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

This is shite!!! I don’t do that many drugs to even know WTF this is! Hard pass!!! Put this in the Heavens Gate never listen to again category!

poor production quality. most songs seem to be random sound effects strung together with nonsensical, often indecipherable lyrics (although many are just instrumentals). this was painful to get through to be honest.

What a piece of shit “album”.

Uh… sure! I’m sure with a whole lot of context this album would be really really cool and transcendent but it just sounds like liminal space but in audio form. i’m also not an electronic music person so it just doesn’t resonate with me

I have mixed feelings on this one. I believe good music should make you feel things. While listening to this album with headphones in a room by myself, I did feel things. Unfortunately none of them were even remotely good things. Not sure what the band was going for here, but I hated it.

If Ross geller got a record deal

★½

Too much of this tipped the wrong way for me. I liked dead on arrival, ab/7a and e-coli, but the rest was too uncomfortable.

I’m not quite sure how they made this album - so a small amount of respect there. Ultimately I was glad when it ended

Without merit of any kind

Some of what Throbbing Gristle offers up falls under the category of music, but the majority of the material on Third Report does not as they are engaging in sound art rather than songwriting. As sound art it is somewhat interesting, but as an album of music it is lacking many of the features you should judge when writing an album review (melody, rhythm, etc.) They successfully create an uncomfortable and uncompromising atmosphere which I will not be returning to. I find the life story and personality of Genesis P-Orridge much more interesting than the output of Throbbing Gristle itself.

I’m coming in with a solid 4 on this which might be controversial. I think some of it absolutely is music, and some of it is firmly in the sound art world, but for me it works extremely well as a package and was quite an experience as a listen. I can also hear its impact on various noise-adjacent bits I like a lot.

Very interesting record. One of those experimental music pieces with unique and odd sounds, sequenced in whatever method the artist desired, mostly without rhythm. It’s a very cool take on what’s possible with music, so I still appreciate this one. I’d revisit it for funsies.

I guess this was needed to crawl so the books and animal collective could fly

Great band name

Kick things off with 3 minutes of static and there better be peak Zeppelin on deck.

I guess I’m a sick fuck but I found this kind of relaxing, soothing even.

I mean, where to start with that? It was certainly some sounds that happened in quite an unpleasant way. Was it music? Not as I know it to be fair. Maybe I'm marking myself out as a naif, wanting 'songs' and 'melody' rather than 'quite a close approximation of a waking nightmare'. It's safe to say the last three days have not been the Project's finest. Insert meme of Jez from Peep Show saying 'that wasn't very Christmassy' here.

This is the lowest rated album on the whole list — 1.88/5. And it brings me extra interest, ‘cause masses can’t be wrong, right???? How to start, lol. It’s not another mediocre britpop album from the 70s or 80s. It’s something new, experimental, something I have never listened to before. It’s industrial, it’s creepy af, it’s so anxious, noisy and dark. It's experimental chaos and I like it, I respect it. I really like Dead on Arrival, so fucking alienly weird and dangerous, it sounds like a space blaster war on the moon in the second part: green aliens protecting their underground moon bunkers while SpaceX colonizers attack them. The album sounds like a perfect soundtrack for the "Outer Wilds" game too. 3/5 —————————————— Liked: — Dead on Arrival

I could scrape a fork on my monitor and I'd achieve this sound.

Say you're a scared little cat. A scared little cat who does not like change. Then one day, your peopl bring home some new furniture for the living room, and spend an afternoon tearing apart everything you know and love and replacing it with horrifying, different furniture. Everything is wrong, you were not consulted, but you put on the bravest face to start to explore this abominable new habitat. But the people are listening to D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle, and as you peek your little head into the room, the song Walls of Sound starts. You flee. This is a horror film. This is the soundtrack to a horror film.

this is without a doubt the biggest ask by the author of the list on what qualifies as an album. it feels edge lordy in a way i don't want to look up further because i'm already annoyed. the blurbs i've seen about throbbing gristle all use the phrase "anti melody" and that's more than enough to warn me off this nonsense.

forgot to rate this one when i listened — spotify describes them as "abrasive, aggressive, and antagonistic" and i agree. i liked the one song that was more bleep blorpy and less like it belonged on the soundtrack of The Ring. i did like this tiktok i got about them and their album naming choices tho https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSLeH8SDv5U/

What so consistently impresses me about Throbbing Gristle is how unsettling their music is, especially when I remember this was made in 1978 so not on a current-day computer and set of synthesizers. Some of the instrumentals set off my nervous system and fill me with weird dread even though I know I turned the music on on purpose. It's easy to picture them in a horror movie as a basis for setting up a scare. Some of the sampled spoken aspects are appealing to me in the same way Front 242 appeals to me - taking things out of their context and seeing what weird mutations you can do to them. And then there's "AB/7A" which is downright catchy. I feel a little like a petulant little shitbird for wanting to give this a 4 because I know some of their antics lean really edgelord-y, but I do find it compelling how they are making music that most people probably go "ugh! ew! shock value!" but there's some real (in my opinion) attention to and understanding of catchiness and melody in here. It's just being used for evil.

Fair play to them - something different. 1s and 5s isn’t a bad thing!

Interesting - and probably groundbreaking for the 1970's, but just not much musical value.

This one is a challenging listen. It questions the notion of what even constitutes music. I would never blame anyone for giving this 1 star, and when I pressed play on the first track, I nearly wrote the whole thing off, but by Dead On Arrival, I found the melody and every song from then on I was able to find something to latch onto. I would take this album over yet another post-punk/new wave band any day of the week.

this is what a nightmare sounds like

this isn't music, it's a collection of random noises that are unpleasant to listen to together.. or alone

My Gristle is still Throbbing! After the high-pitched sonic attack of "I.B.M" I was pretty sure I was in for a terrifyingly bad 42 minutes. Is this practically unlistenable? Definitely! But it's really not all bad. I can see how some folks heard this and thought they could add some melody to the industrial noisy bits and make a new kind of music. So, props to them for originating something. It definitely doesn't sound like anything else. I have never understood how anyone puts out a track of overheard conversations. They're almost never listenable. Even most scripted skits on albums are bad and only get worse with time. But to just hear 2 people talking about whatever is insane to have on a recording. They do that at least three times here. That's annoying. I like some of the ambient parts the best. "Dead on Arrival" and "AB/7A" are probably the best, most listenable entries. I don't imagine I'd ever come back to this, but at least I can see why it would be on a list like this. I'm going to give it a 3 because it was groundbreaking and the production and effects they made/used are astounding for 1978!

40/100

This album is everything good about experimental music in its early days. It's really hard to make music that sounds this genuinely unnerving, and I think that's what draws a lot of people away from this album. It's the lowest rated album on the entire site right now, after all. It's a wonderful album, dare I even say one of the best ones on the list so far to me. The variation in everything is my favorite part. The noise sections are great, the more ambient songs like Hamburger Lady or E-Coli are really interestingly done, and then there's an acoustic song thrown in the middle for the hell of it. More than anything, it's a varied album, and an album that does every varied thing really, really well. It's stuff like this that I look for in a list like this. That being said, this review also gets Kid Rock one step closer to having the lowest rated album on the list. Bazinga.

This album was about as enjoyable as getting a root canal if your dentist was John Cramer from Saw. Anyone who finds this enjoyable, innovative, and/or worth listening to needs to be seen by someone, anyone, with a PhD. To quote Tyra Banks, "It is so bad, I want to give you a zero, but that's not possible, so I give you a one."

WTF did I just listen to? It's only relation to music is that it uses instruments and voices, but that's about where the similarities end. Just a bunch of formless, shapeless noise. Not enjoyable, and something I'm only forcing myself to listen to because of this group.

Ugh

Pretty hard to rate. It was mostly just noise.

First time listening to this album. I'm surprised 20 Jazz Funk Greats isn't on the list instead, definitely would've been "easier" to listen to. That being said looking at the average ranking this album has, some people are such wusses lol. Is it something I'd listen to casually? No. Is it interesting and trying different things on different songs? Yes, unlike some other experimental albums on this list that were just the same thing for 40 minutes (looking at you Duck Stab). Why complain about Throbbing Gristle being here when there's literally a Kid Rock album on the list 2/5

Otro disco para torturar al oyente. No le encuentro el punto.

Honestly just some creepy sounds??? What the hell am I missing is this a pisstake? Ruined my morning, im trying to go through a breakup here and I get this garbage, the world is a sad place.

Granted I know very little about industrial but I KNOW I've heard much more interesting industrial than this. This did nothing for me.

Lovely stuff

6 Don’t know what it says about me that I was listening to my broken headphone buzzing and cutting out intermittently through probably a minute and a half without realising and thinking it was part of the song but still quite enjoying it! Big up hull as well

Nope, DNF, 1 star

Well, that was a giant fucking waste of time. No stars if that option was available.

Basically awful? This is literally just noises; no melodic qualities for the most part. I wouldn’t say this is a musical album - what I’m saying is this isn’t music per se so I wouldn’t market this as a musical album. An interesting experiment? Perhaps. Something I’ll never listen to again? Yes, definitely. AB/7A is the only track that resembles a musical composition.

1. IBM - 1 2. rock - 1 3. death - 1 4. arrival - 1 5. Weeping - 1.5 6. Lady - 1 7. Home - 1.5 8. Ab -1 9. Coli - 1 10. Threats -0 11. Sound - 1 12. Blood - 0

If you ignore the first four tracks, its actually not terrible.

some songs in the album is pretty catchy, but toher than that it's pretty okay ngl

Not my thing personally. Glad I gave it a try but it was less like music and more like noise :/ Not a great start for my first album out of the 1001

With a name like Throbbing Gristle...[insert your own sentence completion here as you please]. The first track I.B.M. is just one letter more than the universal abbreviation for bowel evacuation and is only one letter different from the medical condition known as I.B.S. (irritable bowel syndrome). Another track called E-Coli only adds fuel to this faecal drama. Why did they name their 2nd album The Third and Final Report. (Perhaps a better question is why did they name their 1st album The Second Annual Report?) Why is one of the band members named Cosey Fanni Tutti -- did you know Mozart was infamous for his scatalogical (potty) humour. So many questions, but so little time, although the album proper runs about 3/4 of an hour. Put the needle on the record and Rock Me Amadeus.

Shite

Halfway through the second track I knew I hated it and resigned myself to another 40 minutes of awful music. Until all of a sudden it wasn’t awful. Maybe it just grew on me, maybe I developed some weird Stockholm syndrome but by the end of the album I had quite enjoyed it. It’s not gonna be up there with my favourites by the end of this but it deserves higher than its 1.88 global rating.

Really didnt like this album- so much of it felt like it was trying to be edgy / avant garde. A lot of songs didnt actually sound like music, but an assortment of sound bites. I can see how maybe this was influential to other industrial artists, but it was really bad for me

I’m not sure this deserves a place on the list, not because it’s bad (although it is a long way from good), but because it’s not really music. There are a few moments of interesting melody and rhythm, Dead On Arrival for instance I actually enjoyed, but the majority doesn’t seem to have any musicality as far as I can tell. It felt less like an album of music and more like Tangerine Dream were soundtracking my dystopian day.

Its not my fault all of you are some PUSSIES!!!!!!

Listen, was this album a hot mess? Yes. Is the cover image fucked up? Also yes. Was anything about this good? No. But I didn’t have the visceral reaction I expected. I didn’t like it, but maybe it’s not the worst thing? But lbr it probably is.

For 1978 this is pretty innovating. But it’s really not fun to listen to, and that is what is most important in the end.

I heard if you start playing this album & Brian Eno's Music for Airports at the same time they sync up.

I thought something was wrong with my speakers.

This sucks. I think the majority nailed it with this one. If your success hinges on some kind of pretentious notion that "its not made for you, only we understand why this is actually amazing" then its bad. Dont launch an album into the public if you dont want public scrutiny. Its different walls of noise, lots of screeching, off key everything, etc. I let the whole thing run while I worked to just see it through and I can confidently say you arent missing anything by skipping this one.

What a pleasure to finally get to experience the worst rated album on this list! Just as bad as the rating made it out to be. Anyone defending this hunka junk probably smells their own farts for fun and pleasure. Get over yourself and accept that something being bad on purpose doesn’t make it interesting

Did you know that there's actually 1089 to listen to. I did not. 5/5

I love experimental music like this - even better when it polarises people!

Hmmm. I've hated other albums on this list more than this, despite also hating arty noisy crap which has no melody for the sake of it. Frankly, some of it was interesting, a bit like Radiohead mid 2000s. Not completely unlistenable. But my main question is who actually would choose to liaten to this for pleasure? I only know of one person. But I won't ever go back.

is this a prank entry? i thought this was a horrendous way to start an album, but then it turns out it’s simply a horrendous way to do an album. i had to double check that my headphones weren’t broken. i’m actively angry at this. i stopped after 5 songs. these are 15 minutes i’m never getting back. i wish i could give it zero stars.

This was a slog. A bunch of field recording conversation over the top of random 'musical' sounds. I could have done without bothering. The fact this is lauded as their best effort is absolutely mad to me.

It was making me uneasy. I get why its called abrasive and antagonistic. I get why people would think its random noise and trash at first, but I can see the creative mind and process behind this. It had my brain moving and working, really listening. did a good job making me uneasy, and some of the rythms were fun and good. Very well could be the first and last time I listen to them, but my time was not wasted by any means

Hell yeah the lowest rated album on this entire list. It's really not that bad. There's a lot of what I would consider "filler" on it in that it doesn't sound either like music nor is it noise that really compels me but when it's good it's good! I'm more of a Psychic TV girl but there's still quite a lot to like here, but more to borrow from in terms of ideas than to actually listen to on its own.

Album 712: Geht es noch mieser? Offenbar doch! Bin gespannt! -100 Punkte! Unfassbar, die Ohren mit so etwas zu quälen. Ich werde in Zukunft jeden Pups aufnehmen und das als Best Of vermarkten!

# Playlist Track - Death Threats # Notes - I respect the will to experiment and put this record out in the world. But the end result is really really really boring. Recommended only for the most devout fans of either music history or industrial metal.

It’s abrasive and basically unlistenable but it also made me think about what makes music music and also about some of the pretty scary themes it touched on. So it’s more worthwhile than like. Half the albums on the list.

Sorry but it is not with this kind of cacophony that you fight fascism. What a useless waste of time and space. 1/5

Interesting...but not music

the worst person to talk to at a party says this is their favorite album

Noise, not music. 41 minutes of my life I won't get back. I can't imagine anyone putting this on a record player in 1978 and thinking "oh yeah this is the future of music, I'm gonna play this on repeat for a year!", much less the record executives that let this through. Inexplicable that they'd leave *all of classical music* off of this list and yet let this through. "AB/7A" is listenable and portends electro-dance instrumental music of 1980 ("Music From The 21st Century" (1982) comes to mind), but it's nothing that Kraftwerk hadn't been doing 4 years before on Autobahn, or Jarre on Oxygen in 1976, or Tangerine Dream on literally any of their 1970s stuff. Those artists do it with much more melody, originality, and tunefulness, as opposed to this, which seems like pretense, and intentionality off-putting noise. Heck, for that matter, Bowie's Berlin phase had started by this time, and had already crossed these "dark experimental synthesizer" domains, and Bowie's about as "mainstream" as you can get.

Avant garde is sometimes code for utter crap. I like weird ambient stuff but this is just unlistenable too clever by half dogshit. Also, that's a really fucked up album cover.

I gave it one star only because I couldn’t rate it negative. What a waste of time!

One of the worst things ive ever heard in my life

At least it wasn't another Radiohead album..

Messing around in the studio making tracks that are only interesting to yourself is no basis for creating a record.

Maybe I just didn't understand it.

This is not a good album. I don't even think it's music. But I was honestly interested enough to not want to turn it off.

Annoying shit. Sorry, not sorry.

nowhere NEAR the worst album on the site almost a 4 even, but got boring eventually

Pretty hard to get through. Atmospheric and strange though

Nope

Interesting use of a balloon as an instrument. Stretching the neck to slowly deflate a screaching sound was an entertaining past time to annoy my sister. I thought I also heard a blade of grass being blown through

New to me but familiar with the band. Don’t understand the hate for this - it’s clear that they were ahead of their time and heavily influenced industrial music. Challenging at times and not something I will put on a lot but has lots of interesting moments. I’d rather listen to this a hundred more times than subject myself to that bloody Adele album again.

I felt like I had been getting gas lit by the Beetles fan boys for so long. All I ever head was this was the greatest band of all time, this band revolutionized music, and all I ever heard was 60’s pop bullshit. This was the first album I actually heard it on. This album doesn’t quite live up to the behemoth hype surrounding this group, but with any other band this is and easy five, so I have to be fair here.

You know, going into this album, between the name of the band, the name of the album, the album art, and the overwhelmingly negative reviews, I really expected something else. Like, the people who gave >1 star all used the word "challenging" as if Throbbing Gristle like insulted their mom and slapped them with a glove. Anyway, weird responses from the 1001albumsgenerator participants aside, I didn't enjoy this album and wouldn't listen to it again. However, I don't hate it, and there are some interesting elements in the tracks. It's almost an injustice to call this music because it's closer to the art in engineering or something poetic like that. It's all intentional and not random noises. There's an emotional flow that you can tune into. It's just all unpleasant. The sophomoric name did grow on me. 2 stars

Look - am I putting this on when my in-laws come to visit? No. Am I putting this on when I work out? No. Am I putting this on when I’m driving to the airport? No. Does this belong on the 1001 albums list? Absolutely - if nothing more than to cut through the longer-than-it-should-be list of boring new wave and rock revival bands I’ve had to slog through for this project. At points, the record is rather lovely, and not nearly as unlistenable as other reviews make it seem - intimate field recordings, weird sounds, and some cool textures - this is extremely Kraftwerk adjacent, and they get far more praise on this platform. Screw you, justice for Gristle.

Very experimental, avant garde sound scapes. Would not listen again!

Bibbity boppity

It's hard to believe this was released in 1978. Very adventurous and abstract music to get an album release in the era of disco. That said, 1978 was a year where several groundbreaking albums hit the market, seemingly out of the blue. Van Halen. The Cars. Dire Straits. Perhaps record executives proclaimed "it's time to release anything that's opposite of disco". Glad they did. This album is not similar to the other 1978 blockbusters, and major labels didn't pick it up right away, but it is a breath of fresh air for innovation. Fans of industrial likely turn to this album as a genesis of the genre. Weeping & Hamburger Lady are highlights for me.

Nyt ei kyllä lähteny ollenkaan :D Parissa biisissä ihan ok kivoja juttuja mut mitä ihmettä?

No nyt oli rehellisesti erikoinen paketti. Yleensä tälläsestä huokuu tekotaiteellisuus pitkälle, mutta tämä tuntui rehelliseltä ja aidolta. Todellista tunnelmanluonti musiikkia! Olisi hyvä soittolista esim. omiin hautajaisiin, saisi surun hetkellä vieraat ottamaan vähän mitävittua-katsekontaktia toisiinsa ja tunnelma kevenisi. Lyriikoita ei tullut juuri kuunneltua, mutta eiköhän ne olleet samaa laatua. Pistetään kolmonen kun oli kerrankin vähän erilaista settiä eikä samaa geneeristä paskaa kuin edelliset 63 levyä.

Mitä vittua?

No mutta tämähän oli iloinen yllätys. Musiikki-käsite venyy ja paukkuu 70-luvun tyylillä. Vähän menee popiksi loppua kohden ja se toki syö sit immersioo. Varmaan jos tätä konesäksätystä ymmärtäis paremmin niin niissäkin ois kaikuja, joita ei oo ennen tätä koettu. Mut joo, kiva kuriositeetti ja memutus. Kuitenkin vähän karmeeta raakana.

Kuin prototyyppi Boards of Canadasta, mutta vieläkin diipimpää. Vaatisi enemmän kuuntelua, jotta saisi kaiken irti tästä.

Ei jumalauta. Vähän harmittaa että annoin eilisille intiameiningeille ygösen, se oli viiden tähden kamaa tähän verrattuna. Ihan uskomatonta paskaa. Jos olisin persu, niin ottaisin tähän väliin sen Tony Halmeen kommentin Kiasmasta, että jos paskantaa tehosekoittimeen ja pistää sen Kiasman aulaan pyörimään, niin onko se taidetta? Toki jos taiteen perimmäinen tarkoitus on herättää tunteita, niin siinä tämä onnistui Alkoi nimittäin oikeasti vituttamaan että tämmöiseen paskaan piti tuhlata omaa aikaa. Antaisin 0 tähteä jos voisi.

Första albumet jag inte pallar att lyssna igenom. Nästan inte musik, enligt mig. Fattar att det finns en poäng här för den som.är intresserad av sånt. Att det är ett pionjärverk. Men för mig är det en etta.

What the fuck is this shit

In another universe I would have love it, but in this one is just super annoying

An interesting album but not a style of music that I enjoyed.

I think I might hate this the most so far, because it's mostly a collage (I don't even think collage is the right word, because they barely overlap or harmonize) of annoying sounds that are just... there. Here's this annoying sound. Then there's this annoying sound. Then there's two annoying sounds! They don't relate at all, it's just double the annoyance. It's so uncomfortable to listen to that any artistic point is lost.

If you ever look into early or proto industrial, Throbbing Gristle is a name that comes up constantly. The problem with this album is that it's both avant-garde and experimental, but at the same time intensely boring.

🙄

Can’t do it. Tried different songs, still couldn’t do it. It was terrible, at least for me. Could only manage maybe 30 seconds a song before I just had to change the song.

This was not terrible. I get it's mostly noise and that annoys a lot of people (including me on a few songs) but overall I didn't hate it. I listen to a lot of ambience so this was sort of like that, but just a little more unstructured and electronic(?) I guess? not sure I have the right words for this album honestly. Interesting

The song "Weeping" made me want to cry from the pain in my ears. What's the point of this album? To bang a bunch of random things together and mumble strange lyrics into the mic? That's the vibe I'm picking up

Well, I got through this one unscathed. Truly this is an album that lives on the fringe of music. This feels like a combination of The downward spiral, and Geogaddi, but most, if not all musical elements have been stripped away. A weird, noise, sound collage. I'm rating this higher than one would expect because this album is a real musical reset. It reminds you of what music is, by showing you the absolute farthest edge of what music can be.

Reading other reviews of this album, I was dreading it. But there are far more offensive albums on this list. It really does make you think; maybe 1001 albums is too many? This is background music, and not entirely pleasant music at that, but I have had some humdingers on this list and I managed to make it through this in one sitting so it can't have been too bad. Probably a 2.5/5, rounding to a 3 because I feel sorry for the stats on this album.

Finally something interesting. I was honestly just happy to listen to something different and not the same crappy alt-rock that is pervasive in these best-of music lists. The more industrial tracks were cool, but I could've done without the songs that were just speaking. I'm not going to bring this album into my regular music listening, but I'm glad to have listened to this album once. 4/5

I expected way more throbbing and was pleasantly surprised by both the quantity and quality of gristle here. Seriously, I’ve heard the name tossed around, was slightly familiar with their place in music history, but had never heard a single second of their music, that I was aware of anyway. Kinda cool

Just not my type of music

When you're done with all the music left that this world has to offer. Once you wrought every ounce of experience from the millions of musicians out there... Give this album a try

I’d like to think that music from an alien species might sound like this rather than what those jazzy muppet guys play on Tatooine. Or, this might be how aliens will receive the songs on the Voyager. Johnny B. Goode would be completely inscrutable.

This album does not belong as the worst album in the project. This is not a conventional album. This isn't the band you go to see live, even though they did at least one live album. This is a band for appreciation through headphones. It's not ALL noise. The noise is interesting and thought provoking, sure, but not all of it is noise. Tracks like "AB/7A" are proto-ambient/proto-electronica. These guys laid some of the groundwork for bands like Ministry and Skinny Puppy and early Nine Inch Nails. Let's save the worst slot for the truly bad, like the plethora of 70's pop that the author thinks are "all that". Or every dog-shit album the Beatles did, because they're not all rockers. I might not listen to it again, but I'm glad it's on the list and that I listened to it. My Rating: 3/5

como a gravadora em 1978 liberou o estudou pra gravar isso é um mistério.

Absolutely terrible. A bunch of random electronic sounds. Reminiscent of being in a loud factory. I don't care if this was important in some way to the fountains of electronica, sampling, or whatever, it is absolutely painful to sit through.

It throbs. It's grisly.

No.

WTF was I just subjected to. No.

Most of this is the kind of noise I associate with impenetrable art installations (but hey, even that had to come from somewhere), but then much of side 2 is positively listenable. It's a bit eye-rolling now, but nobody was doing this in 1978, so this is a high 2.

pretty much just noise

Delightfully menacing. I would listen to this a thousand times over the "background music for a dinner party" picks here.

Like the soundtrack to the craziest mindfuck of a movie you've ever seen. I love these obscure recommendations. Favorite track: AB/7A

9.5 от пичфорка. я в шоке просто.

Did not like at all

That wasn’t any dumber than Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

juro por deus que me ganhou no ABSURDO som do que parece ser uma data tape sendo lida fora do contexto apropriado? me senti completamente imerso no meu trabalho processando dados enquanto a inumanidade toma conta do meu ser mas com isso, achei MUITO DOIDO jamais teria ouvido falar se não fosse por esse site

CLIMINHA HORRÍVEL nesse aqui hein. descontruindo a música todinha pqp. parece mto o tipo de música que toca em instalações artísticas. mas tbm tem umas pedradaça (gostei mto de AB/7A)!! eh o album com a menor média do site. o foda eh que ele eh MUITO mais interessante que metade (ou mais) dos albuns que apareceram aqui. cê é doido. prefiro ouvir mil vezes esse e outros albuns super experimentais do que 1001 albuns medíocres

not a fan

Nah, this ain’t it.

Ooof

Liked it a lot more than I was expecting based on the other reviews! I’m into the early electronic stuff that pops up, and some of the voice clip/ambient stuff reminds me of GY!BE which I dig. Hard to rate an experimental thing like this with other more classically structured music though

Want to give it more credit for being ahead of its time or some bullshit, but fuck off.

Awful. Really not my bag

One of the worst things I've ever heard of my life. I'd rather listen to the death rattle of a man suffering from terminal flatulence. If I could give it 0, I would.

1.5 Getting the beautiful Simon & Garfunkel album back to back with this album is the kind of hilarious vibe changes you can only get with this project, and I love it for providing me that. Here’s the thing. I feel like I respect stuff like this waaaaay more than, just like, bad music from a regular genre. This is still bad, but it’s interesting, and it’s bad in a new and different way each track. And actually, it’s not all bad! I really like the instrumental track AB/7A!! It’s very melodic and vibey and lovely to listen to! So I can’t give it only a one.

Ross Gellar’s “sound” is infinitely better than this garbage.

Ayy wtf.. I honestly have no real reference point with this type of music..maybe Nine Inch Nails? But this is even more unsettling. I wasn't sure if I was being trolled initially - especially with that band name - but by the time I got to 'Dead on Arrival', I was fully in for the journey. It's got this constant sense of unease running throughout the album, but there are moments of real sensitivity and beauty - I loved the incorporation of the child's voice on 'Hometime'. I'm not sure if I'd revisit this a lot, but it was an experience I'm glad I had - even if it did make concentrating on the Excel workbook I was updating very difficult. Super curious on what this would sound like in a live setting.

Man this was pretty weird dude It does play like a cool soundtrack / lots of stuff that I could use to get inspired for Echograph That being said, it’s not really a musical album and while it’s cool that they did this back in the day, it’s still a bunch of weird sounds and not every “everyday listenable”

I respect the experimentation, let’s say that. Some days i have a daydream of hanging out with ye and talking music and sampling — and this one has samples that sound like the official intro to life of the party. I like the homelife song. Idk how hamburger lady got the dot on apple music. What does the dot mean steve!! Tim!! Overall I Did Not Enjoy Listening To This Album. Felt two.. “hey im frustrated with the world let’s make bad music.” Reminds me of ***** lol. Bad art. TWO!

Interessant. Men ikke akkurat behagelig å lytte til.

Fuck this headache inducing self-absorbed experimental noise shit pretending it's music. This is what you get when you continually give children unnecessary praise for the delicious "cake" that they "baked", even though it's just a lump of wet sand.

It reminds.me of the sort of music you'd hear in an art installation, which fits with the history of this band. It's always interesting, even if not always enjoyable, and I'd take it over a generic early 70s rock record.

I appreciate that this probably inspired Trent Reznor, but man I did not enjoy it

Serial killer music. Certainly a challenging listen, and I personally can’t really find the music in this so I find it near impossible to rate. Feels unfair to call this bad because it might be a brilliant example of what it is, but I struggled to get through it.

The 1 star is too high for this travesty

A little bit too experimental for me but might check out their other works.

Intense, harrowing, insane. Not my favourite at all but I really respect what they did here

An interesting sonic experiment that had some great moments but overall did not grab me in any meaningful way. This is an album I think I'll revisit in a different headspace down the road, but for now 2/5

Richtiger Schrott

Absolute rubbish. Shit the emperor would listen to and everyone would say it is amazing even though it is a collection of noise and nothing more.

It’s mad that this is the lowest rated album on the whole site. There’s so many fucking mind numbingly dull britpop records, this one at least tries to do something interesting. It’s not exactly accessible but it is certainly atmospheric and unique.

Well — it had to happen at some point. Finally and at last, the Randomizer has hit my group with what is, as I'm writing this (and as I'm sure it has been long before and will be long after), the lowest rated album on the entire website. A 1.88. Only one of two albums with a sub-2 average, and 'Kollaps' is way more on the verge of being a straight 2 than this thing is. And if I may borrow some vibes from this album, just for a moment: I think y'all are cowards. Now, that's more antagonistic than I normally like to be, number one. On top of that, it's not like it's exactly news to me that the people who rate albums on this website are not fans of experimental music — besides Kid Rock, I think every album in the bottom 15 or 20 is heavily experimental in some way. And it's not like I begrudge them or even don't understand why these are rated the way they are; I'm not even here to tell you I'm that over the moon about Throbbing Gristle here. I just can't help but be struck by the thought that it seems most people refuse to give these albums a chance. They put them on, hear something abrasive or weird or just something they're not used to, and they call the albums "noise" and refuse to engage with it any further. Not that they don't have to if they don't want to, but if you're going to review it, you should probably give it more of an honest chance. For me, it just comes back to the "noise" descriptor. Describing this album as "noise" would imply that it's thoughtless; that it's just a collection of random sounds that had an "experimental" label slapped on to justify it. Believe me, I've done the same thing myself: if you wanna hear **real** noise, go check out John Zorn's 'Spy vs. Spy' album (if you dare!). But let me be the first to tell you: this music is not thoughtless. Can it be a little loose? Yes, absolutely. In some spots ("Hometime"), it might be even a little too easy to replicate. But there's no spot in this album where I'm listening to it and I'm thinking they weren't thinking about what they were doing. And I suppose the problem with what they're doing is that it's antagonistically abrasive and weird, but, I'unno, if you can meet it on the grounds it's coming on... Of course, I might just have weird ears. As I've explained in other reviews of/babbles about experimental albums, I feel like I have the kind of ears that can ... hear past the weirdness? And, y'know, get to the core of what they're trying to do underneath. And as a result, oftentimes I'm sort of left ... unimpressed by experimental albums, if I can be honest. I might be the only person on this website who, if they have a negative reaction towards an experimental album, it's because they're bored than because they're actively repulsed. I mean, I'll tell you that I agree with a group member of mine that some of these songs could've probably been cut down by a minute or two... But at least when I say I'm bored by this album, it's because I actively tried to engage with it, instead of shutting myself off the moment I heard something too abrasive for my sensibilities. And I'm not gonna act like I've always been 100% perfect about engagement, but goodness me. Like, I'm trying to be fair to all these people giving this thing 1's, because, again, I **get it**. But I really don't think this album deserves it, honestly. I mean, when Kid Rock's on this same list with his collection of insultingly trash wannabe pimp cowboy raps, or when you have something like 'Haut de gamme''s horrifically inspired cruise commercial music, I don't get why an album that actively tries to do something and challenge you should be rated worse. So, like ... look, to actually speak about the album directly, without relating it back to the other point I've been trying to make, it's fiiiiiine. There's some kind of interesting stuff on here, some stuff that maybe goes on a bit too long ... and there's honestly a really pretty moment with the track "AB/7A". But on the whole, with my weird ears, I can't say I'm terribly over the moon about any of this. It is what it is, and while overall I'm happier to have heard something unique like this than another boilerplate 60's psych album or random "popular with critics" British album, it's absolutely not my cup of tea, and I can't imagine putting it on for casual listening, y'know. So, yeah. Honestly, this review ended up a bit more of a babble about other people's reviews than actually being a discussion about the album ... and you could maybe say I'm being kinder to this than I otherwise would solely as a means to push that point ... but I wanna think that even if I hadn't seen these reviews or the average score I would have felt the same way about this album. It's by no means for everyone, but it is absolutely not the worst album on this list. "Fight the real enemy," I say: bland, boring music that doesn't aim to challenge you. Throbbing Gristly, despite my not being terribly impressed by them, at least tried to do that much. And I have to give them credit for it, if nothing else.

While Industrial might not be everyone's cup of tea (Downward Spiral, this isn't), you really should give it a fair shake at least. 2.5 bumped up to 3.

Yeah, fuck it, I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump to a 4. No, this is not “better” than Husker Du’s “Warehouse”, or any of the other albums I’ve given a 3 in the past. If anything, this 4 is a vague protest vote over this album becoming the lowest rated album on the site for whatever reason. This is… utterly fine. Certainly an experiment in sound, with a few heavily abrasive moments, but I found myself kinda drawn to the weird, eerie atmosphere of this thing, and with a few tracks I genuinely liked. “I.B.M.” is a weirdly atmospheric starter track, directly sampling actual old tape used in computers before hard drives became the norm. “Hit By a Rock” is probably the most middling attempt at a “real” track here, anchored by a sort of “train” percussion that at least keeps the whole thing from feeling like a mediocre tedium. It’s not good, but it’s fine. “United” is a good joke; take your first real single & then speed it up to hell. Little pitchy though. “Valley of the Shadow of Death” feels like sitting in a pub, with a buzz in the brain after you get drunk, vaguely eavesdropping in on conversations your brain can’t understand. The only crime of this track is that it’s 4 minutes long. Same thing applies to “Dead on Arrival”, which feels like a Kraftwerk track corrupted by a glitch; lots of buzzy, abrasive synth work in this one, but at least it’s anchored by a competent beat. The only crime is that it’s 6 minutes long and feels like it goes nowhere, so it ends up being a little boring in the long run. “Weeping” & “Hamburger Lady” are the two highlights of the album for me, honestly; the former feels like a very open & honest confession about a spiral of heartbreak & depression, with the sound design & lyricism being soberingly brutal. It did give me a sort of Nine Inch Nails vibe. The latter just has really cool sound design, with an engine noise adjacent to the accident that inspired the (probably not true, but still) story of the Hamburger Lady, who feels like she’s constantly fading in & out of consciousness with the slightly echoed vocals. “Hometime” is just FNAF ambience set over the noise of a child telling you about her day, which you can go recreate on YouTube right now, if you want. Again, the biggest crime is in the length. “AB/7A” is fun, and I did like it – I just wish the lead synth progressed a little more, but the entirety of the background instrumentation going through a little bit of chaos is pretty cool regardless. “E-Coli” is a fascinating experiment in sound; the ambience itself is sort of mediocre, but the dichotomy of the two lectures from each scientist, with one excited to experiment & the other concerned with tainting nature, each in their own channel, is pretty well done for 1978. Again, it’s just too long. “Death Threats” is ballsy, especially with putting one from your husband’s ex in there. Imagine if Kendrick put on a voicemail from one of Drake’s exes at any point in that beef; it would’ve gone nuclear levels of viral. Immediately following up those death threats is “Walls of Noise”, which frankly, should have ended the album. It’s the worst soundscape, by far, but as a transition to basically say “go fuck yourselves” with, I think it’s kind of hilarious. It also does contain actual sound design within; it felt like a tornado destroying everything except for my house, being forced to listen to the suffering of everything around me. “Blood on the Floor” is… well, it’s there. Probably didn’t need to be. Honestly, the biggest issue with this album is that most of its tracks just linger / meander for too long past the point of being interesting. If this were a tighter experiment in sound, acting as more of a rapidfire push (like, 2 minutes for the longer tracks I mentioned at most), I think this album might be a little more warmly received, at least not to the point of being the lowest one on the site. It’s nowhere near as abrasive as I thought it would be; that horrendously loud “jazz” album we got from John Zorn was much, much noisy / abrasive / “worse” than this. Calling this “nothing but noise” undermines the effort & time it took to actually design this thing – I would challenge anyone who says so to try and recreate some of these tracks, to see if you can do it. Granted, “Hometime” is probably really easy to recreate, but still. All of that in mind, I’m at a 3.5 that I will bump up to a 4, as a vote of confidence for what the album tries to do (and succeeds at doing! just in a “too long” way), as a sort of a protest vote against this having the lowest rating on the site, and as an acknowledgment that this genuinely deserves to be on the list, even as just as an experiment in sound. It is not better than most of the albums I’ve given a 3, but I do think it’s more sonically interesting & compelling than most of the albums I’ve given a 1 or a 2. It’s certainly way fucking better than Haute de gamme or Kid Rock, that’s for sure. I genuinely liked it.

Got a headache listening to this. I'm not sure why this album was made. I'd give it a zero if I could.

Honestly a bit ridiculous. However a couple of the tracks actually made me feel something which is more can be said for the Miles Davis album I had to listen to. Most was a bit unlistenable but the disturbing nature it does actually manage to achieve prevents it from being a 1.

This really got my gristle throbbing.

Alright. It finally happened. Where do I start? Firstly, I don't hate it. I can see a lot here that has influenced other music that I like. Some of the more ambient tracks could easily have been made in the 90s or even later. That this came out in 1978 is startling. You compare this to Jeff Wayne or Genesis or Rush who all had albums out in the same year. Different planet. Then there's tracks that really are just noise. And they're not pleasant to listen to. Did I like it? Hard to say. Would I listen again? Maybe. Not the whole way through but there were some good bits.

What a strange album, definitely can see why it's controversial. But it's also strangely compelling, with specific songs like Dead On Arrival, which sounds like a proto NIN song. AB/7A is also good and i liked this a lot more than I expected. While I was working on stuff. This was an enjoyable listen, though if I was just sitting and focusing on this, I think it would be much more challenging. DOA is my favorite here.

Absolute garbage!

jel ovo dobro? baš i nije. dal bih slušo? ne. al neka. ima dušu i stoput je kreativnije od dosta sranja koja sam moro slušat

When it started I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but the more I listened the better it got. Will be on my rotation.

Listening on its own, not my style or taste. I respect their experimentation with different sounds and vocal clips. I can see how this album paved the way for electronic music ; this album could be better served for sampling, and remixing for modern tracks. Otherwise, I will probably not listen to this again

Weird. Disturbing but wanted to see what it was about. Talks . Conspirative . Wouldnt suggest to go through it in the subway as i did. Or listen to it in a sad day. Actually not sure if i can find a state of mind where this álbum is listenable. But i am glad ive done it anyway. Hard to explain

This album is definitely not "good", but it's the probably one of the most interesting things I've heard after 100 albums. Why the rating is lower than all these generic Britpop albums is beyond me.

Tiresome nonsense. Would rather throw rocks at my own head repeatedly than listen to this wibble again.

There are some albums are seem better suited to a contemporary art gallery than your home. It's the kind of place that you go into expecting to be shocked, disturbed, confused, etc. These collection are more like artistic statements than rock albums. That's certainly the case with Throbbing Gristle. As this writing, this album is the worst rated album on the generator, followed closely by the debut album from Einsturzende Neubauten. Both feel pretty unfair to me, but I also get it. Both are early examples of industrial music (though as far as I can tell, the two bands were unaware of one another). Throbbing Gristle are challenging in a different way. It's an almost analytical approach to breaking down barriers. Neubauten felt born out of the punk movement, but Throbbing Gristle feel more like they escaped from the art world. The album is not nearly as bad as the reviews would make you think. The sound collages don't necessarily fit well together, but most of them on their own are not particularly unpleasant. The band is clearly on a mission to deconstruct the concept of what music really is. In doing so, they picked up the mantle from experimental composer John Cage who heard music in everything. There's a joyous energy to John Cage's works. Throbbing Gristle on the other hand seem more nihilist, perhaps finding music and joy in nothing and wanting to force you out of it. It's not exactly something that's going to get a big fan base, but it goes feel appropriate for a challenge that's meant to take us out of your comfort zones. No matter what album you listen to next, it's bound to be more accessible. I appreciate this album for what it is (aside from the intentionally disturbing cover art, which is a bit much). But ultimately, it's music that's more interesting to read about than to actually listen to. And that's ok. We need things like this to shake up our concepts of music as we know it. I've always loved a quote from the lead singer Genesis P Orridge: "When in doubt, make no sense." Love or hate the album, I think that's a fantastic philosophy for making art.

whole bunch of sounds

These days I need at least a trace of listenability in the noise I intentionally consume. I’m getting old, ok? I look towards other mediums for that type of transcendence. So sorry, D.O.A., you might have created here the blueprint for industrial and noise, but I still say, ciao bella.

Such a cool album. Ultimately, the sound would be perfected for 20 Jazz Funk Greats but there are so many interesting sounds packed in this album. Definitely not for everyone but it's exactly what I love. Weird, abrasive and playful. Since this site doesn't allow half stars, I'll go ahead and bump this one up to 5.

Pitchfork described the album as "a nauseating masterpiece, and an essential recording". They could have just stopped at nauseating.

That’s a no from me. 0/5

i have stopped listening to it to preserve my sanity

5. finally.

The music was alright. The rest was unnecessary.

Is it cool? Absolutely. Does it have a vibe unlike anything at the time, and largely since? Yep! Do I wanna listen to it? Nope.

Finally, the worst rated album in the whole list! I’ll zag and say it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard (unlike many others who have listened). It’s like a further deconstructed GY!BE. Definitely abstract but it kinda works in a dark, psychotic way. It sounds like the deepest recesses of the subconscious, both of the oppressed and the oppressor, and I’m not sure which of those is more unsettling

Wtf was that?

One of the best albums on the list. It's also an album that is extremely easy to understand why it's so widely disliked- I have a very difficult time understanding why I do like it so much other than when I listen to it, I feel like I'm in the presence of great art. It also makes me feel a certain way that is exclusive to when I listen to this album. Such a strange perfect album. To me it's impossible to know who would like this album so I never recommend it to anyone. I have never heard something that is so disturbing (at least in parts) yet so beautiful (at least in parts) and I doubt I ever will. From the creepy album cover (why is that little girl posed like that on a bed?) through the end of Blood on the Floor (the closing track) this album seems to have been made for no one but the band members. At least hear 'Hamburger Lady' a standout track in all regards. Well, that's it. My half ass review and I'm not at all pleased with it but if this album is difficult to listen to its 23 hundred times harder to write about. D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle -Throbbing Gristle

I had a great time while listening to this. I was walking around, and I imagined myself to be in a really strange film. Not bad at all for the "worst" album, which somehow isn't Joan Baez's self-titled.

Have yet to identify a single freaking song on this album. It’s experimental and seems ahead of its time but it’s not enjoyable at all

Initial reaction at the beginning of the album: am I being hacked? Then I realized the title is IBM and it's quite funny. Literally listening to the AI of IBM trying to communicate with me, but I don't have the braincells for it. The reviews are funny too, but this is such a weird album that I'm having a fun time with how out of pocket it all is. The more I find people calling this horse shit while listening to people whispering, some random European cursing in the studio, or just weird combos of sounds, I find myself having the time of my life. Towards the end, I will say it started to feel more like a horror movie, starting mostly with E-Coli giving 28 Days Later vibes. Overall, what a fun album to listen to in October!

It’s was Ok. I think it’s a 2.8 a 3,0

This is barely music

Appreciate this for what it is but I can’t say I had particularly strong feelings about it

Haunted house sound effects CD

Never heard of them or this album and apparently I'm not alone. The listen count on Spotify is glaringly low. This is my second 'experimental' album this week ("Duck Stab", by The Residents). And this one sucks too. Only one song, "Hamburger Lady" has a million listens, how a million people sat thru that is beyond me. Everything else is pure garbage, just sounds, ambience and nonsense, not actual songs. "AB-7A" was the closest thing to a song on the album. The only good thing about them is their band name, Throbbing Gristle, projects an instant mental image. I've lost faith in this list, there's simply no reason this album would be one 'you must listen to before you die'. 1 star, the minimum I can give. This was unforgivably bad.

one of the worst things ive ever heard

Not for me at all

demasiado experimental para mi fomisimo

Absolutely not for everyone, but absolutely should be on this list. Y'all hate this for the wrong reasons.

There should be a rating less than 1.

"Industrial Music For Industrial People" -Monte Cazazza of Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle's D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle is intentionally abrasive, frightening music, made by difficult, volatile people. Part of me does want to say this is relatively accessible, but "relatively" would carry such a large asterisk that there would hardly be a point; this is a difficult album. Frankly, I like it quite a bit: familiarity with Throbbing Gristle and their satellites is doing a lot of heavy lifting, as is my general immersion in noise music. I would urge you to give this a shot, it really isn't for everyone, but it is exceptional within it's field. This is truly a masterpiece of textural and rhythmic experimentation that, at times crawls towards sound collage. I can't tell you exactly what's going on during songs like Hit By A Rock, but I can tell you that I'm into them and their kind of intense, abstract palettes. Even on an emotional level: there's an intensity, but pinning down exactly what emotion this is trying to convey is possibly a futile effort. I'd also like to take note of a few more "accessible" tracks. Dead On Arrival is an incredible fusion of Throbbing Gristle's "deal" into a more conventional setting, it has this unstoppable groove, augmented by some of the strangest sounds ever put to record. Weeping is a similar fusion with less abstract ideas, but the execution is so bizarre, tortured and frighteningly vulnerable that it hardly reads as listenable: it honestly feels like a Jandek song. Hamburger Lady may be Throbbing Gristle's most infamous track ever. Check out the lyrics to know why. And I will say that after this point, the album becomes *extremely* abstract, but we do get one more conventional song in AB/7A, which almost just reads like an industrial synthwave song. In this song, the path from industrial like this to later stuff like Nine Inch Nails or Skinny Puppy is clearest. I will say that while I do love this album, I don't think it's getting a 5, if only because I have yet to "figure out" some of the sound collage/spoken word tracks here. However, this is utterly singular, bold, and truly frightening at times. Throbbing Gristle conjure a visceral, reptile brain reaction with their music: a rare feat, which must be celebrated.

This is absolutely unlistenable. It's arhythmic noise. It screeches and howls and murmurs like a demon from a dark corner. It's also an essential step in modern music and a flag planted in the soil of postpunk to show just how unmusical sound could be. It is the cousin of Pere Ubu and Einstürzende Neubauten and Cabaret Voltaire. Did I like it? Not at all. I'll probably never listen to it again. That doesn't mean I don't value its place.

I can't believe that there is something worse than Neil Young. Absolute crap. Who would sign a band like this. I can't imagine how awful a live show. 2 songs and I was done.

Nope

I don't know what a throbbing gristle is and I don't think I want to find out. I can only imagine how innovative this was in 1978. Not only because of its impeccable sense of tone, mood, and atmosphere. But also because of it's instrumentation. I'm only guessing, but 1978 feels like pretty fertile ground for experimental music like this. That's pretty much where my admiration for this album ends. Innovative? Absolutely. Entertaining? ...eh. I can appreciate this for what it did for a genre and an instrument. I can appreciate it for how impressive it is to have been recorded in the era it was. But I would not choose to listen again, and I don't really think I needed to before I died. In all, this is a fine example of an album that made the cut as an historical document, as a monument to progress in a genre, but not for the quality of its music. But that's just my take. Two stars. Standout Track: AB/7A

Really abrasive. I haven't listened to pretty much any industrial of any sort before, except for The Downward Spiral; but that one is really really derivative. And I don't believe I've really listened to tape music apart from a song or two on an album from like the 60s (like Electric Ladyland or the White Album.) Most of the rating comes from it being novelty to me. It isn't a bad album, but I don't think I would want to listen to it again; maybe after a couple years.

Would I put this on for fun? Absolutely not. But was I intrigued throughout while seeing a straight line to influencing so many other artists? Absolutely yes. Crazy that AB/7A is on this compared to everythign else. Truly experimental. 3/5

Quite possibly the worst one yet

This is one of the more intriguing albums from this list. Maybe I’m lying to myself but this honestly isn’t awful and actually quite listenable. I would absolutely listen to more “music” like this

I'm sure this music is for somebody, but that somebody is not me This is one of those albums you listen to once, and only once. 1/5. 2.38/10

Ah now, eventually you plan to have music on your music album, right? Hello? *Tapping on computer screen* Hello?

Random noises and not even music. Forced myself to listen to it and maybe got something out of it, but the commentary/messaging/experimentation that Throbbing Gristle attempts on this album is done better by numerous other artists. I will be laughing at this album in the same way that I laugh at the Human Centipede trilogy.

No standouts, this is not good electronic music

More interesting to create than listen to. You call sniff your own farts, why bother with someone else's? Best Tracks: Hit by a Rock; AB/7A; Blood on the Floor

Gave me a hunger to listen to NIN

Hamburger Wife

Never heard this before but I love this kind of shit. And credit where it's due: Genesis P-Orridge was consistently one of the very weirdest people and best interviews ever. Ever.

Well, *that* was an experience. Not exactly what I think of as industrial music, and often not what I really think of as music per se, but it's definitely a different sort of sound and album from most of the rest. It's hard to say there were many favorites here, but I *did* enjoy the concept of the ultra-sped-up track "United", and "Dead on arrival" was probably the closest to a more traditional track than the rest (unless you listen to the original 4m04s "United" song, which even has lyrics!).

Pretentious bullshit.

I know this band is well regarded and that were it not for Throbbing Gristle we wouldn’t have essential music that followed. But I found this unlistenable. Extra point for what appears to be a good sense of humor though.

Really not for me. I don't mind out ther, experimental and dark music. But this was just dull. Also feels like it's trying way too hard to be provocative, though it did seem to work. Some slightly interesting ideas here or there but I have no desire to listen to any of this ever again.

I really enjoyed this, abrasive and harsh at times but really interesting and ahead of its time. Reminds me of Chrome who I am also really into. Challenging music and definitely not aiming to be pleasant but I really appreciate what they were doing here.

Not music. Distant sound effects for people on heroin to nod to. Only decent track is AB/7A.

The beauty of music is that it is subjective. It’s typically great for a certain group of people, though it’s never right for everyone. Some for the masses, some more niche, but it all has its place. Meanwhile, with lists like this, there’s always artists or records that anyone would have put on in place of what actually made it. Personally, I would have included Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime, Live’s Throwing Copper, Joe Satriani’s The Extremist, Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice, or John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album on a list of must hear records. Others would put totally different albums on and that's awesome. What someone likes vs. dislikes is truly subjective. Again, that's the beauty. With that said, this album objectively sucks. I mean truly horrible. Something had to be the lowest rated album on the list, and this was a place well earned. There is nothing redeemable about this record. To quote my wife, “they should have stopped at 1,000.”

Ok wow this is obviously tryin to be grating and chalk and it succeeds. I can’t say if this required an amazing amount of talent to create cause it was hard to even comprehend what the goal was outside of being avant-garde. I was super looking forward to this album cause it has such terrible reviews on this website, but I guess you should be careful about meeting your idols. Sadly this album really is that bad. It’s just such a try hard artsy fartsy noise album that I can’t really get behind it and it doesn’t ever go far enough to be memorable.

# Album Name: D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle # Artist: Throbbing Gristle # Rating: 0/5 # Comments: Absolutely fucking awful. How did this piece of shit get an album deal and i could not. For the love of god. One of the WORST albums ever. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Hell naw

I've listened to and appreciated many types of noisy music before, and at least been able to understand why it sounds the way it does. Not for this album though, "noise" in music usually still feels like it has a purpose, so this album feels less like a careful construction of noise and more like a random collection of sounds.

I'd say AB/7A saves this from being a 1

At this point you might as well go listen to some local construction. I will give this one thing, though: it’s not really trying to be listenable music. It’s some kind of weird art statement. Does it succeed at that? I dunno, but it’s hard to fail it as music when it’s barely that in the first place.

Es una verga esto. Inescuchable.

Very hard to rate this. I find it deeply reminiscent of nights at modern art galleries watching stutters black and white films. Artistically fascinating, musically bewildering

I.B.M. 0.1 Hit by a Rock 0.3 United 0.1 Valley of the Shadow of Death 0 Dead on Arrival 0.4 Weeping 0.2 Hamburger Lady 0.3 Hometime 0.2 AB/7A 0.5 E-Coli 0.2 Death Threats 0.1 Walls of Sound 0 Blood on the Floor 0.1 Score: 0.192307692

I didn't hate this album quite as much as I thought I would. Some of the songs were messed up though, the word repulsive comes to mind.

I can take some industrial, but not when it's people shouting at each other. This was a bit of both.

Wow! Delightfully unpleasant. Weird as hell. I hated it and will never listen to it again but it was delightfully insane and I can see its influence.

Confusing, but not the worst thing on this list.

Some parts were sorta cool but I'm never listening to this again

Weird as fuck and a very loose definition of music. I would have probably enjoyed it more if I was high as fuck but this one gets two stars just for being unique

This is just noise. Shit noise.

I started listening to the lowest rated album on this whole project with some trepidation. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't good. But... it wasn't boring, and it didn't outstay its welcome so It avoids a 1 star rating from me.

I did not have a great time listening to this personally. I feel like maybe you have to be in the right mood to listen to this album? For me it just got a little too repetitive and strange. Many of the songs had high pitched noises and sounds which was off putting to me. I sort of rejoiced when the album was over because this wasn’t my cup of tea but I can see how some people find it appealing.

Ya know, I get it. This isn't music, its noise, and if I'm on a website about music, I'm going to get pretty annoyed that I have to listen to "industrial". 1/5, should be 0. I don't really want to listen to gurgling for my daily "album".

Unsettling. Sounds really modern

hmm... why??

50% Best: AB/7A Must-Hear? Before listening: surely it can't be that bad! ...After listening: it's that bad

I understand the influence this had on future music, music that I love (massive NiN fan, also some of the wierd stuff from Radiohead, many heavy and industrial bands etc) But this album is 2 tracks I would consider songs, and the rest noise that wasn’t particularly inspiring. It mostly just made me go.. what the hell, am I missing something?

Well, this was just a bunch of noise and random yelling. No thanks. 1 / 5

That's not my taste in musik. Musik?

What a dumb album! It was ridiculous just sounds it wasn't even music! One of the worst albums so far!

Trop chéper encore pour moi

…. are you even FUCKING serious right now lmao Okay, context. I spent much of my review of Thursday’s album complaining about how my Wednesday and Thursday albums were two of the twenty lowest-rated albums on the global stats page (and justifiably so, in my opinion) and concluded with a wish for something more fun. And after a brief, admittedly fun interlude spent with A Tribe Called Quest on Friday, my Saturday album is the lowest-rated one in the entire book. I’m starting to feel that my generator isn’t really being entirely random with me right now… did I offend the Music Guy gods when I called Since I Left You “fanfiction by and for men who spend too much time on Pitchfork”? Is this some attempt to force me to get with the Pitchfork program? This album has a 9.5/10 on that website, incidentally, which is a fact that only makes me more convinced than ever that the people who run and frequent it are more interested in the idea of themselves as Cool Enlightened Music Appreciators than they are in the idea of actually appreciating music. I’m sorry but I really do find it hard to believe that anyone puts this kind of thing on and just, like… enjoys it. But I guess I shouldn’t say these things in reviews anymore lest I have to deal with some even crazier shit tomorrow. RIP All that said. I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t hate this *quite* as much as I hated the Wednesday/Thursday double whammy? There were a few moments. Maybe two or three moments. Probably all of those moments happened on AB/7A. The thing about this album is that any rave reviews it gets are all applauding it for being So Very Fascinating (no one, of course, is brave enough to commit to the obvious and objective lie that the music is Good) but I just don’t see it, really. What’s fascinating about overhearing your neighbors to either side having barely-intelligible conversations with people through the walls (Valley of the Shadow of the Death)? What’s fascinating about the ramblings of a six year old layered over a crying baby and some vague synth noises (Hometime)? I am willing to concede that Hamburger Lady is pretty notably repulsive if you listen to it closely. But that’s mostly down to the lyrics, and the band didn’t even write the lyrics—they took them from a letter written by some other guy. My overall impression of this album: a series of vaguely creepy soundscapes that get a little creepier if you start thinking about them a little harder, but, like, why would you bother. You could spend the time doing literally anything else. If I don’t get something I can feel justified giving at least two stars to for at least the next two days in a row I am going to scream and bang on things for forty-five minutes, record it all with my shitty laptop microphone, add some synth, release it on vinyl, and eagerly await my well-deserved critical acclaim. Please. I am one month into this project. By all rights I shouldn’t have had to deal with this much shit yet. Have mercy

WTF was that? It's only music in the sense that random noises played simultaneously can technically be considered music. But no... absolutely not. 0 stars

As much as some say it's "just noise", it does seem intentionally designed to evoke a specific mood. Each album is a unique sensory experience, and I am interested in albums that bring about emotions and sensations that few others do. Over the last few years I have developed a high tolerance for unorthodox or "unlistenable" music, as long as it's innovative, intelligent, or noteworthy in some way.

yeah no not spending my time this way

no

un atentado a mis oídos

1/1

Omg WTF

Album No. 0028 on my list. I appreciate the experimental nature of this, but unfortunately this is not for me. „AB/7A“ was the only fine track on this album to me, the rest i did not like. 1/5 stars.

what to say? so experimental it doesn't sound like music anymore. I am sure they were relevant but I don't care Lol ..

Yeah - 5! Ive seen Genesis P-Orridge speak at The Rubin. Wow. They transition to look like their wife. Thats commitment. The sounds are intriguing and feel like a story, not random.

When I was a freshman in college I was interested in working at the radio station. In order to evaluate the new applicants they issued a test related "college" music. There were some questions about Joy Division and Hüsker Dü. The New York Dolls and Velvet Underground for mentions. But what I really remember was the Throbbing Gristle question. "Explain the relevance of Throbbing Gristle.". In the year of our lord 1988 industrial music was starting to make some noise in America. Literally. With guitars. And programmed drums. And crazy keyboard sounds. And samples. All mimicking aspects of the sound collages and industrial industrial noise of bands like...wait for it...Throbbing Gristle while more aggressive - the American version was much more controlled - or maybe organized is a better word. But in the end - not as unsettling. So is that relevant. They were influencing an emerging genre that would within a couple years produce their fully realized pop version - NIN - who wrote songs that were stadium ready with shout along choruses. But does that make them relevant? It's not like even the college station was playing Throbbing Gristle records - at least not during standard waking hours. But they're fun to reference. I know this because I had been introduced to them the week before - aka - my second week in college by this nutcase on my floor who knew the acronyms for scenes that were evolving globally before they even coalesced. Because by the time a scene actually emerges - it's already done. You already missed it. He of course knew about Throbbing Gristle. He gave me a brief history - pre Wikipedia - and apparently gave me enough information to pass my college radio "entrance exam". He didn't own any records but that was kind of beside the point. In the end - this is some trippy shit. Disturbing. Nauseating (in a good way if that's possible). Creepy. It definitely makes you feel something - physically and mentally. Not necessarily good things but music doesn't have to make you feel good. It just has to make you feel. The opposite of love is not hate - but indifference. By that calculus it's at least better than Pretzel Logic. .

# In-Depth Review of *D.O.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle* by Throbbing Gristle ## 📀 Album Overview *D.O.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle* (1978) is the second studio album by English industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle. Released on their own **Industrial Records** label, the album is a mix of live and studio recordings that further cemented the band's reputation for transgressive and innovative soundscapes. It is often regarded as a foundational text in the industrial genre, blending noise, experimental electronics, and disturbing thematic content. ## 🎤 Lyrics and Themes ### Themes: - **Transgression and Shock**: The album explores themes of trauma, violence, and societal taboos. Tracks like "Hamburger Lady" (inspired by a burn victim) and "Death Threats" (featuring actual death threats left on the band's answering machine) are designed to unsettle listeners. - **Technology and Dehumanization**: Songs like "I.B.M." use sounds from early computers to critique the cold, mechanistic nature of modern society. - **Domesticity vs. Horror**: The juxtaposition of mundane elements (e.g., children's voices in "Hometime") with grotesque imagery creates a sense of unease, highlighting the hidden horrors beneath everyday life. ### Lyrics: - The lyrics are often minimalistic, relying on repetition and spoken-word delivery. For example, "Hamburger Lady" features haunting, fragmented descriptions of a burn victim, while "Weeping" delves into personal despair and emotional breakdowns. The album also includes found sounds and sampled dialogues, such as the conversations in "Valley of the Shadow of Death," which add to its documentary-like quality. ## 🎵 Music and Sound ### Musical Style: - The album is highly eclectic, ranging from abrasive noise rock ("Hit by a Rock") to ambient synth pieces ("AB/7A") and distorted electronic experiments ("Walls of Sound"). This stylistic variety reflects the band's desire to challenge conventional notions of music. - Each band member contributed solo tracks, showcasing their individual styles: - Chris Carter's "AB/7A" is a melodic, Kraftwerk-inspired synth piece. - Genesis P-Orridge's "Weeping" features dissonant violins and mournful vocals. - Cosey Fanni Tutti's "Hometime" combines ambient guitar with domestic recordings. - Peter Christopherson's "Valley of the Shadow of Death" uses tape manipulations and eerie dialogues. ### Instrumentation: - The band used homemade electronics, tape loops, and modified instruments to create a raw, unpolished sound. Distorted guitars, synthesizers, and manipulated field recordings are layered to create dense, often chaotic textures. ## 🎛️ Production - The production is intentionally lo-fi, emphasizing grit and dissonance. The original recordings were notably muffled and low-volume, though recent remasters have improved clarity while retaining the album's abrasive character. - The album includes provocative artistic choices, such as speeding up their relatively accessible single "United" to a 16-second blur, mocking commercial music conventions. - The initial pressings included a controversial calendar featuring images of a young girl, which was later omitted due to allegations of resembling child pornography. ## 📊 Influence and Legacy - **Industrial Genre Foundation**: *D.O.A* is a cornerstone of industrial music, influencing acts like Nine Inch Nails, Coil, and Ministry. - **Experimental and Noise Music**: The album's willingness to incorporate non-musical sounds and challenge listeners inspired genres like power electronics, ambient, and sound art. - **Cultural Impact**: Throbbing Gristle's approach to album-making—treating records as art objects rather than commercial products—paved the way for independent and experimental music scenes. ## ✅ Pros and Cons ### Pros: 1. **Innovative Sound**: The album's blend of noise, electronics, and found sounds was groundbreaking for its time. 2. **Thematic Depth**: Its exploration of taboo subjects remains intellectually provocative. 3. **Historical Importance**: As a foundational industrial album, it influenced countless artists and genres. 4. **Dynamic Range**: The contrast between harsh tracks ("Hamburger Lady") and melodic ones ("AB/7A") keeps the album engaging. ### Cons: 1. **Inaccessibility**: The abrasive sound and disturbing content make it challenging for casual listeners. 2. **Inconsistent Flow**: The album's fragmented structure feels more like a compilation than a cohesive work. 3. **Production Limitations**: The lo-fi production, while intentional, may detract from the listening experience for some. ## 🎚️ Comparison of Key Tracks | Track Name | Style | Themes | Notable Features | |------------|-------|--------|-----------------| | "Hamburger Lady" | Noise/Ambient | Medical trauma | Distorted vocals, heartbeat-like percussion | | "AB/7A" | Synth-Pop | Technology | Melodic synthesizers, accessible rhythm | | "United" (sped-up) | Experimental | Anti-commercialism | 16-second duration, ironic inclusion | | "Valley of the Shadow of Death" | Sound Collage | Mortality | Dialogue samples, tape manipulations | | "Death Threats" | Found Sound | Violence | Actual death threat recordings | ## 💭 Conclusion *D.O.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle* is a landmark album that redefined the boundaries of music. Its willingness to confront uncomfortable themes and its innovative use of sound continue to resonate in experimental music circles. While not for everyone, its historical significance and artistic fearlessness make it essential listening for those interested in the evolution of industrial and avant-garde music.

Delighted this is here, it's a breath of fresh air - and the perfect soundtrack to an irritating dinner party various couples break up on before all having make-up sex in the backseat of the cab back home.

2.3 I was expecting a lot worse seeing it was one of the lowest rated albums on this list, but there have been quite a few Avant Garde albums that have been a lot worse. Trout Mask Replica popped up the other day, I'd rather have this 10x over than TMR. There are actually some interesting tracks here - Weeping, AB/7A and e-Coli. Some wouldn't sound out of place in the more experimental electronics I've gotten into in the last decade or so. Alas, there is also a lot of shite on here as well. But this should be nowhere near the bottom. Give me this over Britney or Kanye any fucking day of the week. Oh, added 0.1* for the balls to put a fan favourite on the album but speed it up so it's unintelligible. Fair do's

Nie, co to w ogóle ma byc

Oh man, I love me some industrial, but this is just noise. 1/5

Could not listen to it. Too many noise.

Just sounds and awful.

Honestly better than a few of the ones I’ve been served up so far. Weirdly good. Hamburger lady was something I had to listen to a lot

Ok. Always better to read about than listen to.

I fell asleep while We Hate You was playing in a loop. My neighbor later asked me if everything was ok - so let’s say this album stimulates communication

way less horrible than most reviews suggest. was i worried when I.B.M. started? maybe. but most of the rest was between okay and interesting. polarising in itself, i'd give some parts a 4 and others a 2. so a 3 in total, but for a very different reason than my usual "don't give a hoot about it one way or the other."

Well that was weird.

I get it, this is probably the most reviled and repulsive record on the list. But I've gone back and listened a few time through to discern what kind of effect this evokes in me. It makes me think of 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' where there is the 'mood organ' to help set your brain's electrochemistry just so. For me, DOA adeptly dials in 'tedium, boredom, unidentified dread.' I don't mean it's a boring record, but it's like emotional input from a dead personality, haunting comfort, and deep cosmic isolation. Some days that could be the perfect playlist.

wut?

Æ vet ikke ka æ hadde venta mæ, men sannsynligvis nokka verre enn det æ fikk, for æ likte det. Det e kanskje ikke sånt æ hadde satt mæ ned for å lytte på, men det va et gøy bekjentskap i (det æ vil kalle støymusikk fordi æ ikke har særlig bred kjennskap til feltet).

Noisy, electronic, terrifying; a nightmare in music form. Tape recordings of voicemails and phone conversations, drones, echoes, long repetitions, lack of any melody. Not a bad record, but I wouldn't listen to it again. I gave a short listen to their record 20 jazz funk greats, and I liked that immediately more than this, so don't sell this band short!

un album davvero "particolare" ma per questo mi è piaciuto molto

1.13

When it comes to the earliest stages of industrial music, and hearing it the way it was originally meant to sound, Throbbing Gristle was the first band to really create it and to even coin the term “industrial.” I’ve known about these guys since the mid 90s, back in my teens when I was listening to bands like Nine Inch Nails and KMFDM. Back then, I had a hard time appreciating Throbbing Gristle. Their music was too destabilizing and disjointed for me, with vocals that were often distorted, rambling, or more like spoken word, and sometimes sampled from other sources altogether. So when it comes to enjoying albums like this, you can’t go into it expecting the easy listening version of traditional industrial music. You’ve got to approach it when you’re in the mood for something avant garde, experimental, and challenging. It’s about pushing the boundaries of what was available at the time, and pushing the boundaries of what music can even sound like at all.

Cool that my first one of these is for literally the lowest rated album on here.

I respect the big, confusing swing this band took here but I cannot get down with it.

Kind of enigmatic. Interesting experience

Surprised this is here and 20 Jazz Funk Greats isn't. What a weird band. 7/10

Utter shite

Mehh

Unexpectedly more experimental sound art than industrial music. But I dig it.

I probably don't understand industrial music, i don't like this album, lacks of all the soul of what random sound based music should be, if it is an interpretation of "out of the box" thinking music, then i want to stay inside of the box all the rest of my life.

1 star I don't support child porn

I don't hate it but the 40ish minutes feels like abut 3 hours

Look, maybe this had some historical importance or gave inspiration to something good like Nine Inch Nails. But, objectively, this is just chaotic noise. Calling it music is generous. It's bad, unobjectively bad. If you're looking for deeper meaning you're being pretentious.

Not sure this is music. A collection of sounds that I don’t understand. I listened through but not sure I am glad I did.

Too experimental for me

Unlistenable noise with nothing resembling music to be found. Did this lead to the creation of the entire industrial genre? Maybe but this is awful to listen to. Seriously worse than Metal Machine Music. Albums like this make me question the decision to do the 1001 albums exercise. I could not get through even half of it.

1+ Stars (3/15)

This must be historically important to be on this list because it is unlistenable. Not a melody to be found. Noise on top of noise. Garbage.

Too experimental was not really good and didnt flow. They thought they were doing groundbreaking stuff but they were really doing dog💩

There is not much here in terms of traditional songs. Whether or not there's much music here is an entirely different debate. There are a lot of cool ambient sounds over random conversations. It takes about four or five tracks before we even hear an instrument. When there is actual music it is quite cool. Kind of a difficult listen for me. Something like this has its merits but I'm not sure if it's on this list

A supremely off-putting odyssey of all that is eerie is perhaps not for everyone, as evidenced by the fact that, as of writing, this is the lowest-rated album on the 1001 generator. Unless you’re completely averse to new experiences (in which case why would you even bother listening to the list), you cannot deny that this grand industrial spectacle of abrasive noise, uncomfortable conversations and brooding soundscapes is at the very least ‘interesting’. This isn’t something that you’re going to hear on the radio, is it. As for me, I love all this experimental shit, so this gets a far higher rating than the average. I can admit that it’s a mixed bag, some songs go from off-putting to simply annoying (Weeping), some are extremely experimental (Walls of Sound) and some are genuinely brilliant in their own right (Dead on Arrival, AB/7A). Even if many may find this horrible to listen to, it serves as a benchmark for music to come that went both in a more accessible direction, and in an even scarier, noisier, more experimental direction.

This is not music. I guess you could argue that’s exactly the point, and maybe that’s why it’s on this list. It’s abrasive, unsettling, and more an art experiment than a traditional album. Whether you find it fascinating or unlistenable will depend entirely on your tolerance for noise.

This some gourmet avant grade shit.

Oh, this has a similar vibe to Einstürzende Neubauten! It only pre-dates Kollaps by like 3 years, but there's definitely a connection between the two. This is cleaner, more polished, and I like it better at the end of the day. There's a bit of electronica to it, and I thought the voice clips were interesting. Not one that I expect i'll listen to regularly, but an interesting 40 minutes!