The difference, by ear
Industrial rock is the same approach without metal's tuning and riffing - closer to post-punk with machines than to metal with them.
Both are part sung, part screamed and move at much the same pace, around 100 to 150 bpm. To hear the difference, play Ministry next to Killing Joke. Industrial metal comes from the metal side of the tree and industrial rock from the rock side, and industrial rock came first, by six years. United States appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Industrial metal
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Industrial metal
In short
Metal riffs over programmed drums, samples and synths. Mechanical by design.
How it sounds
- Programmed or heavily processed drums with samples of mechanical sounds.
- Repetitive, staccato riffing, with the guitar treated as a rhythmic element.
- Distorted vocals, declaimed or shouted through effects.
Key acts
- Ministry
- Fear Factory
- Rammstein
- Godflesh
Start here
The pickGodflesh - Streetcleaner. It sounds like an industrial city collapsing, which is the subject.
Full page →Industrial rock
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Post-punk › Industrial rock
In short
Guitars over programmed drums, sampling and factory noise. The bridge to industrial metal.
How it sounds
- Programmed drums or samples of struck metal in place of a conventional rhythm section.
- Digitally processed guitar, often chopped up and reassembled.
- Vocals distorted through a megaphone or digital processing.
Key acts
- Killing Joke
- Ministry
- Nine Inch Nails
Start here
The pickNine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral. Recorded, not at all by chance, in a house with a grim history.
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