Just Fascin

ationE

xtreme political im

agery in u

ndergrou

nd in

dustrial m

usic

Browsingthroughtheracksatyourfavouriterecordshop,youstumbleacrossanalbumbyanunfamiliarband.Thenametellsyoulittle,butthereisNaziinsigniaontherecordsleeve.Thismustbeanalbumbysomeneo-Naziband,right?Maybenot. In the darkest corners of certain underground musicmovements, the use of such controversial imagery is ubiquitous.NowhereisthismoretruethaninIndustrialmusicanditssub-genres.Explicitreferencestoextremepoliticalideologiesandtheirhistoricalmanifestationsabound.There isaparticular focusonWorldWarIIandtheAxispowers,aswellasSovietcommunism.Albumartwork,songtitles, lyricsandsampledsoundsfrequentlyrefertothedarkesthoursof the20thcentury. Whatisthesignificanceof theseimages?Atfirstglance,thereislittledoubt.Theymustbeareflectionof theartists’extremepoliticalviews.However,acloserexaminationof themusicuncoversnocalltoarms for the far right.There is rarely anypolitical contentat all.Further research reveals that the artists are not neo-Nazis or Nazisympathisers.Indeed,somegotogreatlengthtodistancethemselvesfromsuchpeople.Theirappropriationof reviledandtabooimageryis an aesthetic choice, often with little or no commentary on thetotalitarianregimesassociatedwiththesesymbols. Toamainstreamaudience,theuseof suchpowerfulimageryimpliesaparticularintentonthepartof theartist.Theartistisexpectedtoalignhimself eitherfororagainsttheidealsthesesymbolsrepresent.Some musicians do take sides, either implicitly or explicitly. Othersexploittheseimagesfortheirshockvalue.Athird,andarguablymostinteresting,groupusestotalitarianimagerytocreateanaestheticmoodaround theirmusic.There arenovalue judgments about rights andwrongs. There is no commentary at all. This ambivalence creates asenseof taboowhichcomplementsthemusic. Liketheimagesonthealbumsleeves,Industrialmusicisoftenoppressive and unpleasant. The ‘dark’ packaging both reflects andaugmentsthe‘dark’music.Thevisualsrelateto‘dark’periodsinrecenthistory,includingWorldWarIIandtheHolocaust,thatarehardwiredintoWesternconsciousness.Theyrequirenoexplanation,andassuchareapre-existingsetof evocativereferences. This appropriation and manipulation of imagery has clearprecedentinbothartandmusic.ItcanbetracedbacktotheDadaistsandtheFuturistsandtotheworkof JohnHeartfield.AlinecanbedrawnfromtheSituationistconceptof détournement,throughpunk’sshockingfashionstatements,tothedarkrecessesof Industrialmusic.Theconceptof détournementiscrucialinunderstandingtheheavyuseof extremepoliticalimagery.The‘sampling’of soundiscomplementedbythe‘sampling’of visualculturalsignifiers. Theuseof controversialimageryhas,unsurprisingly,causedacertainamountof controversy.Eventhemostobscureundergroundmusic occasionally falls into the hands of the uninitiated audience.Without prior knowledge of Industrial music and its use of shocktactics, people can, and often do, jump to erroneous conclusions.Artistshavebeen labeledas fascists, recordshavebeenbannedandconcertshavebeenpicketedorcancelled.Thismoralpanicislargelyunwarranted, as it is based on ignorance of the genre, rather thanfact.

The U

nacceptable Face of Freedom

Death in June - The Guilty Have No Past (1990), Laibach - Tanz Mit Laibach (2003), Mussolini Headkick - Themes For Violent Retribution (1991)

Anynumberof imagesandsymbolscouldbeconsidered ‘extreme’.Industrialmusicwasbuilt on transgressive, shocking andupsetting themes.Thesecouldbefoundbothinthemusicandonthepackaging.Commonthemesinclude interpersonalviolence,sexualperversion,serialkillers,genocideandmutilation.However,fromtheverybeginning,onethemeinparticularheldaspecialfascinationforIndustrialartists:theregimesof thesecondworldwar.Tothisday,Nazi,fascistandcommunistinsigniamakeforpowerfullychargedimages. Forthepurposeof thispaper,Iwillfocusontheuseof totalitarianpoliticalvisualsinIndustrialmusic,ratherthanthewholegamutof extremeimagery.Giventhevarietyof trangressivesubjectmatterusedbytheseartists,Iwillconcentrateonmusiciansandbandsthathavepaidparticularattentiontothepolitical.However,Iamnotinterestedinuncoveringactualpoliticalbeliefsof artistswhohavechosennottorevealthem.Itisnotmyintentioneithertoaccuseortocounteraccusationsmadebyothers.

Do the M

ussolin

i (Headkick)

Der Blutharsch - Fire Danger Season (2002), Killing Joke - Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! (1992)

The Industrial music movement began in the mid-1970s,aroundthesametimeasthebirthof theBritishversionof punk.ThebandsThrobbingGristle (TG) andCabaretVoltaire set themusicalandaestheticdirectionforthenewgenre.InA Prehistory of Industrial Music, BrianDuguidtracestheoriginsof themovementandattemptsto define it by combining two previous definitions.[1] He quotesMichaelMahan’sdefinition fromAlternativePress,whodescribes itas,“Anartisticreflectionof thede-humanizationof ourpeopleandthe inexorable pollution of our planet by our factory-based socio-economicstate”.However,thisistoosimplisticadefinition.Duguidaugments it with Jon Savage’s definition: “Access to information,shock tactics, organizational autonomy, extra-musical elements, anduseof synthesizersandanti-music.”[2]Thisseconddefinitionalmostseems more like a manifesto for a paramilitary organization than adescriptionof amusicalgenre. Thesedefinitionsdonotsaymuchaboutthemusicitself.Sincethe inceptionof thegenre,very fewIndustrialbandshavesoundedalike. Alongside the genre-defining bands (TG & Cabaret Voltaire,EinstürzendeNeubauten,TestDept,SkinnyPuppy),manydifferentkindsof musichasbeenlabeledasIndustrial.Sometimes‘Industrial’is applied tomusicwhich ismechanically repetitive, and sometimestomusicwhichisabstractandamorphous.Therehasbeenmusiqueconcréte-esque composition (Nurse With Wound, Lustmord),manipulatedlayersof noise(Merzbow,NON),electronicdancemusic(SeveredHeads,Front242),heavymetalorhardrockwithakeyboardoradrummachine(Rammstein,KMFDM),bombasticmartialorchestralmusic (Shinjuku Thief, In Slaughter Natives), acoustic guitar-drivenfolkmusic(DeathinJune,SolInvictus),andmanyothermusicalstyles.Often,Industrialbandshavemadeuseof verydifferentmusicalstylesatdifferentpointsintheircareer(Laibach,DieKrupps,Foetus,Coil).‘Industrial’ isalsofrequentlyusedasanaffixtoothermusicalgenreterms,soonewillencounterIndustrialMetal,IndustrialTechno,evenIndustrialHip-hop. Industrialmusic shares its rootswith thoseof Britishpunk.Both can be traced back toGuyDebord’s ideas in the SituationistInternational (S.I.), and even further back, to the Futurists. Duguidgivesahistoricaloverviewof Industrialmusic’savant-gardeand‘anti-musical’ antecedents.He connects Industrialmusic to theFuturists,withtheir“enthusiasmfordynamism,fortechnology,andforpatrioticmilitarism, all of which ensured that fascist politicians would laterattempt to claim the Futurist cultural heritage as their own.”[3] TheFuturistscelebratednoiseandwarfare.InTheArtOf Noises,LuigiRussolorevelsinthenoisesof themodernworld,“thepalpitationof valves,thecomingandgoingof pistons,thehowlof mechanicalsaws,thejoltingof atramonitsrails,thecrackingof whips,theflappingof curtains and flags… the crashing down of metal shop blinds,slammingdoors,thehubbubandshufflingof crowds,thevarietyof din,fromstations,railways, ironfoundries,spinningwheels,printingworks,electricpowerstationsandundergroundrailways.”[4]Hegoeson to note that “the newest noises of modern war” should not beforgotten. TheFuturistswerenotjustthesonicforefathersof Industrialmusic,butclearlyinfluencedtheIndustrialideology.DuguidnotesthatintheIndustrialmusicof the1980sand90s,“theFuturists’uncriticalfetishisation of technology and artifice re-emerged. Marinetti’s

Indu

strial Introdu

ction

[1]Duguid,1995[2]Savage,1983[3]Duguid,1995[4]Russolo,1986

Throbbing Gristle

celebrationof theindustrialrevolutionhasalotincommonwiththeill-digested cyber-fandom of some recentmusicians.” Paul Hegartyasks, “Is noise fascistic? … Many have misunderstood noise andIndustrialmusic’sinterestinextremes[to]implyadvocacyof Nazism,forexample,orviolence,ingeneral…Historically,wecanpointtotheFuturists’loveof thesoundsof warasindicatingfascistpotential.”[5]

TheS.I.isoftencitedasanancestorof punk,buttheinfluenceof therideasonIndustrialmusichasbeenoverlooked.GreilMarcusarguesthattheSexPistols’AnarchyInTheU.K.distilledtheSituationistviewpoint into aworld-changingpop song[6].This link is reinforcedin Savage’sEngland’s Dreaming, which details Malcolm Mclaren andJamieReid’stimeatartschool,theirinitialencounterswiththeideasof theS.I.andtheiroriginalattemptstodosomethingsimilar.[7]Thiseventuallyculminatedintheformingof theSexPistols. Itshouldhoweverbenotedthatthislinkisdisputedbysome.LenBracken accusesMarcusof a “sloppybrandof structuralism”,misapplying “an objectional archetype category to connect Dada,NazisandDebord.”[8]Becauseof thewaytheS.I.hasbeenassociatedwithpunk following thepublicationof Lipstick Traces,Bracken alsoaccusesMarcusof ‘masperisation’,aSituationisttermforfalsificationanddistortionof keySituationisttexts.“EvenMarcuscamearoundtotheconclusionthatthere’snothingrevolutionaryaboutpunknightclubacts.”[9]ItcouldbearguedthattheIndustrialmusicactsweresomewhatmorerevolutionary. Revolutionaryornot,thepunkscourtedcontroversy,makingshockingfashionstatements,inspiredbyVivienneWestwood’sdesigns.Westwoodusedportraitsof KarlMarxnextto(ofteninverted)flyingswastikas.MalcolmMcLaren’sboutiqueSexsoldNazisymbolsalongsideS/Mandfetishgear.“Theintentionwas[to]notbepoliticallyexplicit,butinstead[thedesign]shouldbeanexplosionof contradictory,highlychargedsigns.”[10]Thesejuxtapositionswerechieflyintendedforshockvalue,butcontainedacertainamountof culturalcriticism.“Morethanjustacheapshock,theswastikamockedtheidealsof the1960s,theeraof longhair,freelove,andflowerpower.”[11]

Debord encouraged the use of détournement, manipulating“spectacularimagesandlanguagetodisrupttheflowof thespectacle.”[12]Recognisable symbols are recombined, subverting their originalmeaning,ofteninashockingway.Debordwrote,“Thespectacleisnotacollectionof images;ratheritisasocialrelationshipbetweenpeoplethatismediatedbyimages.”[13]Sosubvertingtheseimagescanaffectsociety.“Foronetowhomtherealworldbecomesrealimages,mereimagesaretransformedintorealbeings.”[14] This subversive aspect of détournement filtered throughintoIndustrialmusic.“CharacterizedbytheS.I.intermsof acollageaesthetic[détournement]involvedtheappropriationandrecombinationof cultural fragments that transformed their original meaning.”[15]Thiscouldwelldescribethe“collageaesthetic”of theearlyIndustrialmusicians; theywereamongthepioneersof thenowcommonplacetechniqueof samplingsound.Theyuseddialoguesnippetsfromfilmsandtelevision,fieldrecordings,elementsof otherpiecesof music,andsoon,re-combiningtheminnewways.Thiscancertainlybeseenasasonicversionof détournement.

[5]Hegarty,2007,124[6]Marcus1990[7]Savage,1991[8]Bracken1997,144[9]Bracken1997,233[10]Savage1991,188[11]Coogan,1999[12]Ford1999,195[13]Debord1995,#4,12[14]Debord1995,#18,17[15]Novotny1997,100

Sid Vicious

The term ‘Industrialmusic’was coinedbymultimedia artistMonteCazazza,asaslogantodescribetheintentionsof hisfriends,thegroupThrobbingGristle[1].TGformedfromtheashesof Fluxus-inspiredperformanceartgroupCOUMTransmissions.COUMbeganin1969,andtheirperformancesbecamemoreandmoretransgressive,confrontationalandshockingovertime,culminatinginthenotoriousProstitutionexhibitat theI.C.A. inOctober1976,whichfeaturedthedebut performance by TG[2]. The show was hugely controversial,notbecauseof political imagery,butbecauseof theuseof sexuallyexplicitphotographsof oneof themembersof TG,whoalsohadacareerposinginpornographicmagazines.FollowingtheICAconcert,COUMbecamelessof agoingconcern,andTGbecameafull-timeband. TG were sonic pioneers as well as transgressive artists.They made heavy use of homemade musical equipment, includingrudimentary samplers and sequencers, to manipulate found soundsintopiecesof music.Aperfectexampleof thisisTG’strack‘E-Coli’,asplit-stereorecordingof twoscientistsdiscussinggeneticengineeringand theuseof E-Colibacteria inexperiments.As thevoiceof onearguedthatthereleaseof thebacteriaofferednosignificantrisktothepopulation,theothersimultaneouslyclaimeditcouldpotentiallywipeoutthehumanrace.“Theideawasthatyoucouldlistentoeachsideseparatelyanddecidewhichyouthoughtwasrightoryoucouldlistentobothsidesatonceandbetotallyconfused.”[3]Thisisclearlyaprimeexampleof sonicdétournement. TG were thoroughly controversial from the start. Earlyin their career they produced a promotional poster with the slogan“MusicFromTheDeathFactory”.Theimageusedwasdeceptive;theseeminglyinoccuousphotoof somefactorybuildingsonaleafylanewasinfactaphotoof Auschwitz.Thisimagewasalsousedasthelogofortheirindependently-runrecordlabel,IndustrialRecords.Thebandstarted todress in camouflageormatchinguniformson stage.Thegroup’slogowasalightningflash,basedonOswaldMosley’sBritishUnionof Fascists’ “EnglandAwake” emblem[4]. “TG’s ambivalenceandambiguitycarriedwithitarealpossibilityof misinterpretation.”[5] Simon Reynolds also touches on this: “There’s a fuzzy linebetween anguished awareness of horror and morbid fascination –borderingonidentification–withevil.TGconstantlyteeteredontheedge.”[6]Muchof theirworkmade reference to totalitarian regimes,especiallytheThirdReich.Examplesincludesongtitlessuchas‘ZyklonBZombie’and‘Subhuman’,andHitler-paraphrasingsloganssuchas“NothingShortOvATotalWar!”Thesleeveof ‘ZyklonBZombie’showedbandmemberChrisCarterintheshower,aclearreferencetoconcentrationcampgaschambers.Inresponsetoallegationsof Nazisympathies,thegroupwasadamantthattheywereapolitical.[7]

TG fansbegan to expect the extreme from thisband.MickFish,whoattendedmanyTGshows,wasuncomfortablewithsomeof theirmoreextremeantics: “Mymisgivingswerecompounded inthat week’s Sounds which featured an article about TG ‘holidaying’in Auschwitz. All of this seemed to me to be stretching the Naziconnectionsclosetobreakingpoint.”[7]Healsonotes,“Dippingourtoes into theworldof TGwas like acquiringmembership to someweirdlittlesecretsociety”.

Music From

The D

eath Factory[1]Ford,1999,7.16[2]Ford1999,6.19[3]Ford1999,8.26[4]Reynolds2005,232[5]Ford1999,7.12[6]Reynolds2005,233[7]Fish,2002,31

Industrial Records logo, Throbbing Gristle logo

TG’s arty ambivalence contrasts with the rare left-orientedpoliticalfetishismof TestDept.Fetishisationof theleftwasunusualamong Industrial musicians. Test Dept’s “disgust for the societytheyfoundthemselvesinledthemtopoliticsof protestthatdirectlyembracedtheideasof theleft;solidaritybeingthemajorone”[1]Theband released records andplayed a seriesof concertsopposing theConservative assault on the trade union movement, supporting thestrikingminers’ unions, ambulance workers, print makers and anti-poll taxcampaigners.Theirpoliticswerereflected in theiraesthetics“TestDept’smetalmusic sounded like a Soviet factory.Or at leasttheidealizedpropagandaversion:comradesinter-lockinglikecogsina‘singleengine…anabsolutelyperfectmachine’.”[2] Interviewed inTape Delay, theydescribe themselves in termsof acollective.[3]“TestDeptengagedwithactualpolitics,supportingtheminers’strike,recordingwiththestrikingWelshminer’schoirs…They used Communist imagery in a way that was provocative, butalso pretty clearly symbolized their views.”[4] While other IndustrialmusicianssampledHitlerandCharlesMansontosubvertanddétourn,TestDeptusedsamplesof speechesgivenbyMargaretThatcherandothercontemporarypoliticians.Theymadetheirpoliticalstanceclearwithscathinglyironicsongtitlessuchas,‘LongLiveBritishDemocracyWhichFlourishesAndIsConstantlyPerfectedUnderTheImmaculateGuidanceOf TheGreat,Honourable,GenerousAndCorrectMargaretHildaThatcher.SheIsTheBlueSkyInTheHeartsOf AllNations.OurPeoplePayHomageAndBowInDeepRespectAndGratitudeToHer,TheMilkOf HumanKindness.’ However Test Dept. were an anomaly; the Industrial sceneof the 1980s was better characterized by what Throbbing Gristlehad started. “Their interest in mass murderers, Nazism and similartopics [leading] to accusations by some that [they] were more thaninterested”[5]couldhavereferredtoanynumberof Industrialactsof thetime,suchasNON,SPK,Whitehouse,orPsychicTV. Hegarty expands on the theme of Industrial music’sambivalence:“If Industrialmusicisambiguousaboutpower,violence,extremebehaviour,exploitation,andsoon…thestrengthwaspreciselyintheuncertaintyandtheexcitementthatitgenerated(muchmorethanthefrissonsomemightgetfrom‘transgressively’ listeningtogroupsthatareorientedtotheextremerightwing.”[6]Sotheaudienceislessinterestedinactualconnectionsof thegroupstoforbiddenareas,butmoreintheiruseandmanipulationof thetabooandtheirabilitytocreateunexpectedconnections. TheshockingjuxtapositionsusedbytheoriginalIndustrialbandsof the1970sandtheleft-wingidealismof TestDeptinthe1980sseemfairlysimplisticwhenviewedinthelightof thepost-modernsociety.“Postmodern parody revels in the problematisation and disruptionof aestheticformsandrepresentations…Thepostmodernistparodyof aestheticrepresentationhasbeenfrequentlycarriedtoanextremeof self-negation.”[7]InhisessayNo Future!, NovotnyplacesIndustrialmusicinthecontextof postmodernism:“Industrialmusicisbasedontheeclecticismof détournementandpostmodernappropriativecollagetechnique…[and]isinfusedwiththesocialsarcasmandlaughterof postmodernism’sparody.”[8]

Total S

tate Machin

e

[1]Duguid,1995[2]Reynolds2005,488[3]Neal1987,164[4]Hegarty,2007,120[5]Duguid,1995[6]Hegarty,2007,119[7]Novotny1997,99[8]Novotny1997,115

Test Department & South Wales Striking Miners Choir - Shoulder To Shoulder (1985)

Giventhispostmoderncontextualizingof Industrialmusic,wecanconsideroneof themostcomplexexamples–theSloveniangroupLaibach.Monroestatesthat“Laibach’smethodologyisbasedupontheamplificationor‘renderingaudible’of thehiddencodesandinternalcontradictionsof aseriesof artistic,musical,political, linguisticandhistorical ‘regimes’… For instance connections between rock andFascistic mobilization.”[1] Laibach is part of the Neue SlowenischeKunst(NSK)movement.Sincetheearly1980s,NSKhaveproducedHeartfield-inspired, Debordian juxtapositions of totalitarianism andpopular culture. Like Test Dept, they make a considered politicalstatementwith every release.ButwhileTestDeptwore their heartson their sleeves, Laibach challenge their audience to decipher theircombinations of cultural references. Pompous rock opera classics,Eurovisionhits,TheBeatles,NATO,JosipTito(theformerdictatorof Yugoslavia),NaziGermany,Malevich,andnumerousotherreferenceshavefeaturedinLaibach’sreleases. Laibachdon’tmerelysampleindividualsounds.Theytakegreatswathesof culturalsignifiersandrecombinethemalmosttothepointof absurdity.“Laibachmanipulatethesensationof bothrepulsionandfascination…Laibach’sattitudeistotakeideologymoreseriouslythanit isprepared tobe takenby its subjects. Insodoing,Laibachdrawattentiontothenegativeimplicationsof anyideologywhenpushedtoitslogicalconclusions.”[2]

FellowSlovenianSlavojZizekexaminestheaudience’sfascinationwiththeforbidden,this‘desireof theOther’.Zizekposesthequestion:“WhatisLaibach’sactualposition,aretheytrulytotalitariansornot?”Hisanswerisfarfromstraightforwad:“Laibachcompelsustotakeupourpositionanddecideuponourdesire.”[3]Hegoesontoexplainthattherearetwotypesof ‘law’.TheSuperegois“theobscene‘nightly’lawthatnecessarily redoublesandaccompanies,as its shadow, [theEgo,or]the‘public’law”.[3]Laibach’suseof referencestototalitarianismisdesignedtoappealtotheSuperego’ssenseof curiosityandfascinationwith the forbidden. In doing so, they aim to provoke thought anddebate,tocauseustoquestionthesubjectof ourillicitfascinationand,indeed,thisfascinationitself. Laibach themselves have pronounced on this subject in anearlypress release, ‘10Itemsof theCovenant’:“Allart is subject topoliticalmanipulation…exceptforthatwhichspeaksthelanguageof this samemanipulation…Thematerialof LAIBACHmanipulation:Taylorism,bruitism,NaziKunst,disco.”[4]TheircontributiontoTape Delay states, “our organizational activity is an intense agitation andconstantsystematic,propagandistic-ideologicaloffensive.”[5]

The band was highly controversial from its inception. Thename“Laibach”wastheGermanicnameforthecapitalof Slovenia,Ljubljana,usedunderGermanoccupation.Atthetimeof theirfirstalbumrelease,theywerebannedfromusingtheirname,insteadreplacingit withMalevich’sBlack Cross[6]. They sang many songs in German,“makingthemeasytargetsforthosewantingtopegthemasNazis.”[7]Oneof theirmostwell-known songs is a cover versionof Queen’s‘OneVision’.ThesongistranslatedintoGerman,withthemantra-likelyricsbarkedovermartialdrumming.Thus, it is transformed“intoaHitlerianvision.”[8]Queen’s“Onefleshonebone,onetruereligion,onevoiceonehope,onerealdecision”ismutatedto“EinFleisch,einBlut,einwahrerGlaube.EinRuf,einTraum,einstarkerWille”.However“Hitlerian”thismaysound,thissongisactuallyacommentaryonthe

Gebu

rt Ein

er Nation

[1]Monroe2005,7[2]Griffin1999[3]Zizek1993[4]www.laibach.nsk.si/t3.htm[5]Neal1987,224[6]Monroe2005,156[7]Obodda2002[8]Obodda2002

Laibach

“totalitarian”natureof popularmusicitself.Queen’santhemof “hopeand unity” through celebration is hijacked by Laibach’s vision of popularcultureas“onetransmitterandamultitudeof receivers.”[9]

One incident illustrates Laibach’s politically-charged, almostperverselydangeroususeof détournement.In1987,theYugoslaviangovernmentcommissionaposterfortheYouthDaycelebrations.Theposterwas designed by theNSK’s design groupNewCollectivism,whichincludesonememberof Laibach.ItwonthedesignprizeforthecelebrationandwasusedalloverYugoslavia.However,ittranspiredthatthesourceimageusedintheposterwasa1936workbyRichardKleincalled ‘AHeroicAllegoryof theThirdReich’.Subtlechangeshad been made – the Nazi flag was replaced with a Yugoslavianbanner,aneaglewasreplacedwithadove.Greatcontroversyfollowedin the media, causing New Collectivism to issue press statementscomparingitsworkto“nightactionsbyPartisanstodefaceNaziandcollaborationistposters.”[10]Monroenotesthat,“TheaffairwasacutelyembarrassingfortheYugoslavyouthorganization,which,bychoosingthedesign,revealeditslatentsympathiesforpropagandistimagery,andthefactthatitwasasinstinctivelyattractedtoright-aswellasleft-wingimagery…Nochargeswerepressed[and]atrialwouldalsohavedrawnevenmoreattentiontothefactthatthis imagewaschosen…asthemostappropriaterepresentationof Socialistyouth.Furtherdiscussionof thiswouldhavehighlightedtheallegedsimilaritiesbetweenNazismandsocialism.” Laibachhavemadegooduseof both the arty shock tacticsof thepunksandThrobbingGristle,andtheearnestpoliticsof TestDept. However, asGriffin argues, “Laibach function as a questionmark,forcingtheindividual…toanswerhisorherownquestion.”[11]Their ambivalence is not affected for shock value, but to causeanalyticalthought intheaudience,tocompelthemtoconsidertheirownrelationshipwiththeculturalandpoliticalelementsdétournedbyLaibach.

[9]Laibach,Perspektive[10]Monroe,2005,98[11]Griffin1999

Laibach - M.B. December 21, 1984 (1997)

ThelinebetweenTG’sshocktacticsandLaibach’sideologicalinterrogationbecomesblurredinoneof themorecontroversialsub-genresof thepost-Industrialmusicscene.Apocalypticfolk,alsoknownasdarkfolkorneofolk,includesbandssuchasCurrent93,DeathinJune(DIJ)andSolInvictus.Current93wasstartedbyDavidTibet,aclosefriendof GenesisP-Orridgeof ThrobbingGristle.In1988theyreleasedanalbumcalledSwastikas for Noddy,basedonadrug-addledtheoryof Tibet’sthatNoddywasaGnosticicon.[1]

One of Tibet’s early collaborators, Douglas Pearce, and hisproject Death in June, became one of the most controversial actsin the post-Industrial underground. DIJ came out of the left wingpolitico-punkbandCrisis,[2]whichhadplayedRockAgainstRacismconcerts.Despite this,Pearcehas remainednotoriouslycageyabouthispoliticsinthefaceof accusationsof Nazisympathies.However,asOboddaargues,“ThelyricscanhardlyeverbeinterpretedashavinganythingtodowithNazism,theyusuallyspeakof moreintrospectiveorpersonalmatters.ThosethatdorefertoNazismeitherseemgloomyorthreatening.”[3]

The band’s name has been seen as referring to the killingof Ernst Röhm, commander of the S.A, supposedly murdered bytheNaziparty forhishomosexuality (Pearce isopenlygay) and forthe leftist tendencies of the S.A.[4], althoughPearce has denied thisexplicit connection. The band has used the SS Totenkopf symbolwiththenumber6astheirlogo,theskullrepresentingdeathandthe6representingJune.TheyhavereferencedtheHolocaustinanalbumtitle.ButDIJreallycannotbeaccusedof promotingNazismbyusingthis imagery. “The context of these references, Douglas Pearce’spersonalmythology,forcesaclosereadertore-interpret.”[4] Althoughhepreferstolethisworkspeakforitself,Pearcehas,onoccasion,beenforcedtodiscussDIJ’spoliticalambiguity.In2006hewascompelledtomakestatementstotheGermangovernment,inwhichhestated:“Inthe24yearsof DeathInJune’sexistenceIhaveneverexplainedmywork.Ifeelthatwouldmakemyartordinaryandstillbornandpanderstoelementswithinsocietythatseektocontrolfreedom of expression and thought, abstract or otherwise. All art,whether itbe in the formof music, literature,paintingetc.worthagrainof saltshouldbeopentointerpretation.Inturn,thisalsomakesit open to misinterpretation; sometimes good, sometimes bad. It isin the nature of art that challenges or confronts the consumer, orpotentialconsumer,tobemisunderstood.”[5]

DespitehisattemptstocooperatewiththeGermangovernment,DIJrecordshavebeenbannedinGermany,andDIJconcertshavebeencancelled.ThealbumBrown BookwasplacedontheBList.Thismeansthatitcannotbeimported,exported,soldorpromotiedinGermany.[6]ThealbumdesignincorporatestheTotenkopf emblem.Thetitletrackof thealbummanipulatestheHorstWesselLied–theanthemof theNaziparty.Pearceexplainsthatthissongreflects“theatmospheretoanarration juxtaposing thehomophobiaof aNazi stormtrooper tothesuicidalfatalismof his[Jewish]sexualpartner…Thetitlecomesfrom the name of the book the Communist authorities of formerEastGermanykeptlistingex-membersof theN.S.D.A.P.andS.S.etc.andtheirpositionsheldingovernmentandotherworkplacesinWestGermany. [It is] a thoughtprovokingsongwithmanycontradictorythemeswhichistypicalof DeathInJune.”PearcealsonotesthatthissongisrelatedtotheErnstRöhmaffair.[7]

The G

uilty H

ave No P

ride

[1]Keenan2003,151[2]Keenan,2003,95[3]Obodda2002,69[4]Obodda2002,70[5]http://www.deathinjune.org[6]Burkholder2008[7]http://www.deathinjune.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=70

Death in June - Brown Book (1987), Death in June - Rose Clouds Of Holocaust (1995)

Pearce has gone from playing RockAgainst Racism gigs tofending off accusations of fascist sympathies. But close reading of hislyricsandinterviewsshowthathisintentionsarenotpolitical,butratherverypersonal.DIJ’soeuvreisbasedonacomplexanddifficultpersonalmythology,whereelementsof Nazihistoryareappropriatedtodiscusstopicsmoretraditionallyusedinsong-writing.Themesof love,death,betrayalandsoonarefilteredthroughPearce’sparticularsetof references,tothepointtheycanonlybeunderstoodassuchbythededicatedfan.

Douglas Pearce

Two groups have garnered almost as much controversy asDeath In June, while being even more obscure and underground.TheyareAustrianbandDerBlutharschandU.S.groupBloodAxis.Both groups have made heavy use of references to Nazism. ‘DerBlutharsch’isAustrianslangfor‘scab’.ItwasalsothenamegiventoSwissmercenariesintheSwedishwars.[1]DerBlutharschinitiallyusedaSigrune(half of theS.S.emblem)astheirbandlogo,laterchangingtousinganIronCross.BloodAxisuseaKruekenkreuz,“anancientcrossadoptedbysomeChristianCrusadersandAustriannationalists(butbannedbytheNazis).”[2] Individual tracksbyDerBlutharschhaveneverbeennamed(they areonlynumbered inRomannumerals) and lyricshaveneverbeenprovided.Themusiciscomprisedof martialdrumming,droningnoise,folkelements,andvarioussampledsounds,includingWWII-eraGermandialogue,speechesandmusicalelements.Thesongssubjectmatterandimageryarelargelyderivedfromthehistoryof GermanicEurope.DerBlutharsch’sfounderAlbinJuliushasdeniedthereisanypoliticalmeaningtohiswork.WhenaskedbyIndustrialmusicwebsiteHeathen Harvest,“Doyouuseyourmusicasameanstocommunicatepersonalpoliticalviews?”,Julius’responseisasimple,yetresounding,“No”.Theinterviewcontinueswiththequestion:“Andfortherecordtoputthissubjecttobedonceandforallhaveyouoranyartistyouareawareof eversoughtapoliticalassignment,beenassignedtoapoliticalofficeorposition,campaignedforapoliticalorganization,formedapoliticalpartyorbeenactivelyinvolvedinpoliticsonalocalornationallevel?”Juliusresponds,“Nottomyknowledge.AndIwouldn`tcare…All my friends have their personal view of life and I accept everyopinion…Evenif itmightnotbemine.” The work of Blood Axis is a little harder to pin downthematically.LikeDeathInJune,theirmusiccomprisesfolkelements,martial drumming and samples, including readings by Ezra Pound(whowasaFascistsympathizerandananti-Semite).Butagain,thereareveryfewexplicitreferencestoNazismorsimilarmovements.BloodAxisattractscontroversyduetotheotheractivitiesof theirfoundermemberMichaelMoynihan.Moynihanistheauthorof acontroversialbookabouttheblackmetalmovementinNorway,amusicsceneoftenassociatedwithSatanism,Neo-Odinism,andaresurgenceof NationalSocialismandanti-Semitism.Hehasalsodistancedhimself fromso-called aesthetic fascists, such as his former friend and collaboratorBoydRiceof NON.“I’msickof peoplesayingthey’re‘notpolitical’,asIthinkthisisacop-out…if you’regoingtoespouse‘fascist’ideas,thenIbelieveyouhavetoacceptsomeof theresponsibilityfortheirapplicationintherealworld.”[3]

However,Moynihanhasemphaticallydistancedhimself fromneo-Nazism.Whenaskedpoint-blankif heisaneo-Nazi,Moynihanrepliedthatheisnot.“Healsobasheswhitesupremacyandfascism.‘Idon’tseewhitepeopledoinganythingparticularlynoblethesedays,sowhyonearthwouldIbeawhitesupremacist?…Whatdoesfascismhavetodowithanythingthat’sgoingon?Thefarrightisabunchof isolatedlosers.Iprobablyhavefarmoreincommonwithanarchiststhan I would with any right-wing person, and they would probablyagree.’.”[4]

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[1]http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20050712131249999[2]http://wweek.com/html/leada081600.html[3]Coogan,1999[4]http://wweek.com/html/leada081600.html

Original Der Blutharsch logo, Michael Moynihan with Blood Axis logo

DoesthenegativereactiontoIndustrialmusicfitinwiththehistory of moral panic around other forms of music? ControversyhasfollowedIndustrialmusicanditsfanssincethebirthof thegenre,especially pertaining to the frequent use of extreme imagery. Onoccasionprotestshavecausedconcertstobecancelledandrecordstobebanned. Thisisnothingnew.Similarmoralpanicshavebeeninducedbynewvarietiesof musicandtheirfans.“Fromministerscondemningtheevilsof rockandrolltosignificantnewscoverageof thehippiecultureandfromKurtCobain’sdeathtotheGothmovement,peoplemaybecomesignificantlyafraidthatacorruptibleinfluenceislikelytocauseharmtotheirchildrenandtheirwayof life.Theseconcernsareofteninflatedbyexcessivecoverageinthemedia.”[1]Thedebateaboutmusic“leadingastray”itslistenerstolivesof moraldepravityhasragedsinceatleastthe1950s.Fromrockandrolltoflowerpowertopunktoheavymetaltoravetogoth,musicalmovementshaveservedastargetsof accusationuponaccusationof havingabadinfluencenotjustonthefansbutonsocietyasawhole. At various times, Industrial musicians have created similarmoral panics. The debate can be followed on numerous internetmessage boards and mailing lists, and mostly consists of simplisticaccusations and finger-pointing. These range from the superficial –“so-and-somustbeaNazibecausetheylooklikeone”–totheslightlymorecomplex–“regardlessof theintentionof themusicians,usingthis kind of imagery is tantamount to celebrating it, and thereforeshouldn’tbeallowed”.Self-appointedanti-fascistpolice stateas factthat concerts by these bands “provide a real and malignant catalystforfarrightextremiststogather,networkandrecruit.”[2]Protestsbyanti-Fascist groups led to the cancellation of at least two Death InJune concerts , most notably in Lausanne, Switzerland, on the 19thof November, 1998[3], although their accusations against the bandsamountedtolittlemorethanname-calling. ButIndustrialmusic,neofolkand the likehashadvery littleattentionpayedto itbythewiderworld,andsohascausednothinglikethemoraloutrageselicitedbymorepopulistmusic.Afewartistsmarginally associated with the Industrial genre have made it intothe mainstream consciousness. They often face controversy due toignorance or superficial misinterpretation of their work. GermanIndustrialmetalgroupRammsteinhavebeenaccusedof Nazileaningsduetosinging inGerman–aproblemalsofacedbyLaibach.Moretroublesomewastheiruseof imagesfromLeniRiefenstahl’sOlympiainoneof theirvideos.[4]

Muchmorewell-knownistheshock-rockerMarilynManson.His schlocky persona is caried through into the visuals used in theband’sreleasesandintheirstageshow.Mansoncontinuesthetraditionof over-the-top rock theatricality. The traditional ‘moral panic’ hasfollowed. Manson’s music was implicated as an influence on theColumbine school shootings. Interviewed inMichaelMoore’s 2002filmBowling For Columbine,Manson states, “I definitely can seewhytheywouldpickme.BecauseIthinkit’seasytothrowmyfaceontheTV,becauseintheend,I’maposterboyforfear.BecauseIrepresentwhateveryoneisafraidof,becauseIsayanddowhateverIwant.”[5]Manson has used visuals that allude to Nazi symbols, includinga lightning ‘shock’ logo in black, red andwhite on his 1996 albumAntichrist Superstar.AccordingtoObodda,“Thestageshowduringthis

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[1]http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-moral-panic.htm[2]http://www.metamute.org/en/Fascist-Bands-at-Slimelight[3]http://www.sanctuary.ch/report/DeathInJune/entree.htm[4]http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/500908/08311998/rammstein.jhtml[5]Moore,2002

Rammstein logo, Marilyn Manson Antichrist Superstar logo

tourincludedwhatresembledafascistrally,employingthesymbolonlongbanners…Astheband’sbassistandkeyboardistplayedonhisleftandrightinshinyplasticarmyhelmets,Mansonstoodinthemiddle,elevatedonapodiumalsoemblazonedwiththeshocklogo.”[6]Whenaskedif hewasworriedaboutbeingmisunderstood,Mansonreplied,“Somepeoplethoughtitwasgeatsatire,othersthoughtIwasafascist,othersjustblindlypumpedtheirfistsanddidn’tnoticetheirony.”[7]

Marilyn Manson is probably one of the most controversy-causingmusiciansof recenttimes,withhisover-the-topstagepersonaanduseof extremeimagery,bothpoliticalandotherwise,generatinga lot of media attention and ‘moral panic’. But the band’s videosare played on MTV, and his live appearances are frequently in thestadiumsandarenasof the traditional rock tourcircuit.TheclosestotherIndustrialmusicianshavecometothislevelof publicexposure,andpublic ‘moralpanic’,waswhenThrobbingGristle/COUMheldtheir “Prostitution” show at the ICA in 1976. This show famouslyledToryMPNicholas Fairbairn to label thework on display as “asickening outrage. Sadistic.Obscene. Evil… Publicmoney is beingwastedheretodestroythemoralityof oursociety.Thesepeoplearethe wreckers of civilisation.”[8] Though this statement was clearlyhyperbolic,itreflectedarealmoralfearatthetime.Onesimplycannotfindcommentsof similarweightaboutthemusiciansintheIndustrialand neofolk underground, because they do not reach an audienceanywherenearthesizeof MarilynManson’s,orhavethebackingof institutionssuchastheICA. Itisalmostimpossibletobelievethattheuseof certainimagescouldinfluencethepoliticalbeliefsof theaudience.Butclearlytheuseof any imagecarriescertainconnotationsfor theaudience,whetherimplicitorexplicit,intentionalorcoincidental.Thecontexttheimageispresentedin,andtheintentbehindtheuseof theimageplaysanimportant part. The craft with wich the images are handled is alsoimportant.Thecarelessorthoughtlessuseof suchpowerfullychargedimages has produced pieces which are more offensive due to theircrassnessthantheirpoliticalconnotation.

[6]Obodda,2002,31[7]Mulholland,1998[8]Ford,1999,6.22

COUM Transmissions - Prostitution flyer

So are these musicians promoting any particular ideologythroughtheuseof relatedimages?Inthemajorityof cases,theyarenot.However,thereisabroadrangeof apparentintentions,rangingfrom total disengagement, to artistic ambivalence, to subversivecriticism,tofull-throatedpropagandizing.Someartistssimplywanttoaugmentthedarkmoodof theirwork.Otherswanttodiscussideasdeemedunappealingbythemainstream,evenincompletelysuperficialways.Theymaywanttoshockanddisturb,ortoprovokethoughtanddebate. For the early Industrial bands, being shocking was often anendinitself.Ambivalentuseof extremeimageryisoftenenoughtoelicitthisresponseintheiraudience.ThrobbingGristledefinedtheirowncareerandanentiregenreof music in thisway.Thiscreatedafeedback loop,with audiences seeking evermore shockingmaterial,whichopenedthegatesfortheambiguousandambivalentworkstocome. Somegroupsdidusetheshockingpotentialof politicalimagerytofightforacause.TestDeptdidthisopenly,whileLaibachemploymore subversive and covertmeans. In either case, the shock tacticswere intendedas a call to action.TestDeptwanted their audiencestojointhemonthepicketlines,tobecomemoresociallyawareandsociallyactive.Laibach’sintenthasalwaysbeenalittlemoredifficulttodiscern.Butitisclearthatoneof theirmainaimsistodrawattentionto the dangers of totalitarian regimes and the possible connectionsbetweentotalitarianismandpopularculture. Buttherestof thismusicalfield,themartial,folk-influencedpost-Industrialbands,seemdeterminedtoproducetheirdarkartwithno commentary, only aesthetic reference. As the majority of thesebandsarereluctanttoopenlydiscusstheirtruepoliticalbeliefs,oreventoconfirmordenyanymeaninginherenttotheirwork,itisimpossibletosayforsure.Allusionandambivalencerule.Explicitopinionsandbeliefsareobfuscatedandconfused,evenwhenthereisapointtobemade. Theuseof theseimagesisanappropriationof alreadyexistingconnotations and implications.Thepotentially shocking imageryof totalitarianismcanbeseenasready-madebuildingblocksof meaning,employed by the musicians to easily generate a powerful responseintheiraudience.Theseculturalconnectionsarecomplexandoftenunpleasant to analyze. These images, visual, sonic and lyrical, aremanipulated, layered, and combined in ways that defy their originalcontext.Itisuptotheaudiencetoseekoutanymeaningormessagehiddeninthemusic.Theoneclearintentof theartistsistogenerateareactionintheaudience,beitshockorfascination.Themorepotentandloadedtheimagery,themoreextremethereaction.Intheworldof Industrialmusic,whereshockingandtransgressiveimageryisalmostexpected, the initiated audience is prepared to deal with ever moretaboosubjectmatter.

Final M

uzak

Anon (2007) “Fascist Bands at Slimelight” Metamute.org <http://www.metamute.org/en/Fascist-Bands-at-Slimelight>

Bracken, L. (1997) Guy Debold—Revolutionary. Venice, CA: Feral House.

Burkholder, H. (2008) “An Interview with Douglas P., Part I”. < http://monkeyhouse-recordings.co.uk/JK2CMS/index.php?option=com_content&tas k=view&id=1056&Itemid=38>.

Coogan, K. (1999) How Black Is Black Metal? Hitlist, Vol. 1, No. 1.

Debord, G. (1995) Society of the Spectacle. New York: Zone Books.

Duguid, B. (1995) “A Pre-History of Industrial Music”. <http://media.hyperreal.org/zines/est/articles/preindex.html >.

Dundas, Z. (2000) Lord of Chaos. Willamette Week, August 16.

Ellis-Christensen, T. (2003) “What is Moral Panic?” Wisegeek <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-moral-panic.htm>.

Ford, S. (1999) Wreckers of Civilisation: The Story of Coum Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle. London: Black Dog Publishing, Inc.

Griffin, W. (1999) “Laibach: The Instrumentality of the State Machine”. <http://www.artmargins.com/content/feature/griffin1.html>.

Hebdige, D. (1988) Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things. London: Routledge.

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Mulholland, G. (1998) “Talk of the Devil” in Time Out: London’s Living Guide April 8-15, 1998.

Neal, C. (1987) Tape Delay: Confessions From the Eighties Underground. London: SAF Publishing.

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Obodda, S. (2002) “Sordid Allusion: The Use of Nazi Aesthetic in Gothic and Industrial Genres”. Princeton, NJ.

Pearce, D. (2006) Rose Clouds of Holocaust “banni” en Allemagne - déclarations de Douglas P. < http://www.deathinjune.org/modules/news/article. php?storyid=70>

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