nothing really new or interesting.

Power noise isn't dead, but it's not the force it used to be. I don't play it much at clubs anymore. It has largely been replaced by the new twin forces of Aggrotech (e.g. Suicide Commando, Hocico) and what I guess you could call Techno Body Music (Modulate, Nachtmahr, Noisuf-X). Which is of course fine; those genres have some good artists and tracks too. I'm pretty sure the Converter project is dead and buried, which is sad, since he really was the best there ever was.

So why did it fall? I think it can be partly explained by the whole bubble thing, i.e. growing too big too quickly, resulting in a glut of sub-ordinary imitators. The unfriendliness of the sound didn't help any either. But the self-righteous attitude of the die-hard fans was I think a major factor. Power noise "cultists" display many of the very worst attributes of music snobs, spending more on t-shirts and hoodies than they did on albums to show off how cool they are, and aggressively deriding any other music styles than their own (sadly enough, other industrial styles came in for especially venemous attacks; as Max Weber showed 100 years ago, the two groups that hate each other the most are the ones closest together). Hmm, maybe I've been a little guilty of that from time to time. Hopefully I'm becoming less cynical and more accomodating in my old age :) Anyway, as I listen to my dusty old Ant-Hology cd to relive the old times, here's to you, power noise, old friend. Maybe the world just wasn't quite ready for you yet :)

Classic power noise albums you should hear / own:
Imminent Starvation's "Nord". Converter's "Blast Furnace" or "Exit Ritual". Iszoloscope's "Au Seuil du Neant". Winterkaelte's "Drum and Noise".

The three best EBM bands of the past decade

When most people think of EBM (Electronic Body Music, the staple style played at many goth / industrial clubs these days), they think of the old stalwarts of the genre such as Front 242 and Leather Strip. Or they may have been swept up in the "futurepop" craze that came later when bands like VNV Nation, Covenant and Assemblage 23 dominated dancefloors. However there are a few bands that've proudly carried the EBM flag and produced some awesome music over the last ten years.

Neuroticfish
I wasn't very impressed with Neuroticfish's debut No Instruments when it came out in 1999. However the Velocity single follow-up was pretty damn catchy and I decided to give them another chance when they put out Le Chansons de Neurotique in 2002. It turned out to be one of the best EBM albums ever made. If you are even a bit interested in electro-industrial music, you simply must have this album. It features a fairly stripped down sound, great vocals, and some very catchy songs including the classic single Prostitute. In 2005 they released Gelb, which was a good album but not as good as their previous work. Neuroticfish have sadly announced the project is closed, marked by "A Greater Good" 2cd retrospective.
Signature songs: M.F.A.P.L, Velocity, Prostitute
Defining album: Le Chansons de Neurotique

Seabound
This German band grabbed a lot of attention in 2001 with their strangely named album "No Sleep Demon", released on the powerhouse German label Dependent Records. Striding a fine line between classic German EBM and some very catchy synthpop, it remains a solid album and a very impressive debut. In 2004 they put out Beyond Flatline, which showed a definite maturity. The sound quality was better, the lyrics more serious, and a few songs were showing a darker, harder edge. I still love this album and listen to it regularly. 2006 saw the release of Double Crosser. This is a continuation of the sound on Beyond Flatline, but the album is possibly even darker; it even included the beautifully venemous song Traitor (previously buried as a b-side on the Poisonous Friend single). Recently they put out When Black Beats Blue, a collection of rarities and remixes, which is simply stunning.
Signature songs: Hooked, Poisonous Friend, Domination
Defining album: Beyond Flatline

Mind.In.A.Box
A friend whose music opinion I respect urged me a few years ago to listen to a band I'd never heard of, Mind.In.A.Box and their album "Dreamweb". So I did. It took me a few listenings to realise it, but it turns out I had come across the best EBM album ever made. This masterpiece both revives and redefines the genre. It combines old and new, soft and hard, simple and complex. Dreamweb was their second work; I quickly bought their first album Lost Alone, and it was fantastic (though not as good as Dreamweb). Recently they put out Crossroads, which is an amazing album and almost as good as Dreamweb (the opening track has to be heard to be believed). This humble and little-known Austrian duo with their roots in Amiga computer game music are putting out some of the best electronic music on the planet at the moment. They may not have many "club hits", but they write music that puts their peers to shame.
Signature songs: Lost Alone 2, Machine Run, Into the Light.
Defining album: Dreamweb