The Italian industrial scene.
Whoever would have thought that industrial/noise music would grow and blossom in a place like Italy. This country would pioneer new styles and sounds and point in what direction upcoming industrial and electronic bands would take.
The backbone for the early Italian scene was offcourse, the rise and popularity of the cassette format. A cheap way of recording/documenting your own music/noise. Without spending a fortune on professional equipment or studios. Cassettes also allowed the artist to experiment with the format, creating loops and enabling primitive multi-tracking by connecting more recording machines and manipulating the recording audio speed. In other words, the cassette format was both seen as a way of releasing your own music and a piece of equipment that could create new sounds.
In the late 70s, a fellow named Maurizio Bianchi started to do articles for independent music magazines about experimental and electronic music. Inspired by the cassette format and the music he wrote about, Conrad Schnitzler, Throbbing Gristle, and Tangerine Dream, he then created his own brand of experimental industrial electronics. He started his first project, Sacher-Pelz, and made his first cassette album, Cainus, in 1979. 3 other cassettes were also released, and the copies were handed only over to friends. None of these 4 albums was officially distributed back then, but they have luckily been re-released today.
He then started the project MB in 1980 with the first official self-released album, Industrial Tape. Cold, harsh, minima,l, and atmospheric are the 4 keywords to describe the early works of MB. The breakthrough for MB, was when Symphony For A Genocide was vinyl-released in the UK on Nigel Ayer´s legendary label Sterile Records in 1981. After this release, MB signed an "interesting" contract with William Benennett´s label Come Organisation. Steven Stapleton made a "joke" contract for MB, giving him absolutely no rights for his releases on the label. Come Organisation added Hitler speeches/fascist recordings to his albums, without his knowledge. Even MB was changed to Leibstandarte SS MB. These Come Organisation releases have also been reissued on MB´s own label Menstrul Recordings, just now with the artist name MB instead. To this day, MB is still active and releasing new albums!
The scene in the early eighties slowly began moving more and more toward esoteric ambient/ritual music and further away from traditional industrial. As in the case with what was going on in England at the same time, just to namedrop Current 93, Coil and Psychic TV. Lyke Wake and Ain Soph both started in the early 80s, and both acts are from Rome. Lyke Wake is the solo work of Stefana Di Serio, and Ain Soph is a 4-man band.
Ain Soph released their first self-released 300 copies of cassette I in 1984, re-issued later on Old Europa Cafe. A descent into murky esoteric ambient ritual music, also discovering drone-ambient at the same time. Even drone-metal act Sunn (o))) have mentioned the early Ain Soph being a huge inspiration for them! They would continue making horrific and meditative soundscapes on their own label Mysty Circles until 1990, where they would get their ideas from traditional chamber music, psychedelic rock, and even Italian folk music! Until now they are still active, they released a new live album in 2024.
Lyke Wake started doing noise-driven ambient music with the Necronomicon tape in 1981. Shared much in sound with the early MB and Mauthausen Orchestra, just a step closer to a kind of throbbing proto-death-industrial sound. A sound (and style) that would achieve recognition and cult status in the early 90s. Lyke Wake would continue on this path until 1990 and then restart the project in 2014 with a new psychedelic synth/organ-driven sound. Much in the same soundtrack style as classic 70s Italian horror/gothic movies.
Later in 1982, a new Italian project was released in the UK. Pierpaolo Zoppo started Mauthausen Orchestra in 1982 and was one of the first power-electronics acts from Italy. The self-titled album and future releases were released on Gary Mundy´s cult label called Broken Flag as well as a new Italian power-electronics label called Aquolifer Sodality, the debut has also been re-issued on Menstrul Recordings. The early sound of Mauthausen Orchestra was even more harsh and cold, and less atmospheric/spacy than MB. Not that far away from some of the early recordings by Boyd Rice, the debut album would also be important in the creation of later styles like HNW and ANW. The new power-electronics sound was prober realised on the second album Conflict from 1983, which was also both released on Broken Flag and Aquilifer Sodality. Sadly Pierpaolo Zoppo died in 2012, but ended his career making 2 releases together with MB.
The same year in 1982, another act/band called Tomografia Assiale Computerizzata released their debut Senza Titolo. Avant-garde post-punk with industrial sound material, like a cross between early Cabaret Voltaire and Pere Ubu. Later in 1987 and onward, they would start to blend classical and ambient elements in their recorded material, moving further away from their avant-punk roots. Their last album was released in 2017.
More in the obscure section, a duo from Cosenza called Zona Industriale started in 1983. Mixing field recordings from real life with noisy elements. Anything from radio speeches radio-frequencies, hair dryers, train stations, creaking of trees manipulated through various effects. Designed to represent the repetitive sound of everyday routines. They managed to release 5 albums til 1987. Later on, Marco Corbelli (Slaughter Productions and Atrax Morque) would re-release some of their albums. The label Angst would also re-release their debut in 2015.
Another occult-inspired act that has gained cult status is Sigillum S from Milan. Esoteric and minimal ritual-ambient with roots in Italian post-punk and ethnic music. Gained attention in 1986 with their Broken Flag-released album called Trance Flexure. In 1989 they made a split album release with Ain Soph on Cthulhu Records, which later was re-issued on Old Europa Cafe.
The next time Italian would gain attention would be around 1992. With the rise of the Italian label Old Europa Cafe and several important European labels Tesco Germany and Cold Meat Industry. Distributors and mail-order catalogs made it easier for underground artists to reach out and find new listeners on a worldwide scale. One of those who succeeded in this was Marco Corbeli, the one guy who started Atrax Morgue, the Italian death-industrial sound and the cult-label Slaughter Productions. Influenced by bands like Whitehouse, Brighter Death Now, and Genocide Organ and a dose of mentally unhealthy morbid interests Marco then released the cassette album In Search of Death under the Atrax Morgue name. It was also the first release from Slaughter Productions.
After gaining recognition with In Search Of Death, Marco continued working at Atrax Morgue and started to get in contact with projects that were similar to his. Some of these projects would then be released on his label. Further influenced by the Swedish label Cold Meat Industry, Marco then decided to release the first CD on Slaughter Productions. It was a compilation called Death Odors, which to this day is a highly collected cult item and it is also regarded as being one of the best compilations in the death-industrial genre. It made an inspiring bridge between the labels Slaughter Productions and Cold Meat Industry, as well as showcasing Grey Wolves and Allerseelen. All of the tracks contributed to the compilation were even exclusive tracks!
After this compilation, Slaughter Productions began releasing both Swedish and Italian acts. From Megaptera ro Raison D´être to Die Sonne Satans and Runes Order. Between 1993 and 1999, he managed to release more than 100 tapes. To this day, all of the Slaughter Productions tapes are highly sought after. Many of the acts on the label also gained recognition and were (again) distributed via all the various cult labels, acts like Runes Order, Die Sonne Satans, Megaptera, Subklinik, Gerstein, En Nihil, etc.
In 2006, the very last Slaughter Production release came out. The same year, the last Atrax Morgue album called Negative Frequencies came out as well. After that, radio silence. And sadly on May 6th, 2007, Marco Corbelli committed suicide.
And to this day in Italy, there are still industrial/noise labels and artists churning out morbid soundscapes for the needy.
Industrial Ölocaust Recordings is one of the excellent labels around. A label that started around 1989, and has since then released new acts within the esoteric Italian industrial and ambient scene. Sokushinbutsu Project, Empty Chalice, Elena M. Rosa Lavita, and Luca Ferro are some of the recommended acts from this great label.
Another artist worth mentioning would be the extensive work of Daniele Santagiuliana, both released under his own name and his solo-project Testing Vault. Exploring atmospheric aural psychedelia through meditative and hypnotic soundscapes. Much in the same manner as Deutsche Nepal and Coil.
We also have Gianluca Martucci, who more or less kickstarted the dungeon synth genre in 1996 with the project called Sagenhaft, with the album called The Legend Of The Forgotten Reign. Other than that, he has kept on exploring ambient and synth-based music with several interesting projects. Worth mentioning are Victorian Witch and Urna.
Macelleria Mobile Di Mezzanotte (MMM) was started in 2001 by Adriano Vincenti. Early recordings were in the Italian power-electronics style, but later the act turned more into murky jazz music with hints of post-electronica and harsh noise. Cronaca Nera is an interesting side-project of theirs, with its primal focus on challenging power electronics. Vincenti is also responsible for the highly inspired nylon-fetish harsh-noise wall cult label called Signora Ward! Be sure to also check out Zoloft Evra as well, murderous and suicidal drone-ambient with tons of sexual undertones!
Italian industrial - The starter Pack.
1. Maurizio Bianchi - Symphony for a Genocide - 1981
A humming and vibrating rhythmic sense of steel relentlessly throbs towards a never-ending oblivion. These would be the words I would choose to describe the beginning of this pioneering piece of work, the track called Treblinka that is. Hardly containing a kind of melody, but having instead a sense of utter meaninglessness combined with the rhythmic industrial sounds. While everything breaks apart or smothers into nothingness, the machinery just keeps on working. The very heart of classic Italian industrial starts here.
2. Mauthausen Orchestra - S/T - 1982
There is not a dose of souls or human remains left on the debut of Mauthausen Orchestra. Of the feeling of what is left behind, the atmospheric tension. It can be hard to paint a sound-wise painting describing the concentration camp setting, and the shock when it was first exposed. It cracks, and it hums with haunting ambient drones. The impression of desperate human activity behind a thick veil of dead souls. It´s shockingly dark and soothing in a truly sick way! For me it´s the perfect proto-ambient-noise wall album, even fans of dark-ambient should seek this one out.
3. Ain Soph & Sigillum S - S/T - 1989
It´s the perfect album to introduce both acts on this marvelous split from 1989. Where are also in that era when Ain Soph started to experiment with folk elements and chamber music, perfectly suits the highly esoteric ethnic industrials-sound of Sigillum S . From murky synths, beautiful religious chantings with intriguing medieval sounding string-work.
4. Lyke Wake - The Long Last Dream - 1987
Completely drowned in synth-drones and evocative industrial machine hums. The sound of Lyke Wake strangely being both epic and non-dramatic, like floating in space expecting to see wonders and all you see... is the great emptiness. Although having that mood and sound of empty ruins, you are also being transported into a huge adventurous world of sound... which is well worth exploring.
5. Runes Order - 1988 - 2022 - 1998
Why they wanted to name the intro album/compilation 1988-2022 when it was released in 1998, I'm not sure. The inner sleeve doesn´t explain it. But what I can say, is that the album runs through the entire sound-evolution of this project. A step back to early synth music and classic movie soundtracks with an evocative and mystical touch. In my part of the universe, Runes Order is the perfect mixture of vintage synth music and ambient. The atmosphere and the melodies are quite... breathtaking! Some of the tracks on this compilation also hail from the Slaughter Productions era.
6. Die Sonne Satans - Archive Compendium - 1997
In close contact with Runes Order, both sharing the same label (Slaughter Productions) and having a project between them called Atom Infant Incubator. Die Sonne Satans is a step closer to murky dark ambient, and eerie electronic psychedelia. Always a nut being too hard to crack, this project has been hard to describe. It´s unique in the classic Italian way, but also a project without any similar acts on the planet. Recommended.
7. Tombstone - Gothic Land - 1995
Gothic Land is a compilation containing selective obscure tracks from some of the tape releases on the artist´s own label Psychotic Releases. And what label decided to release this compilation, a side-label to Cold Meat Industry! Is it gothic? ... Quite if you ask me. Not culturally in a modern way, but closer to classic gothic art in horror literature and movies. Black minimal horror-ambient with creepy samples from old gothic-horror movies. Sounds like the stuff has been recorded in the basement of some old ruined castle! A release/album that will grow on you, and you will... return for more!
8. I Burn - Infraharmonics, Scald Cavities - 1998
From harsh ambient noise to melancholic and dream-soaked melodic drones. An underrated project which was active between 1998 - 2003. The debut is the strongest! The track Branding Jesus is a strange and mystical piece you can hear for hours on repeat. A strange focus on heat, fire, and cremation. Recommended would be gey the re-issue from Fuoco Records. If the heat makes you thirsty for more, then the other albums are also recommended!
9. Sagenhaft - The Legend Of The Forgotten Reign - 1996
Early (and part) of the first generation of what we now call dungeon synth. Or simply dark-ambient with medieval/fantasy overtones. A cult classic for collectors, and a lovely journey back to the simple days of Dungeons & Dragons and text-based computer games! Gianluca Martucci of Sagenhaft is also behind other projects such as Urna, Victorian Witch, and many more. All his stuff is worth exploring.
10. Testing Vault - Testing Vault - Ghosts Are Thin And Full Of Filaments Disc I & II - 2022
The world of Testing Vault is HUGE. That comes from the recorded world within as well! It´s a unique journey every time u hear it. Parallel universes, paranormal activities, ectoplasm... stuff that we sense but do not see. In the case of Testing Vault, we get the opportunity to hear (and almost sense) that invisible world! The two-disc album is a collection of some of the finest moments with this excellent project.
