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

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

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

Great band name

40/100

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Interesting...but not music

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.

Pretty hard to get through. Atmospheric and strange though

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Hamburger Wife

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.

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.

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

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 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

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?

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

Ok. Always better to read about than listen to.

Well that was weird.

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

Mehh

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

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

Imponerende lydeksperimenter og atmosfærer, men det ramte ikke rigtig plet for mig

This is very obviously not music. In it's defence I don't think it ever tries to be, instead it's more of an auditory art installation. I'm only going to give it more than one star because it technically fits the bill of this whole exercise. You should definitely listen to this at least once and make your own mind up.

Not my thing…I like weird stuff but this didn’t land for me

Based on what I knew about this album beforehand this was not as bad as I expected this to be going in. However, most of the decent parts on this are balanced out with sections of droning sounds and skits.

industrial noises, ominous voices, moments of bliss

Some of this I dont even think could qualify as music but I feel richer for having listened to it.

70's industrial music. It's definitely different for that time, and now I would say. I'm not a huge fan of industrial, and this is rough around the edges. I give props for being different and creating something unique, but I can't go past a 2 here. Difficult to digest. I like later groups, no doubt influenced by this group, but I probably won't listen to this again.

It’s certainly not like anything else I’ve ever listened to. Credit where it’s due there. I am curious how they made this. It’s groundbreaking, so good for them. I have no idea how to rate this. It’s a challenging listen but it’s more interesting than some of the throwaway post-rock or Britpop I’ve been presented with. That could also be me being dishonest with myself, because ultimately I have to pull a ‘Trout Mask Replica’ and say that I am not enlightened enough to enjoy this. I do have a feeling that evangelists for this album have a different attitude towards music than me, to put it diplomatically. I’m glad I listened to it, but I won’t revisit and will be skeptical towards anyone who puts this on the aux.

On the matter of D.O.A.: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle, this album is important to the development of industrial and experimental music, but I'll wager it's not a frequent-flyer for many. The album serves as a blueprint for sonic sabotage and other provocations; as such, it's more instructive than enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, there are enough tracks that are obviously musical in some way that you'll experience a pull as well as a push. The question every listener will ask themselves — whether consciously or not — is this an experience I reject or enjoy overall? You can't ride the line of neutrality for very long. Sooner or later, your ears will make the call.

I was prepared for some weird an abrasive stuff, but what I got was not as bad as what I thought it would be. There was some interesting experimentation going on and it reminded me a bit of some tool songs, the death threats answering machine, some dark sound loop songs. Not super bad in the end. Compared to Einsturzede Neubaten this is a stroll in the park, therefore I can't give it 1 star. I won't listen to it again, but for a record made in the 70s, it was ahead of it's time.

50 #61 of working through the 1001 Albums list This might be too avant-garde for my taste, it is just noise..I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not to my taste, this is very much a piece of art and I'll probably never listen to it again. I do like the sampling of keys and computer sounds but the conversations are a little unsettling at times. I think there is something unique here but it's not what I'm looking for when I listen to music, this is a once listen but never again situation. I have no idea how to rate this, so I'm give it a 2 (basing it solely on how enjoyable it was to listen to). Standouts: Dead on Arrival, Hamburger Lady, AB/7A

OK, I generally like industrial and electronic music, and am even pretty happy with most random ambient stuff... and weird music... but... This isn't really very coherent. I suppose that's the point, but if I think I'll never listen to something again, and am only listening to it because of the 1001, it just can't get a very high rating. Two stars because they are earnest.

This is weird and kinda disturbing

Objectively, this is a rough listen, and understandable on why it’s the lowest album. I’m going a 2, because there were a few enjoyable songs, and also, there are elements in this album, that I’ve heard influence bands, 10, 20 years on.

pretty inoffensive. the semi naked child on the album cover on the other hand...

Is this what was called Industrial in the early days? This was after Kraftwerk too? I don't know. I'm giving it 2 stars simply for being so daring, especially for 1978. But I can't agree with it being a must listen.

As far as fax machine noises interspersed with random conversation clips goes, this is the cream of the crop, but as far as gristles go, this one is more flaccid than throbbing. 2 viagra pills out of 5

Interesting sounds, but not super listenable

Experimental for sure and I can hear the origins of industrial dance music that I love only with no pay off. Every song feels like the beginning of song that is about to kick ass.

Really pushing the definition of music. Lowwww 2.

Industrial grinding, ambient sounds, and snippets of conversation / audio from technical recordings. Hard to imagine anyone genuinely enjoying this. I can imagine people being inspired by it though. I’m sure there were artists who heard this and thought “Oh okay, cool, we’re doing that now? I’ve got an idea for that sound.” But this album feels too abstract and formless to listen to in any sort of everyday context. Okay “AB/7A” is a real surprise! It sounds like some modern, synth-y indie. It would sound at home on an MGMT album. I wish there was more like this!

Some interesting stuff in here but for the most part it doesn't move me very much. "Hamburger Lady" is probably the best track and it's meditative and calming in a way. I really hated how at 3:48 we get a familiar synthetic sound but it's volume is maxed out, right around 20 seconds before the song ends. What's the point of that? The album is certainly abrasive, and I have always appreciated edgy and abrasive music, but it feels a bit cheap to craft a song that's somewhat interesting and calming but then have it throw a random punch at you at the end. "Hometime" after that was a bit of a head scratcher too, but the album I felt was saved slightly by "AB/7A", which sounds like indie videogame music. I would have really loved if this album had a bit of both this kind of sound blended with the industrial grating. The album ender "Blood on the Floor" was a cool punk track. Blend more of that in with the rest!

P-Orridge is v horrible, and Throbbing Gristle's excursion into violence and disturbance, particularly on the harrowing 'Hamburger Lady,' is not exactly experimental music w/o reason but it is a trial in horror w/o uplift. I prefer the electronic minimalism of a band like Suicide, and if I were looking for a noisy affair, give me the free jazz of Archie Shepp and Cecil Taylor, the discordant blues of Captain Beefheart, or the heavy lyricism of rappers like Danny Brown or JPEGMafia. So while I can appreciate the influence that a record like this has had on industrial music, that's where it ends for me. I cannot get down w/ a record this disdainful of human life and this intent on sampling snatches of uneasy conversations. It's pretentious, and ugly too.

Narrowly misses a 1 just because it kept me guessing. Something unique in a sea of other unknown mostly same-ish British artists. 2/5

I don't really care if I'm not cool enough to "get it". I get it, I just don't really have patience for it. Still, I listened to the whole thing, and there's "better" albums that I had to switch off.

Late 70s industrial rock. Tech noises. Sounds modern and 70s in equal measures. Startling. Borderline not music. Certainly creative and varied, but not enjoyable.

So here's the thing...My initial reaction like many on here was to immediately dismiss this album as garbage. BUT if music is considered auditory art, then I've got to at least consider this as an art form. It may not be a Caravaggio or Picasso or Jackson Pollack, but it is a banana duct taped to a wall so it's gotta be for someone out there, right? I was dreading listening to something so experimental, but it's not 100% terrible and there are maybe 2 tracks that I find at least tolerable and listenable. Not for me, but I think I understand it's place in "music" history.

i also can record myself getting ready in the morning and put it out as a record.

Experiencia

what

🎧Is this what hell sounds like (complimentary)?

Le vrai Evil Kraftwerk. Tu le sais parce que la track Hamburger Lady est même pas goofy.

I don’t doubt the importance of this album, but it isn’t an “everyday listen” kind of thing. I got into this band after watching the BBC documentary Synth Britannia. Nothing sounded like this at the time. Their experimentation ended up being extremely inspirational to the preceding years of electronic music.

I appreciated it more after reading about their motivations, I'd still never want to listen again though

I can only imagine putting this on the turntable in 1978. It was obviously a groundbreaking album of electronic music for the time. I am not a huge electronic music fan but it was interesting. I liked “Dead on Arrival” and “Hamburger Lady”, “E-coli” probably the best.

Definitely at the "challenging" end of the musical spectrum. Not for everyone, and honestly not really for me. That said, I do see the artistic merit in the work, so I won't criticize. They created something I couldn't have created. Not going to rush out and buy a copy, though.

Listened to this album in high school, didn’t understand it. Listened to this album yesterday and can say it’s certainly an interesting artistic piece something you could see being played at the Mass MoCA. It’s just not something I can say I’m a fan of but can appreciate it

If these are the pioneers of industrial rock, let's just say I'm glad the genre has evolved away from whatever this is. I'm going in with an open mind though and will give it a thorough listen. I'm a huge fan of later industrial acts like Nine Inch Nails, so I was interested to experience some Throbbing Gristle but I found this album devoid of anything really interesting. Right off the bat, I thought the intro "I.B.M." had some interesting sounds to reel me in, but then as it transitioned to "Hit by a Rock" my interest faded, as did any semblance of order and beauty. The album devolved into seemingly random noises, samples, and voice recordings. The songs are really slow paced and full of ambient noises and, honestly, pretty creepy. I wish there had been more variance in the tracks. The second half of the album showed promise as it rolled into "AB/7A" and I had hope that something cool would happen, but sadly it returned to harsh, eerie muck. But yet, it's weirdly haunting even though it lacks any sort of musical IQ. Standouts for me, if you can call them that, were "Dead on Arrival," "Weeping" - had a weird but catchy little guitar part over some creepy man and eerie thuds and creaks - "AB/7A" - this one actually sounded good! I'm all for experimentation and doing something unique and this album is certainly off the deep end. In the end, it's performance art, not really an "enjoyable" music album. As I kept listening, something stirred in me. Just a little. I am actually torn whether to rate this 1 or 2 stars, because of how unique the album is. There are glimmers of **something** in a few tracks, but does that really redeem how almost unlistenable most of the album is? It certainly made me feel **something** at a few points throughout my listen. And the fact that I'm thinking about it so much after I'm done listening to it makes me think I have to break my normally pretty harsh rating system and give it 2 stars just for being what it is because its wild and bleak and yet somehow still captivating in that moment you're almost held captive listening to it. I can't explain it, but it exists and it's been built upon. I'm glad I listened exactly this one time and will probably never again cross paths with TG unless there are more albums lurking in this project. I will say there is most likely nothing else nor will there be anything else quite like Throbbing Gristle. I think these would be great songs to commit a murder to if I were into that sort of thing.

I suppose that Throbbing Gristle had to crawl before bands like Skinny Puppy and even Ministry could run, but this album is just racket. There's no semblance of a tune; no song structure whatsoever. 2 stars for genre historical significance, and that's being incredibly generous. Should honestly be a 1 (or a zero, if that were an option).

I was certain this would be a one but it kind of grew on me. I even mostly enjoyed AB/7A. I'd recommend reading up a little on the band and band members, they're interesting people and some are still making music today in theirs 70s.

It’s good for what it is but if you actually listen to this unironically I’m kind of concerned for you

Unedited listening notes: Uneasy Listening Must be "Art"... we're talking about it, right? Influential to bands like NIN, Ministry, Joy Division Punishing (like Swans) Star rating system does not apply (use something else? Clods of dirt? Burnt doll heads?)

Every few years I dig into noise music. It's an interesting concept: what defines music? I don't enjoy it, but I like to be reminded that it exists.

one star for originality and interesting experiment, but a bit unsettling

Not sure what I've just listened to here, some of it is alright and soothing but some of it is just pure chaos.

Very interesting composition throughout, but it is not something I would listen to much. A couple of the tunes grew on me. Overall not my cup of tea though.

nothing remotely interested me. Mostly just disparate sounds . While it was not displeasing to listen to it was also not pleasing to listen to

Couldn't finish

Didn't hate it.

So glad this is on here. Nearly unlistenable though. One of my favourite pieces of pop trivia is that Simon Cowell was considering Cheeky Girls cover Hamburger Lady as an attempt for Christmas number one. They went with Have A Cheeky Christmas instead.

It's something.

Well it sure was a lot more interesting than heavy metal. But not interesting enough to listen to again.

Lowkey I can see myself liking this. I don't though

Pretty sure this is one of the lowest rated albums on this website. Within one minute of the opening track I can see why. Not sure a lot of this qualifies as music, really. Almost feel like I should rate it higher for the originality but this is just not very enjoyable to listen to.

I understand why this album is on this list. But you can tell most of the 4 and 5 star reviewers enjoy the smell of their own farts.

What?

Pretty tough listen! If Vulva from Spaced recorded an album I'd imagine it sounding a little like this .. That said, there were one or two more ambient, Krautrock-y songs around the middle I actually enjoyed, in particular AB/7A which sounds like it may have been an influence on Manuel Gottsching's E2:E4.

A difficult listen and I wasn’t in the mood for such unsettling music today.

Pretty stupid, but not unlistenable as background noise.

does nothing for me!

Ugh

I love weird shit but wtf is this

you know, i actually thought i'd dislike this more based on the overall review score. i'm not saying i *liked* it, but that one crazy german industrial album that sounded like a marching band falling down an up escalator was way more unpleasant. i will agree that this doesn't feel very industrial to me... just strange, ambient, and droney. and it even has a good song in the middle of it? baffling, which is probably the point. i'd probably give this a 2.5 if i could but my threshold for 3 stars is "would i mind if this was played for me a second time?" and the answer is yeah, i'd probably switch the album.

This has terrible reviews and I'm not gonna try to justify them, but I will say I personally think that I have heard worse than this and I am currently 90 albums in. I read a review that said this is not so much music as a project. I agree with that assessment. This is a collage of sounds more so than a music album.

Enjoyed some tracks

This was interesting because it's so unlike anything else I've heard. I wouldn't listen to it again, but I'm always down to hear something that really pushes the boundaries of what we call music. AB/7A was the most listener-friendly track, but I think Hamburger Lady was the one that left an impression. It's the song equivalent of watching a great horror film. I also love Nine Inch Nails, so I can thank them for their influence on Trent Reznor. But again, one listen was plenty for me.

Pretty ass

Not as "not for me" as I thought it would be based on the band name. Ha.

excuse me？

First half is a tough listen. It gets a little better in the second half. I feel like Tool definitely got inspiration from this for some of their interlude tracks.

Hard to listen to but not without merit.

not for me

Well ... at least it's not Kid Rock.

Weird and noisy? Weirdest stuff I’ve heard in a while

Oh here we go with another industrial album. I made it through the Kollaps album relatively unscathed, but here I am ready for my next bleeping and blopping session. I liked United, Hamburger Lady, and AB/7A(?) it’s hard with these types of albums because it feels a bit like Stockholm syndrome. Do I actually like this song? Or is it the album’s unrelenting disregard for what is acceptable music — not even music but acceptable forms of sound. And do I “like” the song because it is simply one small glimpse at some form of life and humanity? Idk but I definitely don’t think I needed to hear this before I died. Haha imagine your loved one is on their deathbed and you say, “Hold on grandma! You never got to listen to D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle!” Dead on arrival is maybe an accurate title. Dead on. Okay I’m at the end of the album now. The last four or so tracks are okay. Again I never know if I’m just so desperate to see good in things that I go, yes I like this song and I see what they are doing here.

Not my style but i could see Ab 7a used in edits

La única canción que me ha gustado ha sido una que puso Deezer cuando el disco se había terminado. Bueno, y I.B.M. era graciosa. Género Industrial, avant-garde. Bueno, sí, un poco ruido de fábrica sí que parece. Eso es cierto que está muy logrado. Por eso, y por I.B.M., lo salvo del 1.

Idk what to say about this

Influential blend of early electronic music and incidental sound. It’s like if Kraftwerk were edgier. Some are interesting but some are grating. So it’s a 3.

I love weird ambient music but that was too much

What a bizarre album. At many points I would argue it could not, in good faith, be considered music. Experimental? Absolutely? Some dudes fucking around with a new synth? Sounds like it. Did I enjoy it? Ehhh. Often sounded like a computer themed horror game

I know this band more by reputation than anything else. I gave it a listen and some interesting sounds going on but in the end it just seemed like a badly tuned radio. I'm sure that back in 1978 many people saw this as groundbreaking but I'm afraid that there's simply not enough going on here to maintain my interest.

Oh now this was creepy and eerie. Especially as it went on…. the children speaking and the creaking doors oh no thank you. I guess I don’t really understand why this album is here- just a strange sound all throughout. I don’t think there was any part I was particularly impressed by. I guess I could see why someone might like this, because it’s so incredibly different. I’ll give them that.

This sounds a lot like a bunch of noises the tape drive on my friend's shitty Vic-20 (look it up) computer used to make. So. We have an album of that, including bonus mumbled voices and screams from the basement. Ok so yes it is hilariously terrible and it's not really "music" per se, but weirdly I didn't turn it off and it IS here just in time for Halloween - I imagine just looping this at the front door for 3 hours would be enough to weed out the pretenders. And honestly if given the choice I would re-listen to this than anything by Lou Reed or Leonard Cohen so go off, I guess. 3/10 2 stars.

This feels like an album that was deliberately designed to make people uncomfortable, and to question what exactly constitutes "music". While not an good listen by any means, I respect the artistry that went into making a statement like this that almost resists interpretation or enjoyment. Surprisingly some almost "songs" aren't that bad either in isolation. Top tracks: AB/7A, E-Coli

some pretty sounds in here but overall feels like a lotta vague doodling with noise...tempted to check out 12 Jazz Funk Greats though that looks cool 4/10

Not an album.

I definitely don't like it at all. Thank you for putting it on the list though, this is actually something different you should try. Will I listen to again: 0%

1.5/5. Different... but not something I enjoy listening to. Some of the sounds on here are thought-provoking, but not fun to listen to.

Well that was weird. I am not sure it was music. Artistic? Perhaps. It veered toward something I'd describe as music a few times. For the novelty alone I'll bump it up a star, but that's all I can do.

This Is not anything for me.

Wow, now that was something quite different! Not quite sure how to rate it as it’s impossible to compare with anything else we’ve had on this list so far. Musically it’s clearly a 1 star album but they’re getting a bonus point for originality.

Kind of an early 'soundscape ASMR ' offering. Unappealing

It's extremely specific. I'm pretty sure some people enjoy it. I'm treating it like a performance. Not very good performance, but still. Somehow not the worst or the most boring album I've heard from this list.

I tried, I really did. But this just isn’t for me.

Truly bizarre

OK, so on the face of it this doesn’t bear much resemblance to music. But for some reason I didn’t hate it at all. I found the songs with the background talking strangely relaxing. And while they are supposed to have invented industrial music, actually some of this seemed quite proto electronic dance, in parts had the feel of Aphex Twin’s darker works. So I think a bonus mark for invention.

I really want to give this more stars, as the avlum went on it grew on me a little bit but I am never going to listen to this again

Worst album to have a hangover to

Ещё более экспериментальное чем до этого, видимо я чего-то не понял

I.B.M - sounds like it was the soundtrack to a experimental/psychedelic film project. If this was part of an AV experience it might go alright. On its own though it's a bit how ya goin'. Hit By A Rock - as above ^ United - I think this is the whole of Sargent Peppers Lonley Hearts Club backwards and sped up. For the last time, there are no secret messages to Beelzebub or Moloch in the Beatles albums, stop looking. Valley of the Shadow of Death - soundtrack to a film created by David Lynch's British twin. Dead on Arrival - low-key I fuck with this one. Sounds kinda neat. Maybe the consistent backing beat his helping me along. Weeping - guitars out of tune, to me this is like the part in Spiderman 3 where Venom is surrounded by the metal rods Spiderman is banging then to give Venon psychic damage, well I'm Venom in this scenario. Also, the worst vocals I've heard on the 1001 album list, all of the singers in my highschool's Battle of the Bands we're better than this. Hamburger Lady - take the crumby vocals out and this is a decent soundtrack. Hometime - CREEPY TRACK FOR PERVERTS AB/7A - another decent soundtrack I enjoyed At the end of all that, consider my Gristle, well and truly Throbbed

This album is not music. Just because it's presented in a format that is similar to an album, doesn't mean it is music. It's art, not to say if it's good or bad, but it is art. Specifically not music. So, I did a little bit more research on the artist and they were actually originally a visual arts group before moving into music. They like to make confronting and surprising art. From that aspect, this album is kinda cool. The tracks are full of some really cool noises from a time when synths were new, recording technology was taking leaps and boundaries were ripe for the pushing. Some of the tracks sound like they would fit perfectly into a horror movie and evoke pretty interesting images. Some of the sounds and soundscapes have been obviously replicated for use in so many other things, from music to movies. They also were able to record something that is more or less a group experimenting with sound and noise and give it a more than a semblance of cohesion, were able to communicate feelings and provide some really interesting listening experiences. I understand this is pushing the boundaries of technology of the time, recording equipment, experimenting outside the box with noise and sound. And I can really respect that, it's art and it kind of works in some ways. But anyone who calls this 1970s equivalent of a dude basically fucking around with the preset options on a Casio keyboard proper music is fucking retarded. It's not music. Sure it's interesting, but how many times do I have to listen to what sounds like a dude having a tug to JOI torture porn in the back of an old time server room. It's not music, it should not be on this list. Nobody in the history of planet earth has been at a party or driving with their friends in the car and thought "Hmmm, you know what be fucking awesome? Listening to IBM by throbbing gristle! Everyone will surely love and enjoy the incessant boops and beeps for 2:37 - not to mention the whirring!" I guess I can see why it belongs on this list, and I can see that it was influential. But honestly, it was a fucking painful listening experience that I probably won't repeat.

Interrogator: Moscow has gone dark. We are out of options. A pre-emptive strike on Russia is prepared. The President WILL authorize. JACK! For the LAST time! WHERE is the NUMBER 5 REVIEW?! Jack: HOW MANY TIMES?! Byron was at Mt Gravatt! We had to Stop Byron! Interrogator: "We"? Jackbot? Jack: We wanted the same thing. The same. Interrogator: We're losing him again. Aw, God… He's back at Mt Gravatt. In a shipping crate, Jack and Jackbot prepare to set foot In Mt Gravatt. Jackbot: We are here. Mt Gravatt … Source of 1001 review’s poison. They are preparing to deliver another 4. Jack: Not on my watch. Jack: Byron. This is the end. Byron looks up upon hearing Jack and upon seeing him, drops the radio he was speaking into in shock. Byron: You..?!!! Jack grabs Byron and slams him into the electrical equipment then throws him into the chair, Byron recognizes his attacker. Byron: I know you… The chat! You don't know… What we did to you… Jordan appears on the radio again. Jordan: Jack, talk to me! Jackbot moves in on Byron as he protests. 1001 Albums Generator: [static] …Three…Four…Four… Jackbot: Your evil has claimed the lives of many better albums… Jackbot punches Byron. Jackbot: No longer. 1001 Albums Generator: …Four…Three… Jackbot punches Byron again. Byron: Killing me will not stop Reggatta De Blanc being a worse reviewed album! Jackbot continues punching Byron. Outside, two people in hazmat suits prepare to breach the safe room. Jackbot: I DO NOT CARE ABOUT REGGATTA! Jackbot grabs Byron by the throat. Jackbot: MY NAME...IS JACK...MACKENZIE!! Byron: No… Jackbot reaches behind his back and draws a Marker to write a big N on Byron. Jackbot: AND I WILL HAVE...MY...REVENGE!!! Cutscene microfiche depicts DEFCON remaining at level two, with twenty-four hours left in the US countdown to nuclear first strike. Jackbot: When all that you are, all that you have done, is buried beneath the lies and deceit of corrupt men. I will die in this wretched place. The only thing that keeps me alive, is the thirst for vengeance. They must be stopped, Jack. Marko...Byron...Taylor...ALL SOULD HAVE GIVEN A 1 TO DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS. Dexys had the worse album and Its criminal it isn't lower on this fucking list. This album was ass but gave me the funny idea about black ops 1 so 2/5.

I usually like noise etc, but this did nothing for me.

First pass: I appreciate experimental, but I truly cannot find anything redeeming or interesting here. Every song is a cacophonous, confrontational din. I like confrontation in music, but this seems utterly pointless. Second pass: okay there some interesting stuff here. The latter half for sure, the wall of sound is certainly something. I appreciate that it’s different and inspired even if it’s very much not for me

I liked it. Not much to say. But it’s a good example. I feel we’re getting a little bit of white boy critical in crowd. But it was ok.

So what do we have here? Computer noises, long before we all had to deal with them; Hit By A Rock - definitely sounds like it; a 4-minute song reduced to 17 seconds for some reason; noise plus dialogue I can’t be fucked trying to decipher; a steam train being chased by outlaws and/or indians; more train noises with more words; car racing noises; a child’s voice with creepy sounds in front of it; something that makes you think the band just played Autobahn through several times; perhaps plane noises with more indecipherable dialogue; apparently death threats left on a phone, but I really struggle to hear the words; electric train noises that are not related to Phil Spector; and a deranged voice actually singing - about blood on the floor. Two stars for the name, which, unlike their output, I always thought was one of the best band monikers ever.

Industrial music is important to me. I own and love a lot of 80s and 90s industrial records, I went to industrial night clubs, I played in a (terrible) industrial band for most of the 90s. It's not the only kind of music that I love (not even nearly), but it was pretty important to me. Throbbing Gristle were a band I read about a lot (Re/Search magazine, Simon Reynold's Rip It Up and Start Again, mentioned in hushed tones). They were (supposedly) dangerous, transgressive, iconoclastic, seminal (in all senses) "wreckers of civilization". But rarely heard. In Australia, at least, it was nearly impossible to find their records, and they never got played on the radio. Their roots as a performance art collective, Coum Transmissions, really shows. They are trying to shock and discomfort, and doing a pretty good job on those fronts. But it works much better as an artistic concept than as an actual listening experience. And they are trying sooooo hard to be transgressive. Maybe they were too successful, and now nearly 50 years later it doesn't seem that bad. I just don't really want to sit through it, in the same way I don't really want to go to a performance art show of a degrading sexual acts. Just not into it, you know? That said, I can hear their influence in a lot of records I own, most notably Severed Heads, an Australian band I was obsessed with, who started out making 'unlistenable' records before evolving into electronic dance music, a similar trajectory to TG. I wonder if Tom Ellard from Sev Heads had actually heard much or any TG, and was reverse engineering what he thought they must be like based on what he read about them. As an early Coum Transmissions slogan put it, "We Guarantee Disappointment." And, by that metric, this album eagerly delivers. Great band name, terrific concept, massively influential, but not a great listen. 5 stars for the ideas, 1 star for the music. Look, I'm glad I have actually, finally listened to at least one TG album all the way through, but I'm not racing out to buy a copy.

not interested in listening again, but i thought it would be much worse considering the reviews on here.

I really tried to like it, I did. I like experimental stuff. But man, you have to make it slightly audible. Otherwise, it's just a pain in the ass to try and listen to it.

I don't know

Sometimes a cool idea isn’t something anyone would actually listen to, unless you’re being pedantic. A lot of people would say that type of thing about noise rock bands like Sonic Youth or Big Black or Boris or Melt-Banana or Lightning Bolt, but all those bands still make, well, songs. Some are more chaotic than others, some more deconstructed than others, but these groups push the boundaries of traditional pop music. Sure, that can be abrasive and hard to listen to, but if you squint your ears, your mind will adapt to the noise and hear the song underneath it all. There’s a whole other world of experimental noise music where the idea of a song becomes obsolete and the semblance of song structure no longer matters. Merzbow, Earth, installations like The Disintegration Tapes; circuit bending, mic feedback, that tiktok of a guy banging a snare drum on a table with no application of musical rhythm while everyone just watches him with their arms crossed as he destroyed the snare and smashes it on the ground. If you’re depressed and too far down the music nerd rabbit hole, you’ll be [un]lucky enough to discover that this music — the edge of the metaphorical cliff, so to speak — is big on a site like Rateyourmusic, where being pedantic and knowing more about obscure artists increases your cred, which is more valuable than actually listening to an album or even enjoying it, especially when no one can really fact-check your listening habits. If you say your favorite album is Instruments Disorder, no one can disprove you or know for sure that the truth is that 99% of the time, you're listening to Sabrina Carpenter in your headphones. Throbbing Gristle are like, the progenitors of all this shit. From an artistic perspective, they matter. Experimentation should be championed, and moves everyone forward. The non-music of Throbbing Gristle expanded the palette not only of noise artists like Boris or Lingua Ignota; it also expanded the palette of Ariana Grande. Just because the former is aware of those new sonic possibilities and occasionally applies them in their own art doesn’t mean the latter isn’t benefiting. There is value in deconstruction, and sometimes, pure experimentation is beautiful. But just because an experimental art film of static makes sense in a contemporary art museum and can be appreciated within that context, you’re not going to go home and put that art film on while eating a bowl of microwave popcorn after a long day in the office discussing Q3 projections, now are you? Be honest, because the only people who claim otherwise are just trying to lord a pretentious, holier-than-thou lifestyle over you, at least that's my personal experience as someone who works with/leaves around/is occasionally friends with this sort of person, and maybe sometimes sounds like this type of person to other people. Very few people *consume* pure experimentation. Again, that doesn't mean *creating* pure experimentation should be dismissed or that the byproduct of experimentation should ignored from the history books. I'm just not going to listen to it, at least not in a way that matches my enjoyment of a favorite album or movie. That’s basically my thoughts about D.O.A. and Throbbing Gristles. I inherently respect the experimentation as an artistic statement. But are these songs? I don’t think so. The closest to popular song structure we get is “Weeping” and “Hit By a Rock,” which both walk the line between slam poetry and music. “Blood on the Floor” would also classify if the song wasn’t purposefully cut short with a fade-out before it could develop any structure. Otherwise, there’s a little bit of rhythmic patterns on “Dead on Arrival” and “AB/7A,” but the rest? It’s spliced tapes, recorded conversations, sustained notes, and circuit feedback. It's noise, yes; it's very rarely a song. For the most part, D.O.A. is an art installation, at its best. At its worst, it’s a tutorial sales pitch for one of those newfangled synthesizers. Look at the bleeps and bloops, aren’t they fascinating? What does a mostly glitched 16 second clip of “United” inspire in me as a listener? What about the 30 second cut-up technique of “Death Threat”? The artistic merit of a song like “Wall of Sound” can’t be understated, nor can its influence on a scene be dismissed, but who on earth of sound mind and body actively listens to that track? (This said, in May 2020, I did turn on Pulse Demon frequently to block out my thoughts while I work. But I wouldn’t say the human brain processes harsh noise, but rather just accepts it, and I was actively trying to ignore dark thoughts during a dark time in society.) The concept of active listening means being aware of the art in a way that can illicit enjoyment of it through appreciation. I know people can enjoy all sorts of art. That’s why all sorts of art exist. But this level of experimentation is purposefully pushing beyond the human capacity to actively listen to it, so it begs the question, how can anyone actually enjoy it? I don’t believe they can. I think anyone who says they enjoy it is being pedantic, trying to one-up you in an intellectual game of 5D chess, despite the fact that you never offered to play in the first place. That doesn’t undermine the value of an album like D.O.A. Does it belong on the list? That I’m a bit torn on, if only because I can’t tell if this is a list of “popular recorded music since the creation of music-related home media was made available to a mass market audience,” or “an exploration of any and all music since around the time when music could be recorded and purchased via a mass market, thus arbitrarily beginning at the year 1955.” Because if it’s the former, this album doesn’t belong, because this isn't popular music, aka it lacks the structure and purpose of popular music, which is fine but art music isn't consumable as a mass market product. But if this list is the latter option, well then, this list did a pretty shitty job exploring all those avenues in a balanced way and overemphasized the value of popular music over art music, so it’s probably the former. Still, I can respect the value of this record, and the impact on a scene. I just think it’s not what I would call music, at least not music as defined by 95% of the albums on this generator, even including the other noise and experimental albums on the list. All this said, it’s not bad as art music. It just doesn’t belong here, and I’ll never revisit it. Could I be annoying and pretentious and give this 3 stars? Sure, because intellectually, I think it's good for what it is, even if that isn't the point of this list as I see it, and a passive, head nod acknowledgement of this as a work of art is what I would give it at an exhibition opening, which still doesn't mean I love it, but I also don't think it's bad art or underdeveloped or something. But I'm not in an artistic third space, I'm in my goddamn apartment listening to popular music albums. And based on that metric, I'm never going to return to this, let alone enjoy it passingly like I do all the other 3 star albums. So even though I don't dislike like a 2 star album, that's where I'm falling. Put this in a room in The Whitney or The New Museum, but don’t put this on this list.

AB/7A captured what I believe it is that this band attempted to accomplish, otherwise this is so ironically punk rock that it is unironically shit.

Day209 - maybe the best band name i’ve never heard of. It sounds like the revenge of the nerds made an album

Props for moxie and ingenuity. Probably will not listen again. But I guess I’m glad to have listened once?

As an avid fan of industrial and electronic music, I tried to embark on a music journey of open mindfulness to it and seemed to have every avenue of it stunted. My desire for rythmn was no satiated, lead segments were underdeveloped probably artistically, the tonality was off putting more often then not and the overall song structures were far too loose and not as refined as I'd like them to be. I don't know the whole attempt at noise punk seem to fall so flat here. I know that there are better examples even if I am not privvy to them.

Wow. So much of me wants to be edgy and contrarian and say that I loved this, but there was only one "song" here I could ever imagine playing again - Ab/7A. I fully support this sort of artistic expression - the fact that it exists (and in 1978 too) is a 5 star fact of history. The music as something to listen to in 2024, a very generous 2 star experience. Fave Track: Ab/7A 1.9/5

I usually like alternative/ experimental albums but this one is mostly noise..

One of the founding texts of industrial, and on E Coli there's even a tune. An art project that relates to popular music of the time as the VU did in the sixties. And like them, not many people listened but many of those who did went onto form bands. Having said that, its anything but an easy listen. I did have a mate who lived in the mid-80s in Bethnal Green opposite a house he said was the P.Orridge base. 2.5 really, but can't round up for this one.

I can file this away in the "once was enough" drawer. Am I glad I listened to this record? Yes. Does it belong on this list? Not really, although I can see how it was sort of the start of the industrial genre. Very surprised that this was recorded and released in 1978. I actually kind of liked some of this album, there were some really interesting things going on and the lyrics, for what they were, were actually pretty good for the most part. Even still I don't think I can really give this more than a 2/5.

I guess there's some interesting things going on, but this kind of experimental music is just not for me

It's experimental noise at it's finest. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I had a hard time listening to it, but good for them to make this kind of album.

A bag of nuts and bolts

Now, how to review and rate this album? An album without a single song, essentially a compialtion of noise and conversations. I’ll never listen to the album again, and there are no individual tracks that I’d go back and revisit. However, if I had to choose between this album and an experimental jazz album, the choice would be easy. I guess it’s 2 stars, then

La única canción que me ha gustado ha sido una que puso Deezer cuando el disco se había terminado. Bueno, y I.B.M. era graciosa. Género Industrial, avant-garde. Bueno, sí, un poco ruido de fábrica sí que parece. Eso es cierto que está muy logrado. Por eso, y por I.B.M., lo salvo del 1.

Oh good god dammit. I just got through listening to Duck Stab, and now this? I guess accessibility wasn't on this week's list of requirements for my 1,001 Albums. Look, I'm not adverse to experimentation or unique forms of expression. I really welcome that in music! But I do believe in a certain set of rules when writing music. Rather, I believe in one rule; when you write a song, it needs to have music. Not necessarily a melody or a beat, but...music. There's a 4-minute track here that's just people talking and shuffling? I think? in what sounds like an apartment corridor. I struggle to understand the art being expressed in so much of this. I took a look at some other reviews of this album, and while plenty of people share my sentiment, I couldn't help but look at the positive reviews and notice how many shared one word; "challenging." Now, I also like my music to be challenging sometimes, but what's the reward you receive from an album like this? What do you come away with, other than the right to say, "Yeah, I listen to challenging shit and LIKE it! Take that society!" Does anyone really enjoy this? Is it pleasurable? Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions. Maybe enjoying what you do with your limited free time time isn't a requirement for everyone. Or maybe very fact that I'm now questioning the validity of receiving enjoyment from music is the point of this album. That sounds like I'm belittling those who do enjoy this, and I don't intend to. FUCK, I'm dumb and everyone else is smart. :/ 5 stars. That said, I actually talked in depth about Hamburger Lady on a podcast a while back when tackling the subject of "scary music." It was called One Hit No Wonder. Take a listen!

Puntos por experimentar, supongo. No tiene mucho valor de repetición, salvo algunos tracks que quieras poner cada vez que te sientas solo

1.5

Ah. Yup.

#22 - What an interesting album; what I like about it is that it made me question what music actually is. I have no doubt that it's been fundamental for the development of certain other styles. Reminded me of some of the more contemporary / niche realms of classical music, particularly Musique Concrete. Again, the question here is whether we like the album. It's not made to be liked but to make us question and explore the reaches of expression through sound. Music for the sake of music (is it even music? Perhaps sound for the sake of sound?); in the same way that Malevich's black square painting is painting for the sake of painting. Art for it's own sake, not for critical acclaim and free from aesthetic pleasure goals. Hearing this makes me a better, more educated listener. And isn't this the goal of this exercise?

A very important and influential industrial album that just does nothing for me

Throbbing Gristle is such a gross name. The music on this album felt very understated, too light and quiet for my taste.

Meh.

Half of this album was plain awful. The rest is either dull or slightly interesting. I can appreciate some of the synth parts. Those sound like one of my favourite groups, Boards of Canada. It's just about better than the Birthday Party. 2 stars for this confused album.

AB/A7 is a nice track. It sounds like the a proto-Boards of Canada or other chill electronica track. The rest is a curio of random machine noise and clips.

Uncompromising. Can appreciate the craft, not one I'd return to

Hmmm. This is what it is

This album is notorious for being very low rated on this site. The day has finally come where I am tasked to listen to it. This record is certainly not an easy listen, but it really wasn't intended to be. Not only was the music crafted to be unsettling (especially on the more ambient tracks like E-Coli or the nightmarish storytelling of Hamburger Lady), but even the album cover and the corresponding record sleeve contained very strange and suggestive photos of a child. Apparently this group originated from some performance art collective so I'd imagine they're just art school kids doing a lot of this for shock value and reactions. A lot of it seemed edgy with no real direction. There's no doubt that this would be later seen as influential to many industrial and noise acts. I was even able to draw parallels to some post-rock groups (tell me "E-Coli" wouldn't sound out of place on an early GYBE! album). Overall, I'm glad I listened to it and I might dig further into their discography out of pure intrigue.

Weird and experimental which makes it worth listening to. I can't say its very musical or enjoyable, but from a creativity of sound standpoint it's an interesting artifact to hear at least once. This is cool in the same way much of early electronic music is cool, as a historical artifact.

It was upsetting and hard to listen to. I don’t think I have any interest in industrial after thid

sehr experimentell, und 70er. schon beim ersten Track der Gedanke „ist das überhaupt Musik?“. Nach dem Lesen der Band-Bio auf Spotify ist klar: das war nicht als Musik gedacht. Dann aber mittendrin mit AB/7A doch noch einen tollen Track gefunden.

...what did I just listen to? Apparently this was the beginning of the Industrial genre of music, which I actually really like. However, this was definitely very weird. I didn't like it but I didn't hate it. Listens: 1 Fave Track: AB/7A Rating: 2

An incredible work of art given the nature of their music and when it was released. That being said, the record does have long stretches of navel gazing with entire tracks dedicated to replaying recordings with some synth and sampler notes underneath.

Cool, I guess? Industrial doesn't do it for me. Maybe for a horror videogame soundtrack but not for casual listening.

4/10 Well at least it was interesting. The first tracks were really difficult but after that it became marginally more listenable. As background music it works surprisingly well (sometimes).

So so strange but strangely captivating. Interesting at least.

- this is just noise. this is literally just noise - i kind of like the actual one Dead on Arrival but I think that’s just because there was a backbeat and it was a relief from the noise - a song with words???? what a surprise - excellent soundtrack for going insane. or maybe doing insane art. scheming in a dark room. VERY ianthecore - this is so not my vibe. am nowhere near cool enough to enjoy this - oh i like hometime. reminds me of home movie in dreamland, wonder if that’s referencing this. - ok i like AB/7A but it is genuinely hurting my easrs. i get that this is cool and foundational for industrial music but.. I don’t like industrial music. i like patterns and i like the parts of this with patterns, but some of the patterns are made of feedback noises and vaguely bagpipe quality machine sounds. - walls of sound sounds like industrialist futuristic hellscape to me. the gears are grinding you into paste - 2/5. added one song to my lyricless playlist but will never listen to this again

I have a pretty wide palate, but it's difficult to imagine this being in a rotation of music I would listen to for any kind of traditional enjoyment. There just aren't many contexts in which this music is appropriate or exciting.

When I was in the deep end emotionally and musically this was the kind of music I was drawn to. Times are not the same anymore. I still like some noise from time to time but this does not have enough substance for me. Best song is dead on arrival. Not giving it one star because I did not hate it 100%

Interesting but not much fun to listen to. Glad it exists.

I want to like Throbbing Gristle, but on this album they get so weird that they borderline turn into the Residents. I say I want to like them because their music is so strange, and also because their first album is called The Second Annual Report and their third album of experimental industrial music is called 20 Jazz Funk Greats. Really only one song was bearable and the rest was hard to even call music. I mean… “United” is a new version of an earlier song they made which they considered too accessible so they sped it up so it’s shortened from 4 minutes to 16 seconds, and it’s totally incomprehensible. But the one bearable song was “AB/7A” which I actually really liked.

So weird, electronic music? 2 stars

First album by an artist I don't recognize even by name. Interesting. Funnily enough I think I've seen the album cover somewhere. This is way too artsy (To call it some way) for me. I feel like watching analogue horror or some early 2010s creepypasta on youtube and I don't like that because it makes me feel uneasy. Art's main focus supposedly is to make you feel emotions and this album made me feel terrified, so it delivers on that and I'm giving it 2 stars because despite having worked it wasn't an enjoyable listen AT ALL. This is a pretty unique entrance I'm assuming, and therefore I won't say anything about the best and worst songs in this (Mainly because there are quite a few tracks that I don't know if they count as songs, and I mean it in an unpretentious not snobbish way). I guess either AB/7A or dead on arrival werethe most enjoyable song and the ones I'd say were the best (Probably first and only time I'll call songs that sound like a broken NES game the best). Worst one was wall of sounds and in this case I mean scariest. I really hope next album is something different (I'm not even asking for specifics, just something that doesn't sound anything like this, for fucks sake my favourite genre is probably pop rock this is like the absolute opposite) and it'll benefit from being the album after this one.

Not entirely sure I would call all of this music. However some of it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting - the more ambient tracks were somewhat passable.

Eeehm, tsja, nou, lastig luisterbaar, weinig echte nummers, maar je hoort duidelijk de invloed op latere artiesten

At least it aint boring

Meet een artsy sound compilation dan muziek voor mij. Vanuit dat oogpunt meh. Maybe cool onder een museum expo ofzo haha

Did not understand

La única canción que me ha gustado ha sido una que puso Deezer cuando el disco se había terminado. Bueno, y I.B.M. era graciosa. Género Industrial, avant-garde. Bueno, sí, un poco ruido de fábrica sí que parece. Eso es cierto que está muy logrado. Por eso, y por I.B.M., lo salvo del 1.

The sound combos are interesting, but this album made me think of obscure 70's B films.

вот это нойз)) ну не ужасно, но слушать мне тут нечего

I'm sure if I made it past the first couple of songs I could have rated it better

Oddly fascinating. Definitely influential. Not my thing though. Not the worst thing I've heard since starting this project but I can hear why it's one of the lowest rated albums on the list.

This wasn't as bad as Linkin Park. Some songs even began resembling music.

2-is this an album I’ll ever listen to again, probably not. But I did feel like this album had a vision and executed it. It took me on a journey through an analog horror film

Experimental for experiments sake. Probably have a time it could be interesting but, man, for the whole thing, that would have to be very specific.

Rating: 4/10

I generally give the benefit of the doubt to this list for pioneering albums ahead of their time. I guess this was one of the pioneering "Industrial" albums, but Jesus Christ, it is hard to get through. It is experimental in the most aggravating sense.

sounds like found audio from a junkyard being re processed and regurgitated

moraš biti u elementu za ovo, definitivno

a bit weird but i like industrial music so i can potentially see myself listening to this 💀

Very experimental in my “eyes”

Not my style and can't hear a ton that's noteworthy besides a general tone that sounds like opening credits music on an edgy movie or game.

There are some cool tracks here like Valley of the Shadow of Death, AB/7A and E-coli. No reason to re listen or recommend.

I was in a turbulent airplane when I listened, and as Pitchfork suggested about this album, it was indeed nauseating. While some of the sounds and ideas were interesting, I simply can’t say I liked it—and I struggle to imagine anyone choosing to listen to this except to induce vomiting. P.S. — I highly advise against listening to the track “Dead on Arrival” while your airplane is bumping about through a storm. P.P.S. — Also, the child’s voice on “Hometime” is a jump scare. Which is weird, because they honestly seem like a nice kid. P.P.P.S. — I liked track 9, “AB/7A.” So that’s nice.

I don’t like it, but I think that’s the point. So I hope they don’t mind the 2 stars.

I don't understand industrial/noise music, but props to them for inventing a whole genre.

Some interesting songs in here but couldn’t really get into it in it’s entirety

Listen, I don't have any issues with industrial music. But it DOES need to be at least reminiscent of actual MUSIC. Unfortunately, for the majority of this album, the actual music seems to be missing. It's been replaced by random samples of environmental noise and dialogue. I believe that the TG boys were TRYING to do something groundbreaking here. They just... failed. Not at making a statement. At making music. They definitely made a statement. I can only conclude that Throbbing Gristle seems to be one of "those" bands. You know the ones. The bands that the people "in the know" can't stop raving about but your average music lover can't stand. Sometimes, the critics are right and "those" bands are actually groundbreaking and important. This is not one of those cases, unfortunately. This is an "emperor's clothes" situation. Those who fawn over this album think they're covering themselves in an air of expertise and mystique by praising something so difficult to listen to but, in reality, they're just standing there with their ass in the wind. It's not a good album. It's just not.

Ekki skemmtilegt, en sem einhvers konar ambient er þetta áhugavert og á köflum jafnvel áheyrilegt, þótt það reyni að vera það alls ekki. Sumt er vissulega off, en umslagið er nostalgískt. Gaman að sjá að Ivar hillur voru til 1978. Ég sakna þess tíma þegar græjur máttu taka pláss.

There are two types of albums that one can find in the global lowest rated list: (1) daring, experimental albums that are not suitable for parties or the radio but are more interesting that at least half of the entire 1001 albums list. And (2) albums that are so bad they couldn't be called music. This one is on the latter camp, trying hard to be on the former.

Brutaali. Onneks en kuunnellut kuulokkeilla enkä pimeessä. Hieno creepy kansi. Mutta sisältö? Tulee olo, että Nine inch nails tekee tän paremmin rockina.

If you want to feel the mania and anxiety of getting to an airport with an extra long security line as time clicks away and you ponder your meaning in this fickle world this album is just for you. For everyone just ignore this garage.

I can see how this would be influential, but not something I’m gonna ever listen to again

I really liked AB/7A. I would probably be more understanding of everything else if I encountered it in an art gallery as sound art or something. Not that I would actually sit 40 minutes in a gallery to listen.

eh....

Very dark and very wrong album cover

Strange album, need to listen more

After this album, Spotify recommended Kollaps by Einstürzende Neubauten. Which. I. HATED. Not good, Spotify. Not good at ALL. I get that this was the precursor to a lot of industrial music. But having those short bits in there, like "Death Threats" will only get listened to once, right? It's like the skits on rap albums. Funny once but not over and over. I liked this a little better than Kollaps. Songs like "Weeping" had a nice opening, along with "Dead On Arrival" I kinda dug. But all in all it just made me think of "Sprockets" on SNL and the pretension of that kind of German art Mike Myers was making fun of (like "Blood On The Floor."). So I will give it a little leeway, but not much.

It’s interesting, I’ll give it that.

The kind of music which must exist to push the envelope and test the listener - but it is a test I did not pass.

Not a fan.

This album is basically tied for the lowest score on this site, so you know its gonna be a wild ride. TG are indeed capable of making what actually sounds like \"music\" eg their ironically named album \"20 Jazz Funk Greats\", but here they really threw in the kitchen sink along with some stale dinner leftovers. I don't mind musique concrète but it has to sound somewhat coherent and have some sort of melodic beat tying it all together, eg KLF's Chill out is one of my all time favourite album with found sounds and I can listen to that repeatedly and not tire of it, whereas it would be a struggle to listen to this again given that it's so unsettling. The only redeeming song is their Kraftwerk-esque AB/7A. When TG broke up in 1981 two of their members, Chris and Cosey kept working together and they put out some very interesting electronic pieces that are much more accessible, check out \"Walking through heaven\" from their Songs of Love & Lust album, its just brilliant.

Listened while driving to work, weird driving music but didn't hate it, glad I've heard it once though

Not my style

No thanks

Boel geluid

Ymmärrän kyllä mitä tää levy yrittää. Ja välillä onnistuukin siinä. Olla tosi ambientmainen, hämärä, tunnelmallinen, industriaalinen. Oikeastaan tämä ei oo niinkään musiikkia. Vähän samalla tavalla kuin Burialin jotkin kappaleet. Tavallaan ihan siisti kokemus. Ja vähän vaikea arvioida. En kuitenkaan ihan niin paljon nauttinut tämän kuuntelusta, mutta koska siinä oli niitä hetkiä missä se onnistui ihan hyvin niin ei kuitenkaan ihan 1 tähteä ole

I like to be a contrarian for the lowest-rated albums here when I can, but I don’t think I have the heart for this one. Definitely the kind of art that’s meant to be in a gallery and viewed from a critical perspective, but music has never been about the ‘art’ for me. Without much context, I can’t really assign any kind of thematic thoughline here, and the tracks themselves vary so wildly there’s little to grab on to. For the time period this is an impressive piece of avant garde experimentation, but much like experimental film where nothing happens I really think this one is leaving me high and dry

Seriously, I would have been fine with dying without hearing this. But AB/7A was kinda cool.

Undoubtedly pioneers in their field, but that doesn't mean it is pleasant to listen to, albeit with a couple of exceptions here and there.

Had never heard about it until now and it’s always cool to learn new things but I’m not impressed. Probably super revolutionary at the time but barely has any music, being mostly noisy sounds experiments.

The list of artists that managed the jump for me from performance art to music I'd actually listen to on purpose is pretty brief. Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk... that might be it actually. I thought this was pointless pretentious garbage. Complete waste of time.

An album for people who claim Revolution 9 is their favorite Beatles song.

Goddammit! This is impossible to review. I am very annoyed that I can't just turn this album off and throw it in the trash after discovering the "hidden," extremely creepy artwork of the little girl on the cover (removed in subsequent editions, but... supposedly still on Spotify?!?!) That made me want to throw up. So the already chaotic and disturbing soundscapes went beyond the purely disturbing and acquired a feeling tone of, for lack of a better word, "evil," after that. But then I kept listening, and I heard... genuinely cool sound experiments, very compelling pieces of music. That was surprising. This already is leaps and bounds better than the other industrial records we've had. There are a few moments of pure brilliance and weirdness that was not just tolerable, but kind of cool. I can see why this was influential. Aaaand then I got to the interlude track with the kids and the creepy music. And the interlude of the people talking about infecting people with E. coli. Whelp. This is challenging me, because I'm getting a mix of REALLY COOL SOUNDS and GENUINELY VERY DISTURBED feelings at at the same time. And this is way, way, waaaaaay better than Kollaps, our other pioneering Industrial album on the list. That was a pure 1. I just don't like this, I'm sorry. I don't like the evil, I don't like the attitude of shock music, I don't like feeling that I did all the homework and passed all my classes and here's the art school kids back again at my house making me suffer through sweaty bullshit. I like... music. And annoyingly, there is some good music in here. Reminds me so much of my experience watching "Mad God" last year. Conceptually and artistically flawless... also made me want to throw up. Not a fun time. Ugh! Fine. 2/5. I can see why it's influential, I can't just write it off like my deep senses of disgust wanted me to, and that'll have to be where we leave things.

I didn't think it was the 2nd worst on this list. I got through it and certainly see its influence. My gristle however never throbbed.

One of the best band names to surface as part of this experiment... The album opens with one of the hardest to listen to experimental songs I have heard in recent memory. Really testing the boundaries on who will stick around. I can only imagine how many highs were absolutely destroyed by this album; I hope it came with a warning sticker at least. Hit By a Rock kind of continues in a less in your face obnoxious kind of way. Warbling, feedback, and a distant shout track. This is some avante garde shit right here. I think I may have just been lobotomized by Untied. Was not expecting that. Valley of the Shadow of Death sounds like it was made specifically to induce nightmares. I'm impressed by how unnerving this all feels. Its like the musical equivalent to a carnival funhouse mirror. Hometime is the calmest of the unsettling tracks here... Features a bunch of warbling tones that evoke a horror movie vibe, with a sound of children laughing and chatting overtop. AB/7A is a surprisingly straightforward electronic song. I would go so far as to say it is pleasurable to listen to; a ray of sunlight in this so far house of horror. Ya know, few albums have surprised me quite like this one. It is truly all over the place and demands a LOT from its listeners. I, for one, am not a match. While I understand that this is experimental and probably pushing boundaries for others to succeed in the future, this is not exactly something I would willingly go through and listen to again. That said, while I do not classify this as "good music" I will say that it was incredibly impressive in a surrealistic sense. The sounds and atmosphere's the group created really get under your skin and make you feel uncomfortable in a non-organic sort of way. Would absolutely not do drugs and listen to this one. The only comparable modern act I can think of is Matmos, but even they make songs with rhythms... I'm a soft 2 / 5 here because I think they earn some credit for making me so incredibly uncomfortable.

These noises are all that I could hear the one time when I accidentally took way too many edibles and I felt like my brain was vibrating l. AB/7A was a pretty cool little beat that actually resembled a song My dog listened to this album with me and based on her pacing and nervous behavior while the album was on I going to guess she gave this a 1/5 Not what I really enjoy listening to, but it wasn't horrible this is a 1.500000001/5 so I'll round up to a 2, my lowest possible 2 score. Still better than whatever that trash was that Kate Bush put out

Não peguei o conceito, barulheira desagradável com raros lampejos

It is such a confusing album, but it's interesting to listen to but get boring on a second listen

I actually thought I’d be into this, I enjoy the odd abrasive industrial album but this just didn’t hit. There were slivers of hope here, AB/7A and Dead on Arrival specifically. I get that they were ultimately aiming for a certain “anti-sound” but nah, not for me. 2 stars

This is one of those albums that's not music in any real sense - some of it was close, dead on arrival stuck out, but even that was more just rhythmic bleeps and bloops than anything. It had a strangely hypnotic quality to listen to while I dozed, but not quite enough to send me back to sleep. Intermittent shrieking and jarring noises disrupt anything that could be considered a tune. Hard to judge overall, but it gets a 2/5.

It was very strange and I dont know if I actually liked it, but I also could not stop listening to it 2/5

I am left feeling conflicted, which is not something I expected to say about an album that is such an easy 1 for most people. Some of the songs, if you can truly call them that, had this haunting sound that I liked. I wouldn't listen to it as music, of course. But still, when I did find something I liked in some of the album, it's hard to then give it a 1 star. I guess it gets a 2. I never would have seen that coming. My favourite "songs" were Weeping, Hamburger Lady, and Hometime.

Industrial music just not my cup of tea.

Whew. Ok. I get it but at the same time it ain't for me.

i mean. yes it's influential I'll give the credit when it's due and yes it's pretty much unlistenable. and i have rather high tolerance for music that is just sound collage of someone's grandma talking over construction site sounds, it's just not even interesting in that aspect. i assume that tg's stuff just doesn't work as an album on streaming, i think the performance aspect of it all is what resonated with people sparked inspiration in industrial acts that came after them and build on it's foundations. curious to hear once but listen to one tg album and you've heard it all etc. it's not an album you listen to on regular basis and like that probably wasn't the intent anyway

I'm ok with trying new things, pushing the envelope. This is annoying as hell, but worthy of two stars.

I’m glad this album exists. I’m also glad that I never have to listen to it again. Sounds like a soundscape for an art installation that I don’t *quite* understand. Just when a sign starts to form, it disappears. Better than another Maroon 5 album though.

Industrial. Le pongo un 2 porque alguna no es ruido sin más...

I was uncomfortable the entire time

Very experimental. Perhaps it was influential at the time of its release, but I don't think I'll be listening to this one again.

I'm never ever going to say "Oooh you know what, let's listen to that Throbbing Gristle album while we cook dinner, yes I'd love a glass of Rioja please". That's not to say it wasn't an interesting listen. Definitely one that goes down as an experience!

There are 2 or 3 very nice moments, but overall there's really nothing there that I would want to listen again. Doing experimental things can be cool, but the listener must be able to feel something through it, which didn't happens to me here.

I was expecting worse after everything I’d seen here. But tbh, there were moments that didn’t feel too far off a film score or some ambient music, which is to say, not unpleasant. That being said, most of the album was challenging, and I don’t really want to listen again. But it was artistically interesting, particularly considering when it was released.

god, what is this?

The best song on the album….isn’t really on the album: United. It sounds like Kraftwerk. The rest of the album is a difficult listen. It is interesting, but not something I’d ever recommend to anyone. This album might put you in a trance, or cause you to slowly go insane. Either way, it could be the soundtrack to your nightmares. 2.5/5.

Maybe for tripping in a basement, but this album just doesn't hit at 10am on a Tuesday.

Thats LSD music : )

Noisy and beepy

A hard listen with small nuggets resembling proto industrial, I guess

Eh...I can appreciate that there is some avante guarde merit there but not for me.

😳 Throwing in an extra star on the assumption that they pioneered something.

Just plain weird

This record, more than Kraftwerk, has the DNA of all the great industrial bands of the 90s and 2000s. NIN has been my favorite band since 1994 and while this is no Downward Spiral, I get the reference.

I didn’t really enjoy listening to any of this and it almost left me weeping on the floor. I guess I found it conceptually interesting, but not really something to listen to for entertainment or comfort.

It's throbbing gristle - one can only take so much at a time.

Very different Talks about a lot of morbid topics, hence the name

Not for me

yuck

First dive into industrial metal.

Very weird. The whole talking bits were interesting. Not my jam though

I was pretty happy to see that the songs were short. Turns out, short is very much relative... For a mediocre pop song, two minutes is nice and brisk. For a loop of computer sounds it's... Not. And, like, I even kind of like the idea behind this album, and thought it stabilized a bit later, but man, way too much of this was just unpleasant noise that went on too long.

I don’t even know how to rate this on a standard like/dislike scale.

Industrial. Le pongo un 2 porque alguna no es ruido sin más...

La única canción que me ha gustado ha sido una que puso Deezer cuando el disco se había terminado. Bueno, y I.B.M. era graciosa. Género Industrial, avant-garde. Bueno, sí, un poco ruido de fábrica sí que parece. Eso es cierto que está muy logrado. Por eso, y por I.B.M., lo salvo del 1.

A bit to experimental. Not my kind of soup.

It's like a timecapsule to back when this was experimental and new. Some early examples of like synthwave with AB/7A en dark synth with Hamburger lady. Very interesting.

Odd synth music that was interesting as a concept, but didn’t enjoy

Just noise and didn't care. Sorry. Only so much ambience a gal can handle

Throbbing Gristle, what a name to represent a very interesting album. Beginning caught me off guard big time, each song seemed like I was communicating with an Alien. Weeping and hamburger lady were decent trippy songs. The album ended with some less Alieny music, which soothed me on my bike ride home. This band HAD to be abducted because no other type of inspiration makes sense