Throbbing Gristle — D.O.A. The Third And Final Report Of Throbbing Gri

Much like the term ‘progressive rock’, the appellation ‘industrial’ is fairly without much meaning these days. In our modern, ultra-commodification culture a band such as Radiohead is ‘progressive rock’ and Machines of Loving Grace are ‘industrial’. Marketing has become the music.

Now don’t get me wrong, I really like me some Machines of Loving Grace…..or Ministry, My Life with a Thrill Kill Kult, NIN, Sister Machine Gun, Skinny Puppy, and many others…..but I never thought of them as ‘industrial’. More like beat-heavy, aggressive (ish) rock, in all actuality. For me, it was the bands Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, and Throbbing Gristle (Chrome or Factrix too?) who really defined what actually was industrial and between them created an aesthetic which is still very much alive (see the dark ambient/ Noise underground for evidence). In terms of sound, these bands borrowed from early avant-garde classical/electronic/tape music, Can, Cluster/ Kluster, Faust, Harmonia, Heldon, Kraftwerk, Neu, Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music, Suicide, The Velvet Underground, and others. With this palette of sounds TG, SPK, and CabVolt combined the paranoid atmosphere of late 70’s, post-industrial Western culture (e.g., cults, toxic factories, mental institutions, military technologies, governmental interference & surveillance, etc.) with dystopian writers like J.G. Ballard, William S. Burroughs, and Philip K. Dick, thereby creating an “industrial music for industrial people” (phrase courtesy Monte Cazzaza).

My first exposure to industrial music came with three albums purchased on the same summer day: Cabaret Voltaire’s Voice of America, SPK’s Leichenschrei, and Throbbing Gristle’s D.O.A. I played all three relentlessly, to the deep consternation of friends and family. These bands immediately connected with that post-adolescent part of me frustrated and scared by suburbia’s toxic money cult. For a few years after it was either industrial’s (post) apocalypse or kosmische’s transcendent drive which fed my imagination (with occasional post-punk and prog seasonings). It was a dark and strange time; Throbbing Gristle’s need to lift society’s scabs and debride them with rusty steel kept many of us (semi) sane. So it was with great interest that I approached the recently remastered, by Chris Carter, versions of TG’s albums, especially D.O.A.
 
TG’s albums have been re-released on cd a couple times I think, but this is the first time that Chris Carter has done such a thorough re-mastering. The sound is definitely enhanced, with better separation and definition; individual sounds have much greater clarity than ever before. This new clarity definitely adds to the creepy and mysterious atmosphere; being able to hear what was only once suspected makes the disquiet even more compelling. And of course, Genesis P-Orridge’s babbling/ranting is more easily discernible with this version as well. Listening to the album once again after a few years I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and exactly how pertinent D.O.A. still can be. Many themes of the album are still quite relevant here in the second decade of the 21st century where paranoia and the government’s intrusive tentacles are everywhere. Either TG were quite prescient or any hopes for actual socio-cultural evolution have pretty much become just more gas polluting the air. Anyway, the album still connects and encourages listeners to interrogate the (mis) information that is fed daily to them.
 
I will willingly admit that initially I was not quite convinced by the need for additional live tracks from 1978, on a second disc (not available on the vinyl version). Having heard more than a bit of TG live on various releases such extras did not seem so readily enticing. Yet, after giving them a few good listens it is evident that second disc is definitely a worthy addition. The sonics are good and the sounds fashioned via the onstage alchemy of Chris, Cosey, Gen, and Peter are more than compelling. Occasionally, some patience is needed with Gen’s vocals but that is manageable, especially for those familiar with his approach to ‘singing’. In comparison with other acts, TG’s use of dynamics both live and in the studio allows for a depth of atmosphere which can be lacking at times with those acts focusing solely on harsh textures. It is this sense of dynamics which can really grab a listener…..and what makes TG’s music still a viable listening experience today.

If one already possesses one of the previous issues of D.O.A. it may be difficult to part with the needed cash for this remaster, but for hardcore fans or the newly curious it is definitely a worthy purchase.
  
Sleazy R.I.P.
[Geoff R.I.P. as well]