Four Decades of Power Electronics in Retrospect. 

Written by Mads Heilskov

Power Electronics; a punky style of organized noise consisting mainly of harsh pulsing rhythms, high pitched electronic stabs and angry yelled vocals through various effects. The end of 2020 marks the forty years anniversary of this always controversial and in-your-face abrasive subgenre within the post-industrial scene. 

Since Whitehouse’s seminal debut release “Birthdeath Experience” in 1980, a great number of acts around the world has taken the Power Electronics formula to heart and twisted and perfected it in multiple directions, creating a versatile and diverse subgenre with its very own sonic and aesthetic identity and cult following. The forty years anniversary has prompted me to look back at some of the main albums that set out the standard for the genre and continue to influence the sound, aesthetics, and culture that surround it.

The list has been divided into four parts under separate headings seeking to track the most central elements that marked each decade. Being a genre with a long history, Power Electronics has crossed over with many adjacent genres resulting in some great genre-bending releases. For this list, I have, however, chosen to leave out albums in related genres and focus on albums that are more or less “pure” Power Electronics. This means that personal old school Industrial favorites such as Throbbing Gristle and SPK are left out, although some of their noisier outputs could certainly fit within the genre. The same goes for Death Industrial acts such as Brighter Death Now and Atrax Morgue and Heavy Electronics acts such as Anenzephalia and Inade, as their main outputs lean more towards the ambient side of things than the harsh and punky aggression that, at least to me, defines Power Electronics. Rhythmic noise/industrial acts such as Blackhouse and Esplendor Geometrico have also been left out since I feel like they belong to their own genre too. Admittedly, however, I have not been entirely consistent with all of my choices.

Lastly, I have tried to balance between influential albums and what are my personal favorites to offer a representative list that covers the most important developments and breakthroughs of the genre throughout the years but also includes my own favorite albums. This gives a somewhat idiosyncratic list, but also one that does not feature many smaller, more obscure releases, however good they may be in their own right. It means that the list has a vibe of “canon” about it and if you are familiar with the genre it is likely that you will already know all the albums that are mentioned here. In other words, this is not a “top ten obscurities you did not know but should” kind of list, but an attempt at chronicling the development of Power Electronics through the lens of its very top contenders. I have limited myself to three albums per decade, which is an almost impossible task, and I have tried not to list more than one album per band. These two restrictions leave a great number of classics unmentioned, which is a flaw I have tried to remedy in the small blurbs at the beginning of each segment and in the description of each release.

The 
1980s: Experimentation

The first decade of Power Electronics was marked by experimentation with sonics and aesthetics. Back then bands worked with the equipment they had at hand; cheap synths, mixers, tape recorders, scrap metal, and homebuilt stuff, and they experimented with a multitude of different techniques like no-input mixing, various treatments of tape-loops, synths, and vocals through guitar pedals, etc. 

During this decade the themes of the lyrics and visuals were also pretty much cemented: sexual or physical violence, dominance, oppression, political unrest, in short; use of power over others in various forms. Releases mainly came out on cassette and the frequency of production of the first movers within the genre is daunting. This decade saw releases of genre-pioneers Whitehouse, Sutcliffe Jugend, Consumer Electronics, Ramleh, Dissecting Table, MB, Mauthausen Orchestra, The Grey Wolves, Con-Dom, Le Syndicat, Genocide Organ, and many, many more which makes a top-three a very hard choice between stone-cold classics. This segment has focused mainly on influence, meaning that the records that pointed out the direction for future developments in the genre have been favored.

1: Whitehouse – Great White Death (1985)

Picking one album by the pioneers that coined the term Power Electronics and spawned the entire genre, what to do? I could pick the ground zero of “Birthdeath Experience” (1980), the controversial albums that shocked the world such as “Erector” (1980) or “Total Sex” (1981), the relentless punky aggression of “Dedicated to Peter Kürten” (1981) or “New Britain” (1982)? Any of these albums, and really almost anything by Whitehouse in this decade could fit as a no. 1 on this list. “Great White Death” (1985) just did something else than the earlier albums and has become a landmark in the band’s discography. 

On this album Whitehouse had perfected their formula; they sounded good, which is cleaner and fatter than on their earlier releases, and the vocals were audible so you could really hear the aggressive and overpowering lyrics of William Bennett to full effect. Due to all these improvements, this album stands as the epitome of Whitehouse’s first period and is arguably the most influential album within the genre of Power Electronics altogether.

2: MB – Symphony For A Genocide (1981)

Italian MB is another pioneer within the genre. They released some highly controversial albums during the 1980s, probably most notoriously the “Triumph of the Will” album in 1981 under the Leibstandarte SS MB moniker, with its Nazi speeches dubbed in post-production by William Bennett to the dismay of MB. All of the 1980s albums are pure gold for anyone who likes their noise abstract and avantgardistic. 

MB’s output is more synth-driven and to some extent, melodic, even cinematic, than the UK scene’s more punky outbursts of aggression. “Symphony For A Genocide” (1981) is easily my own personal favorite among MBs output and actually among the 1980s Power Electronics releases altogether. What makes this stick out is not its noisiness, aggression, or controversial subject matter (though make no mistake, it features a pile of dead Jews on the cover and an image of the gas chamber at the Auschwitz death camp!). Rather, it is the tremendous and monumental sadness and emptiness that the wailing and droning synths, and the cavernous, screeching tape-noises that make this album so effective. This does not transmit the actual act of murdering millions to me, but the all-encompassing emptiness and despair after the fact. This is the sonic landscape of the complete absence of life after a nuclear meltdown, or indeed mass-murder; when its sounds come out of the speakers, it is as if the air is electrified and transmits only death. Symphony For A Genocide is a highly recommended piece of music history that certainly holds up here just about forty years after its release.

3: The Sodality – Orgies of Crime (1988)

This release stands out on this list. Not only is it the most obscure release, but it is also the only EP. Why then is it this one that got the spot and not a classic by one of the bands listed in the general description? Well, this is where musical influence in terms of style and composition comes into the picture. Rather than having a direct impact on the scene at the time, “Orgies of Crime” (1988) set out the parameters for what Power Electronics would become in the following decade. 

“Orgies of Crime” featured a composed and dramatic type of Power Electronics. With its crushing heaviness and textured noises, brutal and experimental vocal effects ranging from heavily treated and barely recognizable to rather “bare” and completely audible, it not only further perfected the formula of Whitehouse’s “Great White Death”, but it also lay the foundation for the sonic experimentation of Death Industrial favorite Atrax Morgue and the crushingly heavy swathes of pulsing synth onslaughts of Genocide Organ, Con-Dom and The Grey Wolves in the 1990s. This, in many ways, is the cornerstone that connects the experimentation of the 1980s and the crushing electronic abuse that became the hallmark of Power Electronics in the 1990s.

1990s: Consolidation

While the 1980s was marked by experimentation in a quite lo-fi DIY way that was in many ways quite amateurish, the 1990s saw the genre mature and come into itself as a beast that was distinct from adjacent genres like Industrial or Noise. In the 1990s, the Power Electronics sound and imagery were consolidated. Heavy pulsing rhythms, droning and wailing synths, mixers and effects, harsh vocals, samples, tape-loops – all came together within one framework of composed and effective industrial noise with a unified aesthetic sonically, as well as visually and thematically. A number of bands that had started out during the 1980s had matured and perfected their sound and their visual image, and the scene looked like it was moving in the same direction rather than consisting of a bunch of disparate teenagers experimenting in their parents’ basements.

The perfection of musical techniques and the professionalization of recording and packaging (many releases look great and have very powerful imagery!), makes the 1990s stick out as the golden era of Power Electronics from my perspective. This is the decade where the truly great records came out and where you can really sense the momentum. This decade is marked by central releases by older bands like Genocide Organ, The Grey Wolves, Con-Dom, Sutcliffe Jugend, etc., and by the rise of new bands such as Operation Cleansweep, Propergol, and Grunt who all released stellar albums that are classics in the genre today. As my list shows, many of the bands that released their main works and became scene favorites in the 1990s started out during the 1980s, and, alas, the three-album restriction I have imposed upon myself means that many classics have been left out.

1: Genocide Organ – The Truth Will Set You Free (1999)

Genocide Organ is a powerhouse within the Power Electronics scene. Outside of Whitehouse, Genocide Organ is probably the most copied band in the genre, which may make one think of them as somewhat cliché. But do not be fooled. Although many have tried to rip off their seemingly simple formula, Genocide Organ has never been outdone by any of the copycats. From their debut in 1989, they have perfected their sound and image over the years, and with their rather sparse output, they have delivered a line of carefully crafted, solid, and classy Power Electronics records through the years. Although their debut set out the sound and aesthetic expression they would later become known for, the time when Genocide Organ was at its peak was the 1990s. All their albums from this decade are considered classics, but “Save Our Slaves” (1991) is probably their most sought after album to date. 

Again, picking just one album per artist is nearly impossible and choosing from Genocide Organ’s 1990s oeuvre is exceptionally hard. I know many would probably put “Save Our Slaves” in the top position, but my own personal favorites in their discography are “Mind Control” (1995) and “The Truth Will Set You Free” (1999). These two albums are crushingly heavy, focused, well-composed, and just in every aspect superb and vastly superior to just about any other release within the Power Electronics scene.

When I pick “The Truth Will Set You Free” over “Mind Control” it is because Genocide Organ took all of the best parts of the former and further developed them on the latter. “The Truth Will Set You Free” is the perfect Power Electronics album. Genocide Organ did not take one wrong step on this one, and it rises above everything else with distance. What makes this such a classic album? Well, it is powerful, heavy, rhythmic (helped along by the participation of the late great John Murphy), minimalistic and with great sound, great vocals, and tasty samples. This is so well made in every aspect that it outshines everyone else: simply a giant of a release. After the 1990s Genocide Organ has released several albums that were all good but not quite as awe-inspiring as their earlier output. After some years where they became just a bit too predictable, it seems to me that their latest effort, “Obituary of the Americas” (2016), is a new step into greatness. So while Genocide Organ may have peaked in the 1990s, they cannot be counted out as one of the best, if not the best, in the Power Electronics genre today.

2: The Grey Wolves – Punishment (1992)

This is another massive album by one of the most prominent acts within the genre. And perhaps it is another “controversial” choice by me to have “Punishment” (1992) and not “Catholic Priests Fuck Children” (1996) as my number one pick in their discography. The cultural (and indeed sonic) terrorism of The Grey Wolves was already well-established as a force to be reckoned with within the Power Electronics scene when “Punishment” was released, but it was with this album they reached the signature sound that most fans will think of when The Grey Wolves are mentioned. While “Catholic Priests Fuck Children” stands out as controversial because of its cover and title and probably features the most well-known tracks, as well as the most aggressive approach by The Grey Wolves. 

I think “Punishment” sticks out due to its sheer brutality and bone-crushing heaviness. This is like being beaten by a jackhammer and sawed up with a chainsaw while being run over by a bulldozer. The electronics pound, buzz, wail and squeal while the vocals are dry, insisting, and aggressive. Somewhat buried in the mix, you cannot hear every word that is being hurled at you in the maelstrom of electronic violence, but you can tell it is not pleasant! 

This, to me, stands out as one of the very best Power Electronics albums of all time. If you are in the mood to be mauled by a well-tuned sonic beast, then “Punishment” is the perfect record to satisfy that craving.

3: Sutcliffe Jugend – The Victim as Beauty (1999)

This is yet another example of an early band that matured into something far more interesting in their later years. At the cusp of the new millennium, Sutcliffe Jugend was already one of the most well-known acts within the scene, not least because of the association with genre-pioneers Whitehouse. In many ways, “The Victim as Beauty” follows the formula that Whitehouse established with “Great White Death”; high-pitched synth assaults and a combination of yelled and screamed vocals that hurl all kinds of abuse at the listener. But this is not some Whitehouse copycat, nor are we looking at a trite repetition of early Sutcliffe Jugend. This is a superbly done concept album that deals with victimhood in an intelligent and delightfully perverse manner. 

Listening to this makes you feel dirty. It is as appealing as it is appalling, and it is extremely well-crafted by a band in full control of their equipment that knows and has perfected all the techniques of sound design and composition. The album just flows, one track into the other, but at the same time, each track stands out and has an own identity. “The Victim as Beauty” is a surprisingly varied Power Electronics album that effortlessly blends high-pitched electronic hiss and droning ambient textures. The sound, the packaging, and the lyrics are simple, even elegant, and you really get the feeling that this is an artist at the top of their game. This is the perfected version of first period Whitehouse-sound, better in every aspect and just an overall great aesthetic experience for anyone who wants to play the victim.

The 2000s: Digitization

After the 1990s ended, the industrial scene was pretty much taken over by Neo-Classical and Martial Industrial acts that used computers as their main instrument. The noise-scene too had become predominantly digitized. Merzbow is a good example of that. This development had already begun during the 1990s, but in the new millennium, it felt like all life and soul had been sucked out of the Power Electronics scene, with the exception of a few pioneering bands that stood their ground against the hordes of nerds with MacBooks who released tons of shitty albums (and a few good ones) on labels such as Steinklang. 

I personally bought a lot of these albums and quickly became bored with them. Everything seemed as if it had been done before and all innovation seemed like it had stalled. While the 2000s was probably the worst decade for Power Electronics and Industrial in general, a handful of good albums stand out and a few new acts that would later become great started out during those years. To me, the 2000s were a time of trial for the scene where computers threatened to ruin everything. Just as with the 1990s, old bands dominate my list. This is partly because a lot of new bands released generic computer-based crap during this decade, but also because many of the new bands became better later on. I am saving them for the following decade.

1: Whitehouse – Cruise (2001)

I have mentioned the first period of Whitehouse on a few occasions above thereby implying that there is also a second period. And indeed there is. After “Great White Death” William Bennett was at a loss in terms of what to do next. How do you continue to move forward with something when you have already perfected it? As an innovator, it is unacceptable to simply repeat yourself, and in consequence, Bennett vacated the scene for some years with only a few sporadic releases and live shows. 

Then, during the 1990s he returned with a couple of albums, “Halogen” (1994), “Quality Time” (1995), and “Mummy and Daddy” (1998) that would set the direction for Whitehouse’s new sound. On these albums, the analog hiss of the old EDP Wasp synth was replaced by a harsh digital sound that was much harder, more focused, and on point than on the previous albums. The vocal style had also changed somewhat and was perhaps even more aggressive than before. During these years Bennett also cultivated a collaborative relationship with notorious pornographic author Peter Sotos. On “Cruise” (2001) the new digital sound was perfected. Everything on this record is hard, precise, well-articulated, and effective.

The digital sound actually suits Whitehouse; it dehumanizes the overall feel and gives the whole thing a sterile coldness that really suits the brutal and nihilistic style that Whitehouse has always worn so well. Bennett’s delivery is snappy and crisp and his rants are unusually witty and on point. The audio-porn by Sotos is actually disturbing and at this point not yet used to death, as one might say of later releases. Once again, Whitehouse proved to be innovators rather than imitators and it served them well to go their own way instead of simply repeating themselves. Later releases were okay, but they were mainly just repetitions of “Cruise” which, to some extent, was already a repetition of “Mummy and Daddy”. When “Cruise” stands as the main work of the second period it is for the same reason that “Great White Death” stands as the main work of the first one; “Cruise” takes all the elements and perfects them. It is hard, cold, precise, oppressive, aggressive, and witty. It is a late masterpiece from a band that many had depreciated.

2: Grunt – Seer of Decay (2006)

When Grunt released “Seer of Decay” they had already existed for just about fifteen years, so this is not exactly a debut. Some would perhaps even argue that this is not the main album of Grunt’s discography, but I beg to differ. Before “Seer of Decay” I saw Grunt as a good but kind of second-rate Power Electronics/Noise band that had some interesting stuff in their back catalog but did not really stand apart from all the other decent bands out there. “Seer of Decay” changed my impression because it saw Grunt take new chances and incorporate new approaches into their sonic arsenal. 

Here, we get scrap metal clatter used in innovative and creative ways, small melodic synth lines, and sonic textures that have almost ambient qualities that all mix with the aggressive and well-delivered vocals. In the landscape of lame computer-noise, Grunt stood out as a real Industrial band with gritty analog sounds and scrap metal percussion without sounding the least bit dated. On “Seer of Decay”, Grunt reveals itself as an authoritative band with a vision and a will to innovate without giving up any of the genre’s trademarks. This is innovation within tradition, and when it came out “Seer of Decay” showed the world that Power Electronics could be something else and more than what most other bands did at the time. In many ways, Grunt pointed to the future while most others pointed to the past, and they did it without falling outside of the Industrial tradition and without selling out. For me, this record cemented Grunt as the main player on the scene that they are known as today.

3: Propergol – Renegade (2001)

Propergol had already rocked the Power Electronics scene with “Cleanshaven” in 1998. At the time, “Cleanshaven” was the most radically violent album in years. It was just so loud, so hard and so brutal. The shock value dropped a little bit with “Renegade” (2001), simply because we knew what we would get. Nevertheless, the sound on “Renegade” is so punchy, in your face, brutal and clear that it simply blows you away. 

Outside of Genocide Organ, Propergol is probably the best sounding Power Electronics band out there. The music on “Renegade” is synth-based pulsing, throbbing, rhythmic Power Electronics that is extremely well composed and executed. It is analog and gritty, but with a clear sound, powerful vocals, and well-timed, treated, and mixed samples. Nothing feels accidental or ad hoc on this record; all you hear is crafted with utmost competence. In contrast to Grunt, there is not a lot of gritty nastiness in Propergol’s analog assault; instead, you get a well-oiled machine of destruction that, at the time, showed the world that this kind of music could sound good and be made with skill and diligence without being sterile or gutless like all the other bands.

2010s: Back to Analogue

After some years where gutless, sterile computer-noise with no meaning or purpose had flooded the Power Electronics scene and polluted our ears with utter shit, it felt like we went back on track in the 2010s. Labels like Unrest/Unsound and Freak Animal have, among others, put out a lot of really good releases that have built on the good things that bands like Grunt and Propergol did in the previous decade. Sterile computer productions are more or less out (well, among a group of worthy acts anyway), meaning that computers are no longer the main instrument but another useful tool in music-making, and you can once again hear the gnarly growl of a real synth on your Power Electronics records. This does not mean that we have just gone back to the good old days in pure retrospection – quite the opposite actually.

Of course, we also had to suffer through a kind of “hipster takeover” for a while with Pitchfork darlings like Prurient, Pharmakon, Puce Mary, and the whole damn Posh Isolation roster. But things are looking pretty good now that the hipsters seem to have moved on to cannibalize on other underground genres. The present acts sound new and fresh, they have their own take on Power Electronics and they have each their own identity. With a mixture of old and proven techniques and new and innovative approaches, partially reached through new technologies, the current generation of Power Electronics acts is hungry and ready to take over. Bands like Shift, Kevlar, Abscheu, Kontinent, Iron Fist Of The Sun, Koufar, S.T.A.B. Electronics, Linekraft, Moral Order, etc. have proved that you can move forward without losing track of your roots. At the same time, many of the old acts are still active and many of them have been releasing stellar albums recently, perhaps fuelled by the enthusiasm and innovation of the present generation. Based on this, my prediction is that the future is bright for our small scene and that we will get to enjoy many great new releases in the years to come.

1: Shift – Altamont Rising (2014)

One of the main innovators in the current boom in the Power Electronics scene is Shift. Shift’s sound has all the elements of the 1990s Power Electronics but is at the same time unique and very fresh. Layers of drones, rhythmic synthetic pulsations, percussive elements on scrap metal, extreme and disturbing vocals, and even guitars effortlessly blend together to a powerful and expressive form of sound-synthesis that takes no prisoners. With “Altamont Rising” (2014), Shift took the scene by storm, and for a very good reason.

This was new territory but not in a way that turned them into something that was not Industrial at its heart. You find no pansy hipster tendencies here, just a violent saturated whirlwind of sonic destruction that is incredibly massive and brutal. This is like a wall of noise but, in contrast to Harsh Noise Wall artists, Shift’s music is dynamic rather than static; it is composed and structured and its textures swallow you in rather than keep you out. When I listen to “Altamont Rising” I get a lot of the same associations as I do when I listen to the classics, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will join their ranks in due time, when the tap is settled and we have a clearer overview.

2: Con-Dom – “How Welcome Is Death to I Who Have Nothing Left to Do then to Die” (2016)

Okay, so I have mentioned Con-Dom among the pioneers and commended them for releasing classic albums throughout this list, and I wait until now to put a Con-Dom album on it? Having existed since around 1984, Con-Dom has been at the top of the food chain for four decades. I could have easily swapped any album on the list so far with a Con-Dom album and it would have made sense. When I have not done that it is because this one stands out as Con-Dom’s strongest, most personal, and downright nihilistic album yet – and that says a lot, when you think about the brutal onslaught that characterizes classics like “All in Good Faith” (1989), “Subjection” (1996) or “Control Domination” (1999).

“How Welcome is Death…” is such an overwhelming, powerful and nasty record. Its honest investigation of death is so personal, realistic, and brutal. The way it shifts between voyeuristic and exhibitionistic modes of expression is challenging and difficult to sit through, it is a record that is actually hard to listen to and has a profound effect on you. The unsettling samples, the nasty artwork, and the carefully crafted sounds are just so brutal, so cold, so painful that it is exhausting to sit through this record. 

Anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one will know the emotions that Mike Dando is communicating here. Death is painful, but also boring, uneventful, and mundane. Life is the same; so common, so eventless, and tiring; it chips away on you until you are broken and eventually give up and beg to die. This is what “How Welcome is Death…” does to you too. In its painfully accurate depiction of what it is to live and to die, it transmits the harsh reality in a terrifyingly nihilistic way. This is truly a masterpiece and I would recommend it to everyone, but I can also assure you that you will not put it on the record player very often. It will chip away at you, just like life, and drag you down and make you realize just how broken you are; you and everyone else.

3: Kevlar – New Fears New Fights (2017)

Since their debut in 2014, Kevlar has become one of the leading bands within the modern Power Electronics scene. They have a straightforward punky style that borrows from the classic repertoire of Whitehouse, Genocide Organ, and The Grey Wolves. Their sound is analog and, in some ways, quite classic, yet they sound modern, potent, fresh, and aggressive. When their debut album “Alfa Strife” (2014) came out it made quite a splash as it seems everyone was just waiting for a band like this to come along and revive the Power Electronics scene, but on their latest effort, they surpass their debut on every level, delivering what will surely become a modern classic. 

It is even more straight forward, more punky and in-your-face, and more aggressive than the debut. It simply pushes all the right buttons. Not in any way shy about their inspirations, Kevlar has managed to update the sound of pure unadulterated Power Electronics and re-ignite the spirit of the scene. This is like a mix between “Catholic Priests…”-era Grey Wolves and “Save Our Slaves”-era Genocide Organ delivered with confidence, style, and technical prowess. But this is by no means a retro or copycat act. Kevlar has their own sound and identity and on “New Fears New Fights” they just crush it. With their roots firmly planted in the golden era of Power Electronics Kevlar takes you into new frightful and violent sonic territories.