D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle

Justo cuando este proyecto me esta dando muy buenos albums aparece el primer 1/5 This is just noise. The kind of thing you expect to hear in the background of an obscure and disturbing modern art display.

Not music. Just noise.

Not even music, really. I think only a very tiny proportion of people in the world have lived a worse life for having never heard this, so how anyone could possibly include it in a list titled "1001 albums you must hear before you die" is beyond me

This was absolutely awful - I had to skip through it. Industrial-electro-synth-noise. The only track that remotely resembled music was ‘AB/7A.’ Everything else was just screeching noise or random, low-fi, conversations that seemed almost accidentally or secretly recorded or just low-fi recorded from a movie/tv show. If I could rate this ‘0’ I would.

Neat for the time it came out, but I wouldn't listen to it again. Hamburger lady is geniuely unsettling

Well, not as bad as I thought. Some noise stuff was definitely worse. It's not my thing, but at least it's listenable. Kid Rock was worse.

Just the worst.

always wondered about them

This surprisingly was not the worst album that I’ve listened to. It wasn’t great, but I did listen to the whole thing (unlike some of my 1 star ratings that I found too awful to complete). I thought “Dead on Arrival” and “AB/7A” were interesting.

Yeah I mean it’s brilliant. But I did not enjoy listening to it.

Pretty obvious

For the most part, this is very literally not music. There is a ton of noise and sounds and I did not enjoy listening to it.

Is this album on here as a joke? Why is the AOL dialup noise considered a "song"? This is different enough that I can see why people would like it, just because it's contrary and different. I don't tend to enjoy things that are different just for the sake of being different, but with no real new or interesting or enjoyable about them. There were a couple of songs I almost enjoyed, until they kept going and ruined it.

Even Sonic Youth says ‘WTF?’ I don't see why this is included in the list. And surprisingly this album has been remastered! Still edges Bob Dylan though.

Felt like just noise with occasional, far off in the distance reverberations that originated from snippets of music. Surprisingly this is not the most jarring thing I've listened to.

This is one of those "I'm not mad, just disappointed" situations. This album isn't bad, it's just dumb. There isn't any reason for it to exist, nor is there any reason for it to be on this list. It serves no purpose and therefore I can't really hate it. The exception being "AB/7A", that was actually alright. It's like Throbbing Gristle screwed up and put an actual musical song on the album.

The gut reaction is I liked it way more than I expected. A little more melodic than 20 jazz funk greats which I think is there more innovative/acclaimed album. Would I listen to it on the regular? LIkely not. However, cool that it exists this early in modern recording history.

If I could id give it a 0 star rating. Absolutely awful.

what the actual fuck. i would listen to eerie movie soundtracks if i wanted to. thats not something i relate to

Man…….

Ik snap nie

Interesting conceptually but not really very interesting musically.

FINALLY! At album 859, I get to hear what, at this time. is the Worst album rated on the list! Bravo! well deserved!!!! I consider myself an eclectic listener, but this seems to go out of its way too make a truly experience. Having said that, give it a try...there is one track that is OK.... (9)

Why

1/10

?????????????????????????????

muy malo no me gusta en ningun aspecto

I’d much rather listen to this one than some boring stuff, which is just a waste of time. I like track 1,5

What kind of crap is this? I only made it halfway through the album. Then I'd had enough. I didn't want to listen to any more of that stuff. The album deserves its rather poor overall rating. 1/5

Scaring the hoes (and everyone else as well).

throbbing gristle being the band name is ironic because that’s exactly what this sounds like. Holy hell this was a tough listen. Funny enough, I dived into some of their other work and there was stuff I almost find somewhat interesting. This, however does not scratch that itch for me. I could totally see this in some really shitty low budget horror movie soundtrack.. (in the best way, truthfully) think the original Terrifier

The problem is that this is ambitious but has no sort of aim. It is just noise and that is fine because it is challenging what music can be but it does not even try to set up that dynamic for us. These guys invited industrial music and that is cool but it’s just noises and the music portion is bad besides the sped up version of untitled and AB/7A. Awesome synth on AB/7a but it can’t bring a whole album up. I wish this was just more interesting but I am glad for its impact

i like some weird stuff, but i can’t imagine a situation where i would ever want to listen this again. that said, “ab/7a” was cool.

Reminds me of the stuff I heard in my dreams when I took melatonin. No thanks.

After a few tracks I tried to describe this to someone as if someone hooked up a bunch of electrodes to equipment in a poorly run kitchen, I looked down and the name of the song was hamburger lady. When the first track started I thought ok this could be a cool intro, but no it was just the “song”

Just not enough music to make it enjoyable.

3/10 Good grief, this week I've been getting all of the controversial albums - with this one by Throbbing Gristle being the lowest rated on the entire site. To reiterate my thoughts on similar albums that push the boundaries between "noise" and "music": Do I consider this music rather than a random assortment of sounds? It's heavy on the avant garde spectrum, but yeah, sure, why not - especially since the band itself calls this music. Do I find this music appealing? Eh... There's not much here to grasp on to or to draw me in - no real hooks or nice beats or anything. It's extraordinarily abstract. Then again, it IS listenable, and I kind of enjoy some of the sounds, so I don't think it deserves 1 star.

Oh god, I fear this one... This list might be rotting my brain because I don't seem to hate this as much as others so far? I'm only a few songs in and there's no way I would ever play this again, but like...idk. It's at least trying something and being experimental? I actually didn't mind "Dead on Arrival" that much? It kinda sounds like Kraftwerk meets Nine Inch Nails. "Weeping" is a song I could honestly see Cameron Winter covering. "Hometime" is like eerie and sweet. It feels like those pics of liminal spaces. It also reminds me of playing with Thomas trains with my little brothers in like 2007. "AB/7A" Is literally just early spacey electronica that turns a bit droney. It's kinda pretty. "E-Coli" is weird as fuck, and I can understand why others wouldn't vibe with is, but It was kinda cool to hear once, idk why. I wanted to join the bandwagon, to give this 1 star. I don't think it's quite that bad? Will I ever give it another listen, almost certainly no, it's a bit outside my wheelhouse and somewhat unnerving at times, but it's honestly not *that* bad. I am glad to be done with it tho lol, the same way I'm releived when I can turn off The Rolling Stones albums this list give me. Hamburger Lady is terrifying to me tho and I had to skip it. "Wall of Sound" was... a lot. I mean, perfect title for sure. I lowkey fuck with it tho? It reminds me of Model/Actriz. I'd probably never listen again tho. I bet Ethel Cain fucks with this album.

Enjoyed this more than I expected to.

Look, this isn't meant to be an easy listen, and I think the fact it's borderline unlistenable prevents it from being rated any higher, but as a statement of art, rather than a piece of music, it's undeniably effective.

oof

Very forward thinking

It just sounds too much like noise for my taste.

This was as if I was Hit By a Rock.

We can only assume this is the album Jeffrey Epstein tortured his victims with

Me to myself: “have an open mind, how bad can it be?” Turns out it is actually that bad. Still better than Kid Rock though.

like visiting a modern or contemporary art museum

Hard to know how to rate something that tries as hard as it can to not be music. It's certainly interesting from the perspective of being an experimental work - a sort of exploration of sound... but is it a good album? Is it essential listening before you die? I'm not sure it is. I'd much rather have had a good album to listen to that is trying to be music (even if it's really weird music) than something like this, but I don't hate it outright. Part of me wants to treat it fairly neutrally and give it a 3, but I also feel that wouldn't be fair to a number of 2/5 albums I've reviewed that were maybe not "better" than this, but were certainly more enjoyable to me.

Truly one of the worst albums I have listened to. (Do I have to give it 1 star...?)

This really is a pile of crap. A mystery it was ever recorded.

Listened Before? N Wow, I sure am glad someone spent their time remastering this pile of crap. Also, what's with the pedo shot of the little girl? Gross. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: United (because it's 16 seconds long)

I think I'm missing something...? I don't get it. If I could give this 0/5 I would.

1.5

A bit crap really

It made me realize that music like this can exist. Some tracks, like Dead on Arrival, are oddly catchy, though not something I would return to often.

For what it is... It's objectively good. Maybe good is a strong word, let's land on interesting. I've said before experimental music is lost on me and this is def someone's college art thesis.

The worst thing an album like this can be is boring. No reason for a lot of these tracks to be as long as they are.

Surveillance, control Society decaying Same as ever. Yay!!!

somehow i never listened to any throbbing gristle before so when i saw the genre listed as "industrial" i expected something more like 80s industrial? really this feels closer to noise, but it's still very listenable. its definitely another "you just gotta listen to it" album so i'm not gonna get too into attempts to describe the sounds but the sounds are fucking good. "dead on arrival" comes in with synths squealing like power tools, i love the haunting, desolate ambience of "weeping" that continues into "hamburger lady", and "ab/7a" just straight up fucks. my only real complaint would be that the tracks don't really cohere at all, being more a scattered collection of ideas, but on the other hand that means you're getting a lot of variety so it's not even entirely a bad thing. i'll concede that this kind of sound isn't for everyone so if you don't get this album it's understandable, but if you don't even attempt to engage and just outright hate it as "not music" or whatever that's honestly a skill issue. this shit rules. i gotta listen to more tg.

Freaking inspiring for 1978. I think what I love most about it is wondering how the hell they made some of these noises back in that era. The spoken recordings are time capsules in their own entertaining way but on the whole this feels like a timeless art-rock album. Really funny what they did with "Union."

6.5/10

The people at the library I listened to this at on my laptop without headphones loved this. They kept saying things like "What the hell is that?" and "Do you have to listen to that on your speakers at that volume?" I told them that unfortunately it wouldn't go any louder and I didn't bring larger speakers. They seemed very upset to hear this.

Considering this has the lowest global average of any album on site, I was mildly disappointed by how abrasive it wasn’t. Just a lot of post-rock sounding field recordings and sound collages over gentle instrumentals. I actively enjoyed AB/7A and went back for a second listen of the whole thing. I can understand why people wouldn’t enjoy it but I don’t really get why it’s so much more hated than stuff that actually hurt my ears or bored me to tears.

Much better than I thought, based on the other reviews. There are certainly other albums on this list that I would consider more offensive.

Difficult, challenging, confrontational.

This album does have a place in music, but cannot have a place in my ears. Very terrible to listen to.

throbbing gristle are a great band ..not everything they do comes across but they are fantastic when it works

1/10 - I understand how this is the lowest rated album on the list.

I respect this album more than I like it. I can appreciate what it did for Industrial music and tape loops and all that, however, I don't want to listen to it again. Weeping was a highlight for me though. 4/10

Track 1: een boel piepjes. Track 2: wat onverstaanbaar geblèr van ver weg, op een bedje van guitaargemurmel. Track 3: een cassettebandje wordt vooruit gespoeld. Track 4: een of ander vrouwke brabbelt wat door het geluid van een wasmachine heen, gevolgd door een stel kerels. Track 5: er wordt (heel lang) gepield op keyboard en gitaar, het lijkt in de verte zowaar op muziek. Track 6: Iemand slaat een paar gitaarsnaren aan, een paar Engelse woorden zijn te herkennen in het gemummel, wat sloom gekras van andere instrumenten. Track 7: het geluid van een raceauto op een Commodore 64, en Stephen Hawking die een Big Mac bestelt. Track 8: een kleuter vertelt een verhaaltje. Track 9: een slechte imitatie van Jean-Michel Jarre. Track 10: een eng muziekje uit de TV-serie van Robin Hood, met radiogebabbel ertussendoor. Track 11: onverstaanbare mensen aan de telefoon. Track 12: storing. Track 13: het optreden van een punkbandje, met als zanger de boer uit Shaun 't Schaap, opgenomen vanaf de achterkant van het podium. Ik hoop dat dit inderdaad het laatste verslag was.

Ok, eerlijk is eerlijk. Het boek heet ook gewoon '1001 albums' en niet '1001 muziekalbums'.

Het begint veelbelovend met een soort computerachtige matrixprinter. Ik mag hopen dat er iets meer muziek in gaat komen, anders gaat dit een hele zware dobber worden. Nummer twee klinkt alsof de jengelende zanger geraakt is door een steen. Oh wacht, zo heet het nummer ook. De tering zeg, dit valt echt in de categorie Pere Ubu. AB/7A is het enige 'normale' nummer zo te horen. Mijn Brabantse luistermaat had dit zowaar bijna 5 sterren gegeven. Ik ben niet boos, ik ben zelfs niet teleurgesteld. Ik moet alleen maar heel hard lachen. Er staan tegenwoordig geen datums meer bij zo te zien, dus ik weet niet zeker of het een 1-april grap was. Hoe hard ik het ook probeer, dit soort 'muziek' is niet aan mij besteed. En dan sta ik er nog voor open ook, ik heb het aandachtig helemaal uitgeluisterd. Alsnog kan ik weinig anders dan 1 ster geven.

Challenging, and probably not an album to listen to for the first time at 8am on a Friday when you have a deadline this afternoon. Still, the through-lines to modern industrial and even lofi acts like GBV are there. Probably something I'll return to, but for now, mid 2s.

Pioneering industrial band, I've been looking forward to this one, because I've never sat and listened to them before.... so far so good... Interestingly this album has the dubious honour of being the lowest rated album on the whole of the 1001 project. I'll be scoring it a 4 today so maybe that will help it off the bottom slot.

Terrible day to have ears.

Listened to the album, stood up, approached the window, lit a fag... Thought a lot... Cried... The infamous lowest rated album on the list. The way I see it it's music for people who hate regular music,N and while we're on this topic I want to revise my Kollaps rating, it's at least a 3 Now, I still don't hate normal music enough, so this album is as unlistenable for me as it is for the next guy, but I respect them for including child porn with their album, that's worthy of max score

💢💢

zzzz muy raro

My brain is broken now. I kinda like this. The song "Weeping" is a standout. "Hamburger Lady" is uncomfortable and meant to be.

My initial thought on this was, “What the heck did I just listen to?” But reflecting on it more, beyond the weird vocal level there is a distinct quality to the noise they produce. I don’t think I would say I enjoyed the album, but albums that push the boundary of what is creative deserve to be on the list more than another punk album. That said, I don’t have an answer to the original question

This album is psychotic.

This is the one I've been waiting for. I swear I'm not trying to be pretentious or anything, I genuinely love Throbbing Gristle so fucking much. This album and "20 Jazz Funk Greats" (which I prefer just slightly) are both wonderfully dark and disturbing. These albums are like the music equivalent of a horror movie. Obviously I can understand why not everyone would enjoy this type of thing, but I really don't think it deserves to be so low-rated. Surely this is at least better than Kid Rock, right? Favorite track: AB/7A

3/10

Tout pourri mais pourquoi pas pour déclencher un Bad Trip

c'est de la musique industrielle et il faut de tout pour faire un monde hein

Pov : t'es en vocal et Léo/Basile prime veut pas s'arrêter pas de parler Qq trucs horribles mais qq trucs que j’ai apprécié donc pas un 1

Apparently this is the lowest rated by others album. I understand why as it's mainly just noise but I didn't think it was that bad. I'm only 378 albums in but Chicago, Robert Wyatt, and John Coltrane to name but a few have all scored significantly lower than this album.

I couldn't not even a little bit. Sigh. I am trying to be open but didn't get it. Something for everyone.

As album it is punk as meant to be, for me personally no appeal

If I could give it 0 stars, I would.

Well, that was interesting. The kind of thing I feel like I would normally like but just didn't work for me.

I made it up until Hamburger Lady, so about half way through. Definitely more of an art piece than what I would consider music. Did not like it all and not interested in listening to it again. one star.

Conceptually interesting. Practically unlistenable. I feel that if you were there, listening to this live, it would be an incredible experience. Transcendental. But just listening to the music on my morning walk... Yeah it's tough.

Clearly the worst album on this list. Not that I'm against experimental music, I most certainly am not, but this is anti-music, both in execution and in ethos. Genesis P-Orridge gives me the heebie jeebies, and the whole pandrogeny thing is beyond creepy and weird (derogatory). Terrible music for and by terrible people. No redeeming qualities.

Truly interesting. But I could not dance to it

This was an unnecessary contribution to the world.

This one scared me. I actually really liked some of the sounds on here, but there were just as many sounds that I was not a fan of. It was creative, but maybe too much so. While I appreciated this, and was proud to have listened to the whole thing, I just did not like the way it made me feel. Probably won’t be listening to it again anytime soon. Edit: I am back to upgrade this to 2 stars. I did end up listening again, it's just so intriguing. Also, to anyone reading this, be sure to check out one of their other albums 20 Jazz Funk Greats. Especially if you enjoy jazz funk!

Is this music? At the beginning it sounds like someone just recording random stuff and later someone uses a lot of different objects to make noice. I found it quiet odd yet fascinating and I couldn’t stop listening. It created some kind of dark and intriguing atmosphere.

The lowest-rated album on the list! Excellent! I'll probably love it! Edit: Nah.

I once went for a free gig at an underground venue where I would volunteer sometimes, pulling pints and that shite. The band, an electronica threesome, took to the stage and began their speil: "Some eyes see the truth" He paused for well over 30 seconds. Someone coughed. "some eyes see under..." He pulled away from the mic to breathe in. Quick as a goth on a roller coaster he pressed his lips firmly against the mic and grunt-bellowed "ZOMBIE EYESSSSSSSS" before the band started playing something like track 5 off this album. All that to say, Throbbing Gristle have irreparably damaged this planet. The root cause of 9 / 11 was this album. Probably.

horrible, unlistenable, not even music

I guess experimental music just isn't for me. I’m no expert and I really struggled to enjoy these tracks. The opening songs practically gave me a migraine. While a few tracks like 'AB/7A' worked as decent instrumentals, the rest just felt like subliminal noise echoing in my eardrums.

They got as far as saying "I bet you could make music with weird experimental sounds" but never bothered to actually do it. The tracks with vocals are the worst part of this, and I'm not usually an instrumental sorta person. Maybe one or two tracks of vague British sounds run through a spooky filter would be interesting but they keep dipping back into that tainted well. I don't hate this - it's not just a series of stupid noises like a lot of the reviews say - but I certainly don't like it. I'm only rounding this up to a 2 because it came out in 1978, when this would have actually been something new. If this came out today it would be an immediate 1.

toilet sounds etc music doesn’t have to be pleasant to listen to. it can be difficult, abrasive, off-putting, unsettling, or any number of other things. the problem with this album isn’t that it’s unpleasant or discordant. it’s just not very good

nah

A solid wall of fart noises would have been more enjoyable to listen to.

Als een album omschreven word als "A nauseating masterpiece" dan weet je al dat dit een perféct album is voor de maandag! Oortjes in, geluid op maximaal en we gaan hier eens even goed voor zitten! Nee zonder grappen, ik ben best benieuwd hiernaar, het eerste nummer is ontzettend onheilspellend en zorgt er wel voor dat ik benieuwd ben naar de rest. Maar eerlijk gezegd als er staat industrial pioneers dan weet ik al wel dat dit zeer waarschijnlijk niet helemaal mijn ding gaat zijn. Maar wie weet zit ik er compleet naast! ik probeer hier met een open vizier in te duiken! Nou, de eerste 3 a 4 nummers zijn een soort intro, en even denk ik zelfs "zo erg kan het niet zijn toch?" En eigenlijk valt het een beetje mee. Het voelt als een onheilspellend album, ook gecombineerd met de cover. En dit is absoluut geen album dat ik snel nog eens zal luisteren, maar rond nummer 6 denk ik toch voornamelijk "Is dit alles?" Misschien klapt het er nog eens op, maar het is een ongemakkelijk album met de spoken word, maar nog niets wat me actief dit album laat haten. Ik vind het een beetje saai? Had hier echt wat meer van verwacht. Merk dat ik zelfs liever een noiserock album had gehad na een tijdje, want er gebeurd gewoon niet zo heel veel... Nou, dit was een kort album, maar ik zou dit toch een beetje Blauwe Ballen - Het album noemen. De hele tijd is er een soort van dreiging die uitgaat van de sfeer en de muziek, maar eigenlijk is het album opeens ook afgelopen en blijf je een beetje achter van "Was dat het???" Ik verwachtte eigenlijk een explosie van geluid, niet 1 nummer dat een soort synthpop vibeje is? Verdomme, nooit gedacht dat ik zou balen als ik een album lang geen noiserock zou horen, maar hier zijn we dan toch aanbeland. 1001 lijst, wat dóe je met me? FAVO: AB/7A

I like industrial music but this is honestly utter garbage

This album is a tool for pulling memories out of your head you forgot were there. Damn near had a panic attack. That's great music. This album invoked such a visceral feeling. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Everything is just so creepy. From the band name, the weird title making it seem like a mad scientists field notes, and the album cover itself. The guitar work is fantastic. At times it is downright beautiful amisdt all this noise. "Weeping" and "Hamburger Lady" are probably the scariest this album gets. But thankfully, there is a God and we are blessed with a cool fuckin synth track soon after. I genuinely loved everything about this, even the feeling of "I never want to hear this song ever again" Also, side note, these guys literally coined the term "industrial", so this album's importance is not up for debate

Just sounded like noise

I didn’t doubt this album’s placement as the worst album on this project, but now I understand. When my Finch app asks me for what I’m grateful for today, I will write that I’m grateful I know and appreciate good music because it is not this.

Just noise. That's all this was. What a waste of time.

This does not deserve to be the lowest rated album on here at all. There is far more unimaginative crap in this list to be included. Sure an easy listen it is not, definitely the first couple tracks are riding the line between noise making and music. But this has some real groovy sections too, which make the whole experiment worth it. I would honestly rather listen to five more of these albums than another vaguely popular singer-songwriter from the 2000's.

Sucks

I didn’t hate this. There are some interesting ideas here. Parts of this (namely “AB/7A”) are genuinely good. However, a decent amount of this one is kinda aimless, random, and boring. A lot of songs that go on for too long and good ideas that aren’t executed well. I probably won’t revisit this, but I’m glad I listened to it. Doesn’t deserve to be the lowest rated album in the generator at all.

I don't understand hate

One of the best albums of all time.

Early industrial music was deeply, deeply strange, and this album is no exception. Alien samples, cold mechanical soundscapes, and some genuinely horrific sound design abound on this album - a particular highlight for me is the unsettling "Hamburger Lady", based on a story about a burn ward medic treating a woman whose entire body was severely burned from the waist up. Much of the experimental music I love owes a strong debt to pioneers like this. That said, I will drop a star for the photo of a little girl lifting her dress and showing her underwear that was put in the lower-right corner of the cover art. Being provocateurs was normal for people in this scene, but doing so with actual exploitative material is indefensible.

What the fuck. That was not music.

It's not an easy listen in the slightest, in fact it's quite oppressive, but I do think it's a project with real artistic merit contrary to what the reviews would have you believe. Hamburger Lady and Hometime genuinely had me feeling uneasy, yet also completely captivated. On others, like Dead on Arrival and AB/7A, you do get some semblance of rhythm and more conventional electronic music, and it's enjoyable in a 'new experience' kind of way. I could see JPEGMAFIA drop a verse or two on that (I looked it up later, and Peggy has indeed mentioned Throbbing Gristle as one of his influences on several occasions). E. Coli, my personal highlight, comes as a chilling track, and their use of sampling really stuck with me -- two recordings of opposing opinions on the ethics of disease testing, one on each audio channel, and a haunting soundscape to accompany it. This sort of storytelling is right up my alley, and from that point I really started to appreciate their musical experimentation. These sounds are impressive coming out of 1978; you could mistake it for an obscure Soundcloud release with 10 listens, but the release period certainly makes it feel much more intentional, and definitely had me approaching with each song like, "what are they trying to do on this one?". It's the sort of album that makes you realize that music isn't just for dancing and vibing, but can actually present art through sound alone. I'm not an art critic and can't find the words to expand much on that idea, so I'll just end this by saying that it was a fascinating, immersive experience. I do have an appreciation for albums that demand to be engaged with in a different manner than usual, so although it's definitely not making it into the rotation I feel like it does deserve a lil 4 here for uniqueness. Standouts: Dead on Arrival • AB/7A • E-Coli

This is really fucking good but it doesn't surprise me at all that the chicken tenders and fries crowd on this website refuse to engage with it. Obviously this is not an album you're supposed to listen to comfortably on the couch with a glass of wine. It's an art project. They are challenging you and trying to make various points with these songs. It's like walking into different rooms in a house and opening up the doors and seeing what you get - noise in this one, dance track in this one, disturbing commentary on ethical dilemmas in here - and you have to evaluate it as a whole work. I would rather have this than yet another Big Star album.

It's like listening to a drunk person falling over in a data centre. Absolute waste of my time. 0 stars would be generous

Not everything here is music — dudes talking and shuffling papers doesn’t count. But it’s not the worst thing on this list. I’m tempted to give it a 2, out of spite, because I know the “artists” want to be exceptionally irritating. But it’s really not an album you’d play through more than once, if you got that far. Plus, i just had to rate an Eric Clapton album higher than i woukd gave liked, so no grade inflation is allowed here. It’s a 1.

I surprisingly don't hate this. As an ambient album it works. Yes, this is weird and there are very few discernible melodies (AB/7A is one of the few, it's actually quite pleasant) or anything approaching conventional song structures (Dead on Arrival does have a pretty straightforward drumbeat, but that's about it). So, if you dig bleeps and bloops, strange sounds and mildly-to-severely oppressive droning atmospheres, there's something here. The vocal samples add to the ambience too. Feels very ahead of its time for 1978. I don't think I can go higher than *** but I respect it. Can't wait to read the reviews for this one...

Possibly due to having studied fine art time based media and focusing for a while on avante garde music (cage etc), this wasn't so strange or unappealing to me as it obviously has been for others. It was surprisingly enjoyable and stimulating to listen to, with a musical pulse throughout despite it seeming to only be noise. It's the first time I've listened to it (so thank you 1001) and I wouldn't be averse to playing it again. They are such a key and influential collective to so many genres, I think it's fitting that they feature here.

Just, no. This had no structure at all - I truly do not understand why anyone would willingly listen to this.

Sure it's challenging, but it's no Merzbow.

What do you do while you listen to this? Stare at a wall?

I usually never skip tracks when listening to a record, but I skipped so many here. I can respect what they were trying to go for. This was not for me, and it doesn't have to be. Favourite Track(s): AB/7A Least Favourite Track(s): I.B.M., Weeping, Walls of Sound, Hometime

Very dark vibes. Mostly music, no real singing. Not my cup of tea but others may like it.

Best Song: None. Worst Song: All. Overall: I fucking hate this. Music that is so purposeless, scattered, and directionless that it sounds accidental, yet is somehow made all the worse through the knowledge that this actually is intentional. What I'm hearing is what they wanted. This isn't unapproachable in the sense that it is hard to get past initial barriers to appreciate some sophisticated internal something, this is unapproachable because there's nothing to approach. It is all noise, obscuring nothing. This has the aesthetic value of a pit mine. This is the ugliness of industrialization. This is useful only as a reminder that we, as humanity, have lost our way. We cannot allow ourselves to live in a world that sounds like this.

Idt I’m enough of an intellectual for this

I listened to this album when I was out doing chores, it totally spun me out.

This was awful. Just random noises with no musicality

Rough listen but glad I know about it.

Hits the same way pretty much all industrial music does for me - the discomfort they’re going for is there, but just seems pretentious and boring.

look i'm not going to listen to list, fuck you, i'm rating it a 1 so it doesnt feel like something i have to get to eventually

Nope!! Everything deserves a score. .1 Can’t enter that so I will try to give a zero if I can. Otherwise 1

Didn't get this.

the cover is a no go. The music itself is interesting. Not something I would regularly listen to, but there was lots in it that was engaging.

A bit too experimental for my taste

Ummmm…

Altså, jeg kommer nok ikke til at høre det igen ...

That was really cool. I think if you want to truly appreciate music as an artform, then I think it is important to step out of your comfort zone and listen to music that may make you uncomfortable. Industrial and noise music is so much fun, and there's so much more to be gained from music when you can appreciate music like this.

Not even music

Interesting.

This was super interesting. I was engaged through most of it. Hometime evoked more feelings from me than any other song on this list. The songs were more cohesive than I thought they would be based on the other reviews and the wikipedia entries. Will not listen again.

Er, big no.

It's Easter today. Jesus died for whatever abomination I just listened to. This is like a Brian Eno fever dream. Zero stars.

This was just noise interspersed periodically with something that resembled music.

Yeah, it’s pretty bad bad not good

Intolerable!

everybody make some noise 1

I know art should explore themes like this and make possibly make you feel uncomfortable. And, in that regard, I would have been more interested in this album in a museum of other arty context. Just listening to it, it was a hard one.

Muy buen concepto de industrial, no volvería tanto a este disco a menos que tuviera unas ganas profundas de tener este sonido en mis oídos

Interesante, me encanta el ambiente oscuro del album

I did not get this. Unsure on what I was conveying. Lots of random noise

This is the side of alternative that is too much electronica for me.

What could I say that’s hasn’t already been said. 1 star.

Because I can't give it a 0

Not for me

My wife walked in and said "what the hell are you listening to?"during the first track. Very dissident style of music. Very progressive for the time frame and probably did help other bands find their voice. I liked it more and more I listened to it. Top songs Ab/7a Weeping 4.5/10

Never heard of album or band. First song is weird. Kept expecting it to start but it’s just mic feedback the whole time. Didn’t feel like a real song. Hit by a rock is more of a song but still weird. Bullshit lyrics. Valley is a TikTok with no visuals. I have no clue what I’m listening to rn this is not music. Title track is actually a song which is cool. Again it just never picks up. 6 minutes of weirdness. Finally some lyrics on weeping. Terrible voice. Mid lyrics. One positive I will say is that it’s good music to work to. Not distracting in the least. Sounds like normal outdoor sounds. Again I asked who gave the green light on the remaster. Why do I kind of like AB/7A?? Again great work music. This one is really well produced. Sounds like a real song. I’m glad I didn’t bail out. Just because of this one song. Écoli is back to bullshit. Ready to be done again. Last 2 songs more of the same. Glad it’s over. The one song kept it from .5 for trying zone. 1.2 stars.

Excellent music to listen to while in the woods, at night, with your friends, tripping on LSD. Otherwise, I'm just not sure when I would listen to this.

Никак не мог послушать. Ничего не понял.

Okay, so this wasn't as challenging as the reviews had it hyped up to be. Honestly I wish it had more cacophonous noise. I feel I have received less cacophonous noise than what was advertised. There were some intriguing bops, like IBM, Dead on Arrival, and AB/7A. I was perplexed and unnerved but could bob to the melody. I didn't like the vocal tracks and found them to be more irritating than unnerving. I feel like it almost worked for Weeping, but I didn't like any of the other ones. Hamburger Lady really accurately mimicked the feeling of my nighttime solitary anxiety attacks, which is something. The entire way through this, especially the latter half, made me feel deep bodily anxiety. Really interesting stuff. I'd revisit IBM, DOA, and AB/7A, but I could leave the rest. Wasn't expecting to get Gristled less than a month into the project, but here we are.

I've been looking forward to this record since I started this project. It seems sort of legendary for its seeming ability to be almost universally despised by the reviewers on this site, and I'll be honest, I wanted to see if the reviews were fair. I suspected that it was largely a record that people misunderstood, and that there were probably many redeemable qualities to it. Nope. I was wrong. People seem to understand this record perfectly fine. I actually think that this record had to have been predicated on a prank by the band to be inflicted on the audience. It truly sucks. I like some weird, avant garde stuff from time to time, but this really isn't that. This is just audio dogshit, most of which doesn't really involve any real level of musicality. It's pretty rare that I'll rate something at a 1-star. For me, for a record to warrant a 1-star rating, it has to fail to meet the basic criteria of being musical, or I have to think that it's so bad that I can't understand why anyone would record it in the first place. This Throbbing Gristle record checks both those boxes for me. 1/10

Truly just unlistenable noise.

Awful. Barely qualifies as music

The lowest rated album of the entire book!!!!!!!! My face the whole time was that Tom Delonge WTF gif. Like walking through a Rob Zombie movie and just a raw, raw soundtrack of that. I'm 5 songs in and I actually love the randomness of it. It's a 3.5 for me. I'll check back in at the end........ Still like it! 3/5

Felt kind of shallow lyrically, mostly going for shock value, but was weirdly hypnotic by the second half

Unbearable at times but more interesting than another fucking Super Furry Animals album

Imagine you’re working for an international spy organization, and you have captured a terrorist who knows the codes to disarm the nuclear weapons hidden in major cities throughout the globe. The clear answer to this trolley problem is that you’ll ignore the Geneva Convention and do whatever it takes to extract the information from the terrorist to save humanity. Rather than waterboarding, which will ruin this perfectly good carpet, you play Throbbing Gristle on repeat until they crack. I was ready to confess to crimes that I never committed just to make it stop. In short, this album is a human rights violation.

I hated this album.

This is a must be wearing headphones for me. I rather enjoyed it, but it’s a once in a blue moon listen rather than heavy rotation for me.

No no no

Je zaujímavé vypočuť si to aspoň raz. Bavilo ma to viac, ako mnoho iných popularnejsich hudobníkov, ale u mňa je to len za 2.

A truly grating listening experience. The "songs" on this album were one of two things: a mishmash of earraping noises or a muffled recording of someone talking slapped onto a repetitive beat. I will give it one thing: it did sound pretty haunting at times. Intentionally or not, I did enjoy those bits, even though it was literally just two tracks (Hamburger Lady and Hometime). This is now two for two on British albums being one star. Coincidence? Favorite Track: Hamburger Lady

1, what was this

Why are these weird, no talent albums on here? Just because they are eclectic?

This album made me feel so on edge. Anyone who says they like this is a psychopath.

not for me

Makes me want to bump up other albums I have rated 1 star!

Terrible

At the time of writing, this is the lowest rated album on here. "How bad could it be?" I thought. It was that bad.

41 mins of my life i never get back Never again

Younger me would have lapped this up, older me puts it in the pretentious arty bollocks category. AB/7A is a standout (for good reasons).

Not what I expected at all, pleasantly surprised

ig i like this soundscape never woulda put this on but acc might put it on again

This is one of the creepiest and off kilter albums i’ve ever heard in my life. I love the industrial genre, dalek, death grips, nine inch nails wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for these guys. Physically nauseating, revolting, scary, I never want to touch this again. And I genuinely believe this is a master piece

Much anticipated and now it is there. Too be honest it is a bit disappointing, I expected it to be worse. Of course it is noisy but not unbearable. I definitely prefer it to Celine Dion.

An album I would not have listened to without this list. But I will surely never listen to this terrible noises again. 0 stars

nauseating and repetitive.

This is probably the only review I'm making on this website because this album certainly makes me wanna put some kind of sense ino my reaction. If we take into consideration what the artistic vision of the group is, I guess you could make the case that it is supposed to sound the way it sounds, and maybe I don't have the knowledge or intelligence to understand the art within. But to me, this sounds like an album made by the CIA to torture all the minorities they could find in Third World countries and induce a nationwide collective hysteria, which I guess, is what they were aiming for?

133/1001 First listen. Reading the reviews this sounds like it’s going to be a one time listen. I could see some of this as interludes between more normal tracks but a whole album of this? I don’t know why you would listen again. It would make a good soundtrack I suppose. 4/10

Hi can someone please explain to me what the actual fuck?

What the F is this shit!

Noise. Just noise

#862. I get it that industrial music is supposed to be anti-music to some degree, and that is the point, but still though this isn't really interesting at all to me. Avant garde nonsense in any form of art just seems stupid to me. 1/5: dumb

Fascinating, but nothing I would want to listen to again in the near future ... or ever again.

Aaarrrrrgggg!!!!!

It's mostly noise. AB/7A was a nice little groove, but that's the closest thing to an actual song. Still, the 1001 has delivered Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit, and I can't rate this as low as those abominations.

5/10… industrial / electronics / *1978 👂

idk

The beeps and harsh noise on I.B.M. immediately set the tone and provided the structure for the album. It’s an album that’s sonically dense, leaving you unpacking the sound. It can be overwhelming in the sense of leaving you drained at times, but this is part of what makes this album so fascinating. There’s just so much to it. I spent most of my time listening trying to fully break down the music, which was an enriching experience. There’s more interest compared to enjoyment right now, but I have strong appreciation for this project. Faves: AB/7A, Dead on Arrival

Is this really music? Because I would just call it noise. It seems to live up to being the lowest rated album on the list.

I was both concerned and intrigued going into D.o.A… I mean, how could I not be? The lowest-rated LP on this site ought to be a uniquely awful experience – perhaps even a “so bad it’s good” kind of album. I was fully prepared for something unforgettable, for better or for worse. In that regard, I came out of D.o.A feeling a bit underwhelmed. Listen… I don’t think it’s great, but is it the worst album on this list? I’d argue that it isn’t – it might not even be in the bottom five. At the same time, it’s not very accessible, so I sort of get why it has the lowest average rating. I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed listening to most of these tracks, but there are a handful of songs that I could at least picture working in the right context (like a video game or film soundtrack). I wish the surrounding album was just as consistent, but what can you do? I try to keep my ratings fairly subjective and not take influence into account (considering every album here is supposed to be somewhat influential), but I feel like have to give Throbbing Gristle a couple of brownie points for helping shape the industrial genre. Highlights: Dead on Arrival, AB/7A, E-Coli

WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?! Another platter from the Neil Young Extended Universe™? An eighth U effing 2 album? Quit your bitching and eat your Throbbing Gristle.

Sounds like a haunting radio transmission from an alternate earth o e dimension over...like maybe you aren't supposed to be hearing it. It's a wildly influential record in industrial music, but not for casual listening, that's for sure.

Not an easy listen is it? Some bits are really cool and I can definitely see how a track like E-Coli was foundational in allowing bands like Mogwai come through and do what they do, but ultimately too much of it sounds like filler tracks you would put between songs on an album, without enough of the actual songs for it to go between

If I could give it 0 stars, I would. Idk what its doing on this list.

Ass

Call it performance art maybe, but half the time it wasn't music.

Nearly every track was unlistenable noise. Painful.

Good industrial

Too weird and obnoxious.

Some innovative sounds. Good electronica.

This album asks important questions. Questions like, what if Revolution 9 were shitty and four times longer?

It's sad they didn't make it. Rest In Peace.

Well, that was something atleast.

Atonal & amelodic.

The first few tracks aren’t even songs, in that they lack any rhythm or melody. The back half of the album at least has songs, but they’re still terrible.

I feel like I'm going to be killed

This makes me kind of philosophical. At what point do you call random noises "music"? I don't have the answer, but I suspect this doesn't always reach that point. It may have been influential, but I'm not sure I want to hear the results.

Horrendous.

jesus my ears hurt

I feel like I would really love this if I lived ontop of the motherboard and I was trying to here what happens in the real life like a fever dream🥲one day

are you taking the piss?

God this sucked. Bonus star for not being jazz.

God help you if this was the first album you got

Nearly every track was unlistenable noise. Painful.

I won't be listening to this album again. It is interesting, but I can see whyso many people hate it. You have to be VERY open minded for this album. I can't see a situation where I will happily put this album on for a casual listen, but if you're trying to see how far away from traditional music an album can get, this is it.

Muy alternativo para mi gusto

Some interesting noises.

This might have been a hit for me, I like the idea of "nonsensical" ambient noise like that but this just didn't hit the spot. It was a thin line to walk and it didn't make it.

I’d go to this gallery show

The parents of shoe gaze? Noise? IBM was the giveaway.

I understand the hate for this one, and while there's certainly some low effort work here, there's lots that's way way worse in the 1001 list.

One of the lowest rated albums on this list, probably stemming from the fact that Throbbing Gristle is simply just not an easy band to listen to. Not in the pretentious Tool way, but in the incredibly weird avant-garde/inaccessible way. There wasn't "industrial" music in the 70s (we do not talk about Metal Machine Music), and some weirdo band had to foreshadow the sounds of underground 80s music/eventually mainstream(?!) by the late 80s/early 90s. But yeah, I guess somehow Kid Rock is better than this apparently. Easier to be lowbrow and ergo accessible than to make something crazily unique for no expectation of monetary reward for the most zonked-out people on the planet. Oh yeah the music. There really isn't anything quite like it before or since. Lots of synths, tape manipulation (some really find work in this department especially for the late 70s), spoken word. Like Crass if they were more musically-inclined and a bit more sophisticated. I love stuff like I.B.M., Dead on Arrival and AB/7A. Really great synth work for the late 70s, quite impressive stuff and good thanks to Chris Carter for that. I'm also the kind of person to find music that can make me feel disturbed or off-feeling, it's rare to get that out of music unlike choosing to watch a horror movie where you have a plethora of options, I don't find that much music that can give me the good ol' goosebumps so shout out to Hamburger Lady when I heard that the first time. Listening to this album for the list is the second time I've heard it all, and it's definitely a different experience coming into this album knowing what it sounds like. Less spooky. It never stays in the same mood as much as you remember and each song is somehow more distinct from one another. Kind of too much spoken word though. The dynamics of some of those songs (Weeping/Hometime/E-Coli/Death Threat) isn't going to sound great through standard speakers and also I think detract from the album's musicalness in favor of experimentation. Which is fine for an artistic choice but doesn't help with the album's pacing. It does sound like if the 70s heard some selection of mid 90s sample based electronic music from a time travel event. I first listened to Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle in 2020 and that was maybe the second darkest time period in my lifetime to have chosen to listen to that record to see what the band was about. Re-listening to this for this project has made me appreciate it more and like it better. I am admittedly a generous ranker and was thinking of giving this a three or four earlier, but it's definitely an album that takes two listens or so to really feel for it, kind of like the similarly low rated (and much better) album Trout Mask Replica. There is significantly worse music than this on the list, it's just that those albums are more sensible and easier to approach for people. This is definitely the polar opposite to that: a less sensible album for music weirdos. We need more of those in this world.

You'd have to argue pretty hard that this is music at all.

This one's really interesting and - honestly - fairly enjoyable. There's a lot of things going on which are surprising for an album from the 1970s, like the crazy distorted industrial pulsing on "Walls of Sound" which sounds a lot like a proto-Nine Inch Nails. And yeah, I think everyone should listen to something like this sometime in their life, even if it's just to be sure that they don't like it. Favorite track: AB/7A. A lot of this album would be best when I am in the right mood, but this is a track I could legitimately listen to any day.

That's not music. That's insulting.

Ugly, creepy, and disorienting. Barely music. Categorically not the worst album on this list. Haaamburger lady.

Wow, this is the lowest rated albums on here. Not looking forward to it. It's another case of "this is the first of a genre, so it must be on this list." Just because you CAN make something doesn't mean you should, or that it should be recommended to you 50 years later. I will tolerate this nonsense out of composers, not this. 1* IBM: I was inside of my modem I usually will power through all the garbage here, but this time I can't. I stopped at the start of the 3rd track. I just can't. My ears don't deserve this.

I lasted three “songs”, which is three more than I should have.

Do not like industrial music

cannot get through -- way too experimental "industrial music"

Noise music just isn't my bag.

I definitely did not need to hear this one

Would have given zero stars if I could. Literally mostly just noise.

I will give this 2 stars just out of spite. Unique and influential offering, however barely listenable, but still this is one of the very few hommages to Musique Concrete movement on this list.

If it wasn’t boring, it was offensive to my ears. Some songs would be recording machine monologues and others screechy unsettling tones. 1 star

This might have been groundbreaking or influential at the time and/or artistically challenging but it was boring and didn’t interest me

I have a 15 minute rule. If I've listened for 15 minutes and not a single listenable song has played yet, I'm turning it off. Gave it an honest try.....I understand one of the top rated reviews on this but I would much rather listen to Kanye West or Beyoncé over this (whats his fucking damage??)

Tangentially related rant. Today, my coworkers (one of which showed up late) vocalized how they feel music hasn’t changed or evolved in the past while. That grunge & Dave Matthews were the last things that made them ‘feel’ the music. Some of you people giving this a 1/5 are my coworkers. If you’re 500+ albums into this list and you’re giving it a 1/5 stars, why??? This is at the very least unique and challenging — something that can’t be said for most of the 8 Neil Young associated projects, or the umpteenth new wave or britpop inclusion on this list. DOA is fine! God forbid we venture away from typical song structure. “Dead On Arrival” had some great synth work for its time. Love the use of reverb. “Hometime” was my favorite, reminding me of one of the b-side songs from Brian Eno’s Another Green World. And “AB/7A” was actually a pretty bright, shimmering little song that added a little color to the album. A totally welcome inclusion that probably did a lot of leg work for industrial acts, dark electronic music, etc. A good exercise for the ears, 3/5

Vraiment pas non genre ces trucs expérimentaux

not music... i wanna say straight bullshit but i guess this is art too

Umm no. Just no. So much no.

Formless, structureless music is just not for me. I can imagine industrial being fun, but this is not it. It’s not like this album made my day worse. It was mostly chill and inoffensive. I definitely appreciate the creativity that goes into creating something like this, but it doesn’t resonate with me, unfortunately. I was just bored.

Well, it finally happened. In the same week as I got Thriller, too. I mean I'm not going to doubt the influence or impact of this, but I also don't like to rate on that. I prefer to rate on how much I enjoy listening to it. Unfortunately this album was basically an experiment in "how little enjoyment can we force the listener to have". I'm very glad that the whole thing was not like I.B.M. (that was a little too abrasive). I can respect the sheer gall of releasing this and it sure as hell isn't boring even if I didn't particularly enjoy it. "Oh you like music? Name every sound." Throbbing Gristle: well Also my cat seems to be very confused. He normally doesn't care when I play loud music but this one has him at full attention for some reason.

No.

Hoo boy. It is exceptionally easy to just blast this album and one-star it. I'm tempted. Art house rock/prog rock/Brit post-punk/et cetera is my least favorite trash in the world. If I have to say something nice, it's that even Trent Reznor credits them with pioneering industrial rock, and they were doing this analog, which is admittedly impressive. It's just so deeply weird in an unpleasant way. Influence 3. Quality 1. Hits 1. Intangibles 2. Never again 1.

I hated this. It was just noise. I would give it zero stars if I could. Awful.

* only listened to 1/2 of but intended to go back and finish today Fav: weeping 1.5/5

oops…

This is... art... but not really enjoyable music.

Great, an album full of random noise

Unpleasant noise. And what’s with the creepo album cover? Jeezus.

I hate this. Thank god it's over. It got slightly better at times, but I will definitely never listen to this again.

This one is a little too weird for me

Not for me

I am currently naming this album the uncontested winner of the most consistently unpleasing sounds thus far throughout an entire recording. I've only in about 20 albums now but I'm confident that they will own this title for an elongated period. If you enjoy this you are unusual being a with taste for the macabre

I don’t listen to Industrial music as much as I did in my younger days back in the 90s, but it’s still in the rotation. When this album came up, I was excited to finally check out Throbbing Gristle. Unfortunately, however influential and ground breaking this was in the 70s, I just couldn’t connect with it. Happy with the music that was birthed from it, but this is not for me.

Inspirational I'm sure.

I didn't hate it and there were even parts I kinda enjoyed. Still not my cup of tea

It wasn't awful, but not something I would ever listen to again and at times a bit of a drag to get through.

The problem with rating things with whole numbers out of 5 is that it struggles to capture the nuance of the score. I can certainly understand why it would be rated 1/5 en masse using this scoring system, but it certainly isn't the worst on the list. That said, I don't think there is anything on here worth revisiting, and (not that it should influence the rating of the music), hard to ignore the album cover looks like a photo in the Epstein files.

Weird...but....no...just weird

Horrible, awful, unlistenable, nightmarish, get it away from me please

First listen Saved 0/13

Gear: 64 Audio Duo Artwork: 👧📻📸 Production (Remastered): 🔪💩😖 Music: 📢😵‍💫𖡎 Rating: 💀/5

Was zum Geier ist hier los, Was ist das für ein SOund.. Auweia

Not nearly as rough as expected from the universal reviews. It’s not something I’ll put on to listen to, but I get what they were building

4.5

This one was hard to get into. Cool I guess that they were so out of the norm, but I couldn’t really get into any song. Some were just noise and I’m pretty sure there was a whole track of people just talking in the background.

Adored this shit. Maybe a 5. So weird and subversive. I am all in

THROBBING ITS THROBBING. Cool sounds that go beep and boop. Strong 3

There's not much here but it's pretty inoffensive, just a noise record, surprised this is the lowest record of them all

Very very strange but fascinating

Did not get it

Why does this exist...

Awful.

1,5/5

Surprisingly less annoying and Fatboy Slim

Throbbing Gristle – D.O.A. D.O.A. is less of a musical album and more of a psychological endurance test. After a week defined by high-level musicianship and beautiful production, this record feels like a total rejection of everything that makes music worth listening to. It is an "absolute grievance" of a project—a collection of abrasive noise, disturbing tape loops, and cold, mechanical static that offers zero emotional or melodic payoff. While historians might argue for its importance in creating the "Industrial" genre, the actual listening experience is physically repulsive and sonically hollow. It stands as a reminder that being "provocative" or "experimental" doesn't always result in something that deserves to be heard. If giving an album a zero was a feature of this platform I would wholeheartedly. 1/5

cái lồn j vậy?

Pretty unique and interesting. Didn't care much for Walls of Sound though.

There was a brief moment of nostalgia for the sound of the old dial-up modem (I’m old). That was the highlight of this one. Now I’ve heard it, I’ll be stunned if I ever voluntarily listen to it again. Ooh! I just saw that as of today this is THE LOWEST rated album on the list! I am going to help it stay that way. Good to get this one done.

First listen, first couple of tracks, are a tough listen. But once you settle into the creepy, anxious vibe, it’s quite a trip. I ended up listening to this album 4-5 times over the weekend and really loved it. It reminded me of the downward spiral with some amnesiac thrown in. I believe this is the lowest rated album in the challenge. I’m not sure this is fair, just because it’s challenging doesn’t mean it’s shit.

Tough to rate! I have mixed feeling about this album - on the one hand the cover is appalling, the song titles/lyrics are pretty creepy and dark - the whole album puts you on edge. It's not what I would call an 'enjoyable' experience. On the other hand - this music hasn't been created for an enjoyable experience (nor should it be, there's plenty of music to help you feel happy or sad or sound lovely - this is something different entirely!), so ultimately I found the musicality and instrumentation really interesting and it drew me in. I can imagine this type of experimental industrial sound paved the way for bands like NIN and Marilyn Manson, Tool, punk and some electronica too. So I'm left feeling conflicted - I can certainly see why so many have rated it poorly, but I also don't think the band is just for pretentious avantgarde music nob edgelords (unless maybe I am one, and just have no insight?). Its a tough listen but also fascinating and complex. Dark and bad and weird - maybe that's why I was kinda into it. Could be worse!? It could be more harmonica shit.