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EBM etc.

Although RiB is more overtly goth than the EBMers, and technically EBM predates the goth phenomena. I mean, Front 242, Poesie Noir, A Split Second and some of those guys were starting to define the genre out of "regular industrial" back before goths were involved. The early Goths were more about the Cure, Bauhaus, Southern Death Cult, Souxsie and the Banshees, etc.

I'd argue that. You're also forgetting bands like Alien Sex Feind, Christian Death, and 45 Grave. Not to mention bands like Skinny Puppy and Foetus that had cross genre appeal. Add that there were not many "industrial clubs at that time, nor many "gothic" clubs. Alternative was still "alternative" back then clubs played what would be an eclectic mix of everything by todays standards. As bands like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb created industrial music that could be danced to, it simply got added to the play lists along with everything else. Then, as today, differences between the genres which were more aesthetics than musical, was a moot point to everybody but the fringe fanatics of the various genres. Even today those fringe fans have define such genres more by which bands they like than any objective rational. thus if they like synthpop and like band XYZ, then band XYZ is sysnthpop, not EBM. If they feel they like EBM and not synthop but like band XYZ, then band XYZ is EBM.
 

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You're right, but I'm a bit of a genre splitter, not a lumper! ;) I don't like a lot of early Goth music, but the kind that had cross-synthpop or Industrial appeal I did; stuff like Clan of Xymox, or whathaveyou.

It's interesting to me, though, to see how a lot of these fragmented genres are starting to recombine in a lot of ways. Futurepop seems to be (in many ways) the future of Industrial music, and it's essentially a fusion of synthpop and EBM. It's already pretty hard to tell the difference between a lot of the futurepop and a lot of the darker, harder synthpop like De/Vision or Beborn Beton.

And then there's outfits like Funger Vogt that are pretty firmly "old skool EBM" but who have side projects like Fictional or Ravenous that skirt synthpop and futurepop territory.

So I see your point; although as a categorizor, I often wish I could definitively place bands in little niches, in reality, naturally, it's not that easy.
 

I just got back from the Ministry gig.

I haven't seen them since 1993 - The Psalm 69 tour (after the Lollapalooza tour).

It was AWESOME, although a lot more metal than they were during my favourite era (Land of Rape & Honey, The Mind) - they did a wonderful gig, awesomely tight performance, great set of tunes, and brilliant light show.

---

As for EBM, I'm just unable to get back into it anymore. I like the occasional track, but the overall genre doesn't grab me anymore - not like 10 years ago when I had my Industrial radio show.
 



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