Noise rock
Encyclopedia
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk
rock music
that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality
and especially dissonance
, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.
has said that
Many noise rock groups have a confrontational performance style which mirrors the aggression of their music. This reaches back to The Who
and Jimi Hendrix
, who were famous for destroying their instruments on stage, and Iggy Pop
, of the Stooges
, and Darby Crash
, of the Germs
, who lacerated their bodies in a spectacle comparable to the performance art
of Chris Burden
and Vito Acconci
. Acconci was also a significant inspiration for no wave
. Some performers, such as Black Flag
and the Birthday Party
, for example, also physically assaulted audience members, on occasion.
1980s noise rock musicians tended to adopt a Spartan, utilitarian mode of dress following the hardcore punk
ethos and in partial reaction against the more ostentatious elements of punk fashion
. Steve Albini
articulated an ethical stance that emphasized restraint, irony, and self-sufficiency. The Butthole Surfers
were an exception in their desire to dress as bizarrely as possible. Several bands also made public reference to drug use, particularly LSD
(Jimi Hendrix, the Butthole Surfers) and heroin (the Velvet Underground
, Royal Trux
). Many contemporary noise rock musicians, such as the Locust
, Comparative Anatomy
, and Lightning Bolt, have a very theatrical mode of presentation and wear costumes. Some bands incorporate visual displays, such as film or video art
.
. Examples of commercially successful figures include the Grateful Dead
, Jimi Hendrix
, The Who
, and Neil Young
. Underground rock musicians such as the Stooges
, the Velvet Underground
, and the MC5 incorporated elements of free jazz
and minimalism
. More obscure musicians, such as the Monks
, San Francisco's Fifty Foot Hose
, and Japan's Les Rallizes Dénudés
, also incorporated the effects of dissonance. The German groups described as Krautrock
are significant influences on later noise rock, particularly Can
and Faust
. Lou Reed
's 1975 album Metal Machine Music
, which entirely eschewed song structure in favor of a minimalist wave of guitar feedback, also anticipated and influenced many later developments in noise rock. Punk rock groups such as the Sex Pistols
, the Clash
, and the Ramones
tended to avoid extreme dissonance, preferring a more traditional, straight-ahead approach to rock'n'roll. One exception was the L.A. hardcore punk
group the Germs, who pursued punk rock with an amateurish, free-form tenacity.
scene, featuring such artists as Mars
and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, which began to coalesce in 1978, was also an essential development in noise rock. While no wave included a variety of post-punk, experimental tendencies (different groups incorporated elements of free jazz
, soul
, and disco
), the most abrasive groups would find their innovations streamlined into noise rock tradition. Chrome
, from San Francisco, produced their own style of psychedelic punk, which shared some common ground with the no wave groups.
Australian noise rock also developed in the late 1970s. The Birthday Party
took a great deal of influence from rockabilly
, and is also formative on the deathrock
genre, while The Scientists
anticipated grunge
.
and Big Black
(Chicago), Butthole Surfers
, Scratch Acid
(Texas), Black Flag
(Los Angeles), The Melvins
(Montesano, Washington), Sonic Youth
, Live Skull
, Swans
, White Zombie
, and Helmet
(New York), Pussy Galore
and Royal Trux
(Washington DC), among many others. These bands were initially referred to as "pigfuck" by Robert Christgau
, in a reference to Bertolucci
's Last Tango in Paris
, though the increasingly melodic tendencies of many of these groups quickly rendered the tag misleading. The Minneapolis label Amphetamine Reptile released a great deal of music in this tradition.
Industrial
groups (such as Throbbing Gristle
) developed in parallel to, and sometimes in collaboration with, the noise rock groups.
Many of these bands went on to temper the initial ferocity and amelodicism of their approach. Sonic Youth spoke highly of the Beatles
, Pussy Galore covered (and were influenced by) the Rolling Stones
, Black Flag drew inspiration from Black Sabbath
, and the Butthole Surfers worked with John Paul Jones
and emulated Jimi Hendrix
.
Beginning in 1986, the British group Napalm Death
created "grindcore
" by melding the noise rock of Swans with hardcore punk
and death metal
. While later grindcore groups tended to move in the direction of death metal, American bands such as Anal Cunt
continued in an extremely dissonant, freeform vein.
A similar scene also began to develop in Osaka, Japan, spearheaded by Hanatarash
and the Boredoms, who composed extremely short, fast "songs", marked by blasts of rhythm (reflecting an influence from grindcore), screaming, and overloaded guitars. Boredoms singer Yamantaka Eye
also worked with the New York City jazzcore group Naked City
. The Boredoms eventually evolved towards a far more meditative sound, taking inspiration from Krautrock
. Gore Beyond Necropsy
, Ground Zero
, Zeni Geva
, Guitar Wolf
, and Melt-Banana
extended the Japanese noise rock style. These bands also reflected the impact of the Japanoise
scene pioneered by Merzbow
.
The British shoegazing
groups developed an entirely distinct form of noise rock, largely derived from the so-called noise pop
related genre. Taking equal inspiration from the dream pop
groups, in addition to aggressive rock like the Jesus and Mary Chain
, The Telescopes
and Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine produced a warm, feminine, but also dissonant, formless and psychedelic genre that belongs in the noise rock tradition.
Some math rock
groups like Don Caballero
are also considered noise rock. Post-hardcore
, screamo
, and some riot grrl groups also take influence from noise rock.
and Hole
, and as a result had some mainstream currency during the period when grunge
was played on the radio. Nirvana's album In Utero
is particularly evident in its debts to '80s noise rock, and was produced by Big Black
frontman and noise rock icon Steve Albini
. Industrial metal
groups, such as Ministry
, Nine Inch Nails
, and White Zombie, were also indebted to noise rock.
In 1992 Melt-Banana
started in Japan, afterwards being picked up by John Zorn and Steve Albini and became a known act in Europe and the U.S. at the end of the nineties and a famous example of ultra fast noise rock.
Some east coast hardcore punk
groups, such as Born Against
, also took on associations with noise rock. The subsequent powerviolence
scene was close to noise rock, with Man Is the Bastard
eventually dissolving into unstructured noise music
. The Locust
also picked up from Man Is The Bastard and created a synth-driven powerviolence sound. They have gone to a more noise drone on their latest album New Erections
. Contemporaneous groups like Neurosis
and Today Is the Day
began to further blend noise rock with extreme metal
. Much of the resulting innovations have been incorporated into the more experimental practitioners of metalcore
, such as Converge
, Botch
, and Dillinger Escape Plan.
Beginning in the mid-90s, Providence became the center of a new crop of noise-rock bands, largely a product of the RISD
scene. These groups tended to owe less to traditional rock song structures, and were more minimal and drone-like. These included Lightning Bolt, Arab on Radar
, Six Finger Satellite
, and Pink and Brown
. Black Dice
were originally part of this scene, but moved to Brooklyn, where they aligned themselves with groups like Gang Gang Dance
. As journalist Marc Masters puts it, these groups "trafficked in a kind of art school version of 90's scum rock, mixing in overloaded effects, damaged electronics, and gimmicks like masks and in-mouth mics." These groups were also related, in part, to the San Diego scene that emerged from screamo
, most famously the Locust
, and to Wolf Eyes
, from Ann Arbor.
Noise rock also spread into the American South with bands such as the Ed Kemper Trio
. Heavily influenced by the sound of SST
and Touch and Go
, EK3 was the focus of the 2004 documentary People Will Eat Anything.
Mike Patton
is also an advocate of the noise rock scene, maintaining the label Ipecac
.
, These Are Powers
, AIDS Wolf
, Billy Bao, Black Dice
, The Death Set
, Oneida
, Parts and Labor, Fuck Buttons
, Indian Jewelry
, Neptune
, Fiasco
, Aa (Big A Little a)
, Girls in Love
, Magik Markers
, Mindflayer
, Part Chimp
, Slicing Grandpa
, Japanther
, and Hella
. In L.A. No Age
, Skeleteen, The Mae Shi
, HEALTH
, and Foot Village
practice the style. Pre
, Part Chimp
, Male Bonding
, and Action Beat
from the UK, The Intelligence
, from Seattle, Japandroids
from Vancouver, and The New Flesh, Animal Collective
and Ponytail
, from Baltimore are more examples of modern noise rock outfits. Experimental luthier Yuri Landman
has experimented with a variety of extended techniques, with instruments created for the benefit of numerous groups in the scene, including Sonic Youth
, Lightning Bolt, Liars
, HEALTH and Jad Fair
.
The post 2000 noise rock often features tribal polyrythmic
drum patterns. Recent bands have carried on older traditions while branching out and furthering their theatrics. Bands such as Comparative Anatomy
, Lightning Bolt, The Locust are known for wearing outlandish costumes.
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
and especially dissonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.
Style
Noise rock is an outgrowth of punk rock. Cult musician Thurston MooreThurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
has said that
Visual and conceptual elements
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, who were famous for destroying their instruments on stage, and Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, of the Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
, and Darby Crash
Darby Crash
Darby Crash was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear , co-founded The Germs...
, of the Germs
The Germs
The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...
, who lacerated their bodies in a spectacle comparable to the performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
of Chris Burden
Chris Burden
Christopher "Chris" Burden is an American artist working in performance, sculpture, and installation art.-Education:Burden studied for his B.A...
and Vito Acconci
Vito Acconci
Vito Hannibal Acconci is a Bronx, New York-born, Brooklyn-based designer, landscape architect, performance and installation artist.-Education:...
. Acconci was also a significant inspiration for no wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
. Some performers, such as Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
and the Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (band)
The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...
, for example, also physically assaulted audience members, on occasion.
1980s noise rock musicians tended to adopt a Spartan, utilitarian mode of dress following the hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
ethos and in partial reaction against the more ostentatious elements of punk fashion
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
. Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
articulated an ethical stance that emphasized restraint, irony, and self-sufficiency. The Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
were an exception in their desire to dress as bizarrely as possible. Several bands also made public reference to drug use, particularly LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
(Jimi Hendrix, the Butthole Surfers) and heroin (the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, Royal Trux
Royal Trux
Royal Trux was an American alternative rock band from 1987 to 2001, founded by Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema .-History:...
). Many contemporary noise rock musicians, such as the Locust
The Locust
The Locust is a musical group from San Diego, California, United States known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity, and new wave weirdness.- Style :...
, Comparative Anatomy
Comparative Anatomy (band)
Comparative Anatomy is an experimental drum & bass band from Charlottesville, Virginia. Known for their elaborate costumes, absurd humor, simple but diverse textures and unique sound, the band has recently become known in the experimental and noise rock scenes for their outlandish performances...
, and Lightning Bolt, have a very theatrical mode of presentation and wear costumes. Some bands incorporate visual displays, such as film or video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
.
Precursors
The origins of noise rock are in the first rock musicians who explored extreme dissonance and electronic feedbackAudio feedback
Audio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output...
. Examples of commercially successful figures include the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
. Underground rock musicians such as the Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
, the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, and the MC5 incorporated elements of free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
and minimalism
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
. More obscure musicians, such as the Monks
The Monks
Monks are a garage rock band, formed by American GIs who were based in Germany in the mid to late 1960s. They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made...
, San Francisco's Fifty Foot Hose
Fifty Foot Hose
Fifty Foot Hose is a psychedelic rock band that formed in San Francisco in the late 1960s, and reformed in the 1990s. They were one of the first bands to fuse rock and experimental music...
, and Japan's Les Rallizes Dénudés
Les Rallizes Denudes
Les Rallizes Dénudés were an influential, yet reclusive Japanese avant-garde band. They originally began in 1962 as a musical theatre troupe, however the formation of the band was not until 1967...
, also incorporated the effects of dissonance. The German groups described as Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
are significant influences on later noise rock, particularly Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
and Faust
Faust (band)
Faust are a German krautrock band. Formed in 1971 in Wümme, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, working with record producer Uwe Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner.-History:Faust...
. Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's 1975 album Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine β Ring, is the fifth solo album by Lou Reed. It was originally released as a double album by RCA Records in 1975...
, which entirely eschewed song structure in favor of a minimalist wave of guitar feedback, also anticipated and influenced many later developments in noise rock. Punk rock groups such as the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, the Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, and the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
tended to avoid extreme dissonance, preferring a more traditional, straight-ahead approach to rock'n'roll. One exception was the L.A. hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
group the Germs, who pursued punk rock with an amateurish, free-form tenacity.
1970s
The New York no waveNo Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
scene, featuring such artists as Mars
Mars (band)
Mars was a New York City No Wave band formed by vocalist Sumner Crane in 1975. He was joined by China Burg , Mark Cunningham , and artist Nancy Arlen , and briefly by guitarist Rudolph Grey. The band played one live gig under the name China before changing it to Mars...
and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, which began to coalesce in 1978, was also an essential development in noise rock. While no wave included a variety of post-punk, experimental tendencies (different groups incorporated elements of free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
), the most abrasive groups would find their innovations streamlined into noise rock tradition. Chrome
Chrome (band)
Chrome was an experimental rock group founded in San Francisco, California in 1976.Chrome took part of their inspiration for their rough and sometimes chaotic music from proto punk pioneers like The Stooges. The sound of the group was often coarse and featured heavy elements of feedback and...
, from San Francisco, produced their own style of psychedelic punk, which shared some common ground with the no wave groups.
Australian noise rock also developed in the late 1970s. The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (band)
The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...
took a great deal of influence from rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, and is also formative on the deathrock
Deathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...
genre, while The Scientists
The Scientists
The Scientists are an influential post-punk band from Perth, Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as Exterminators and then Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydney/London-based swamp rock band of the 1980s...
anticipated grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
.
1980s
A number of noise rock bands emerged from many different scenes in North America in the 1980s. These included The Jesus LizardThe Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard was an American alternative rock and noise rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial...
and Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
(Chicago), Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
, Scratch Acid
Scratch Acid
Scratch Acid was an Austin, Texas noise rock group formed in 1982. When they first began, their lineup was Steve Anderson , David Wm. Sims , Brett Bradford , David Yow , and Rey Washam and Win Vitosky...
(Texas), Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
(Los Angeles), The Melvins
The Melvins
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...
(Montesano, Washington), Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Live Skull
Live Skull
-Overview:Live Skull created abrasive no wave music not unlike their 1980s contemporaries Sonic Youth, Swans, Rat at Rat R, The Chameleons, Mars, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and Band of Susans. Their music featured angular guitar parts interspersed with bleak, quieter passages, for a haunting...
, Swans
Swans (band)
Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...
, White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
, and Helmet
Helmet (band)
Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
(New York), Pussy Galore
Pussy Galore (band)
Pussy Galore was an American garage rock band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1985. They had a constantly fluid line-up until their demise in 1990. Like many garage rock outfits, they were dogged by substance abuse problems...
and Royal Trux
Royal Trux
Royal Trux was an American alternative rock band from 1987 to 2001, founded by Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema .-History:...
(Washington DC), among many others. These bands were initially referred to as "pigfuck" by Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
, in a reference to Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
's Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
, though the increasingly melodic tendencies of many of these groups quickly rendered the tag misleading. The Minneapolis label Amphetamine Reptile released a great deal of music in this tradition.
Industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
groups (such as Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
) developed in parallel to, and sometimes in collaboration with, the noise rock groups.
Many of these bands went on to temper the initial ferocity and amelodicism of their approach. Sonic Youth spoke highly of the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Pussy Galore covered (and were influenced by) the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Black Flag drew inspiration from Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, and the Butthole Surfers worked with John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
and emulated Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.
Beginning in 1986, the British group Napalm Death
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
created "grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
" by melding the noise rock of Swans with hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
. While later grindcore groups tended to move in the direction of death metal, American bands such as Anal Cunt
Anal Cunt
Anal Cunt, also known as AxCx and A.C., was an American grindcore band that formed in Newton, Massachusetts in 1988. Since its inception, the band underwent a number of line-up changes. Known for its grindcore musical style and controversial lyrics, Anal Cunt released eight full-length studio...
continued in an extremely dissonant, freeform vein.
Hanatarash
Hanatarashi , meaning "sniveler" or "snot-nosed" in Japanese, was a noise band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye and featured Zeni Geva guitarist Mitsuru Tabata. The outfit was formed in Osaka, Japan in 1984 after Eye and Tabata met as stage hands at an Einstürzende Neubauten show...
and the Boredoms, who composed extremely short, fast "songs", marked by blasts of rhythm (reflecting an influence from grindcore), screaming, and overloaded guitars. Boredoms singer Yamantaka Eye
Yamantaka Eye
, real name , born February 13, 1964 in Kobe, is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms. He has changed his name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls himself eYe or EYヨ...
also worked with the New York City jazzcore group Naked City
Naked City (band)
Naked City was an avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Active primarily in New York City from 1988 to 1993, Naked City was initiated by Zorn as a "composition workshop" to test the limits of composition in a traditional rock band lineup...
. The Boredoms eventually evolved towards a far more meditative sound, taking inspiration from Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
. Gore Beyond Necropsy
Gore Beyond Necropsy
Gore Beyond Necropsy formed in 1989 in Hadano-City, Kanagawa, Japan. The group have had a prolific output of releases. They play a hybrid style of chaotic grindcore/noisegrind which they refer to as "Analdrillinggrind Harshit Core!!"....
, Ground Zero
Ground Zero (band)
Ground Zero was a Japanese noise/improvisation band during the 1990s led by guitarist and turntablist Yoshihide Otomo that had a large and rotating group of performers with two other regular performers-Musical style:...
, Zeni Geva
Zeni Geva
Zeni Geva is a Japanese heavy metal group led by singer and guitarist KK. Null, together with guitarist Mitsuru Tabata and drummer Tatsuya Yoshida...
, Guitar Wolf
Guitar Wolf
Guitar Wolf is a Japanese garage punk power trio founded in Nagasaki, Nagasaki in 1987. The band is known for songs with piercing vocals and an extremely loud style of noise-influenced punk which emphasizes heavy distortion and feedback...
, and Melt-Banana
Melt-Banana
Melt-Banana is a Japanese punk band that is known for playing extremely fast noise music mixed with experimental electronica and pop-based song structures. They have worked with artists as diverse as Merzbow, John Zorn, Mike Patton, and Discordance Axis...
extended the Japanese noise rock style. These bands also reflected the impact of the Japanoise
Japanoise
is a portmanteau of the words "Japanese" and "noise": a term applied to the diverse, prolific, and influential noise music scene of Japan. Primarily popular and active in the 1980s and 1990s but still alive today, the Japanoise scene is defined by a remarkable sense of musical freedom...
scene pioneered by Merzbow
Merzbow
is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
.
The British shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
groups developed an entirely distinct form of noise rock, largely derived from the so-called noise pop
Noise pop
Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative rock developed in the mid 1980s in the UK and US, that mixes atonal noise or feedback, or both, with the melodic instrumentation and production elements more often found in pop music, making it more melodic and angst-free than noise rock.-History:Noise pop has...
related genre. Taking equal inspiration from the dream pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
groups, in addition to aggressive rock like the Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
, The Telescopes
The Telescopes
The Telescopes were formed in 1987 by Stephen Lawrie and could best be described as a noise/space rock band - the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3 being influences and contemporaries.-History:...
and Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine produced a warm, feminine, but also dissonant, formless and psychedelic genre that belongs in the noise rock tradition.
Some math rock
Math rock
Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
groups like Don Caballero
Don Caballero
Don Caballero are an American rock group from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The group took their name from the character Guy Caballero, portrayed by Joe Flaherty, on the sketch comedy show Second City Television...
are also considered noise rock. Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
, screamo
Screamo
Screamo, though used loosely to generally describe music that features screamed vocals, is actually a musical subgenre of hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s...
, and some riot grrl groups also take influence from noise rock.
1990s
The '80s noise rock bands were significant influences on NirvanaNirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, and as a result had some mainstream currency during the period when grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
was played on the radio. Nirvana's album In Utero
In Utero
In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American grunge band Nirvana, released on September 13, 1993, on DGC Records. Nirvana intended the record to diverge significantly from the polished production of its previous album, Nevermind...
is particularly evident in its debts to '80s noise rock, and was produced by Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
frontman and noise rock icon Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
. Industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
groups, such as Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, and White Zombie, were also indebted to noise rock.
In 1992 Melt-Banana
Melt-Banana
Melt-Banana is a Japanese punk band that is known for playing extremely fast noise music mixed with experimental electronica and pop-based song structures. They have worked with artists as diverse as Merzbow, John Zorn, Mike Patton, and Discordance Axis...
started in Japan, afterwards being picked up by John Zorn and Steve Albini and became a known act in Europe and the U.S. at the end of the nineties and a famous example of ultra fast noise rock.
Some east coast hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
groups, such as Born Against
Born Against
Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989–1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk message and challenged what they perceived as problematic within the punk subculture of their time.-History:The group was founded in...
, also took on associations with noise rock. The subsequent powerviolence
Powerviolence
Powerviolence , is a raw and dissonant subgenre of hardcore punk. The style is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore.-History:...
scene was close to noise rock, with Man Is the Bastard
Man Is the Bastard
Man Is the Bastard were a pioneering hardcore punk band who contributed the name, and perhaps also the ethos, to the punk subgenre known as power violence...
eventually dissolving into unstructured noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
. The Locust
The Locust
The Locust is a musical group from San Diego, California, United States known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity, and new wave weirdness.- Style :...
also picked up from Man Is The Bastard and created a synth-driven powerviolence sound. They have gone to a more noise drone on their latest album New Erections
New Erections
New Erections is noise rock band The Locust's second album with ANTI- Records. It was released on March 20, 2007.-Track listing:#"AOTKPTA" - 3:03#"We Have Reached an Official Verdict: Nobody Gives a Shit" - 1:22...
. Contemporaneous groups like Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
and Today Is the Day
Today is the Day
Today Is the Day is an experimental noise rock/metal/grindcore band from Nashville, Tennessee. They have a diverse sound that includes influences from alternative rock, grindcore, & progressive rock among other genres...
began to further blend noise rock with extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
. Much of the resulting innovations have been incorporated into the more experimental practitioners of metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
, such as Converge
Converge (band)
Converge is an American band from Salem, Massachusetts. Playing a blend of hardcore punk and metal since 1990, Converge has helped to define many of the elements of the metalcore genre.-Description:...
, Botch
Botch (band)
Botch was a four-piece mathcore band from Tacoma, Washington, United States, that formed in 1993 and disbanded in 2002.-History:The band released two full-length albums and a handful of smaller releases including several singles and an EP. Its members went on an indefinite hiatus to form Roy,...
, and Dillinger Escape Plan.
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
scene. These groups tended to owe less to traditional rock song structures, and were more minimal and drone-like. These included Lightning Bolt, Arab on Radar
Arab on Radar
Arab on Radar are a Providence, Rhode Island based noise rock band founded in 1994. They went on hiatus in 2002. Members of the band went on to form or join the bands The Chinese Stars, Athletic Automaton, Made in Mexico, and most recently Doomsday Student...
, Six Finger Satellite
Six Finger Satellite
Six Finger Satellite are an American synthesizer-based post-hardcore band, based in Providence, Rhode Island.- History :The band formed in 1990 around a line-up of J. Ryan , John MacLean , Peter Phillips , Chris Dixon , and Rick Pelletier...
, and Pink and Brown
Pink and Brown
Pink and Brown were a noise rock/punk rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1997 when the members moved west from their old home of Providence, RI. The band consisted of two members: Pink and Brown . Pink played guitar and sang while Brown played drums...
. Black Dice
Black Dice
Black Dice is an experimental electronic music group currently based in Brooklyn, New York, USA.-Early years:Black Dice formed in spring 1997 soon after guitarist Bjorn Copeland met drummer Hisham Bharoocha and bassist Sebastian Blanck when they were students at the Rhode Island School of Design...
were originally part of this scene, but moved to Brooklyn, where they aligned themselves with groups like Gang Gang Dance
Gang Gang Dance
Gang Gang Dance is an American experimental music band based in Manhattan, New York City. The band is known for its distinctive sound which features synthesized electronics and percussion, plus the varied vocal styles of singer Lizzi Bougatsos...
. As journalist Marc Masters puts it, these groups "trafficked in a kind of art school version of 90's scum rock, mixing in overloaded effects, damaged electronics, and gimmicks like masks and in-mouth mics." These groups were also related, in part, to the San Diego scene that emerged from screamo
Screamo
Screamo, though used loosely to generally describe music that features screamed vocals, is actually a musical subgenre of hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s...
, most famously the Locust
The Locust
The Locust is a musical group from San Diego, California, United States known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity, and new wave weirdness.- Style :...
, and to Wolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes is a post-industrial/noise band from Detroit, Michigan, United States.-History:Wolf Eyes began as a solo project of former Nautical Almanac member Nate Young, with Aaron Dilloway joining in 1998, and John Olson in 2000...
, from Ann Arbor.
Noise rock also spread into the American South with bands such as the Ed Kemper Trio
Ed Kemper Trio
The Ed Kemper Trio was an independent Art/Noise rock band based in Montgomery, Alabama. The band was formed in 1997 after the breakup of two Montgomery-area noise rock bands, Bert and He is the Queen. EK3's sound was characterized by short asymmetrical song structures, sheer volume and odd meter....
. Heavily influenced by the sound of SST
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...
and Touch and Go
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...
, EK3 was the focus of the 2004 documentary People Will Eat Anything.
Mike Patton
Mike Patton
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
is also an advocate of the noise rock scene, maintaining the label Ipecac
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
.
2000s
After 2000, noise rock groups formed all over the world. These included Scarling.Scarling.
Scarling. is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, whose core members are Jessicka and Christian Hejnal-Addams. The band formed in 2002. They have released two albums, Sweet Heart Dealer and So Long, Scarecrow.-Name:...
, These Are Powers
These Are Powers
These Are Powers is an experimental music group from Brooklyn, New York and Chicago, Illinois. The band mixes polyrhythm with samples and other electronic sounds and noise rock.-History:...
, AIDS Wolf
AIDS Wolf
AIDS Wolf is a Canadian noise rock band, who debuted on Pasalymany tapes but are currently on Skin Graft Records and Lovepump United.-Name:According to singer Chloe Lum, the name "AIDS Wolf" comes from an urban legend wherein wolves carry AIDS and pass it to house pets who then pass it on to...
, Billy Bao, Black Dice
Black Dice
Black Dice is an experimental electronic music group currently based in Brooklyn, New York, USA.-Early years:Black Dice formed in spring 1997 soon after guitarist Bjorn Copeland met drummer Hisham Bharoocha and bassist Sebastian Blanck when they were students at the Rhode Island School of Design...
, The Death Set
The Death Set
The Death Set is an art punk music group formed in 2005 in Sydney, Australia. Six months after its inception the band moved to the East Coast of the United States, living in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Brooklyn respectively, where the band found an audience for its style of experimental, cross...
, Oneida
Oneida (band)
Oneida is a rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their influences include psychedelic rock, krautrock, electronic, noise rock, and minimalism, but the overall structure and intent of their music cannot be easily traced to any of these styles...
, Parts and Labor, Fuck Buttons
Fuck Buttons
Fuck Buttons are a two-piece electronic group formed in Bristol in 2004 by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power.-Biography:Hung and Power grew up in Worcester. Hung was influenced by Aphex Twin, while Power was a fan of Mogwai. They developed a friendship in 2004 while attending art school in...
, Indian Jewelry
Indian jewelry
Indian Jewelry is a band from Houston, Texas that is known for its droning vision music and seizure-inducing stage show. Since forming in 2002 the band has gone through several touring incarnations as Hong Kong, the Turquoise Diamonds, BENZENE LOTION RASH, the Corpses of Waco, Electric Fuck All,...
, Neptune
Neptune (band)
Neptune is a noise music band from Boston, noted for having built their custom-made guitars and basses out of scrap metal. The band also plays custom-made percussion instruments and electric lamellophones.-Band history:...
, Fiasco
Fiasco (band)
Fiasco is a Brooklyn-based trio formed in October 2005 by Jonathan Edelstein , Julian Bennett Holmes , and Lucian Buscemi , although all three are multi-instrumentalists. They are known for their intense, high-energy music, their energetic live shows, and for playing off the venue's stage, in the...
, Aa (Big A Little a)
Aa (Big A Little a)
Aa is a musical project from Brooklyn, New York. The core members are Aron Wahl, Josh Bonati , and John Atkinson each of whom play percussive instruments and synthesizers...
, Girls in Love
Girls In Love
Girls in Love is a British children's drama series produced by Granada Television which aired on CITV. It is based on the book of the same title , both created by UK author Jacqueline Wilson that follows the romantic thrills and spills of three teenage girls - Ellie, Magda and Nadine...
, Magik Markers
Magik Markers
The Magik Markers are a noise rock band from Hartford, Connecticut. The members, Elisa Ambrogio, Pete Nolan and Leah Quimby started the band in their basement in 2001. After opening for Sonic Youth on their American tour in 2004, the band gained notoriety...
, Mindflayer
Mindflayer (band)
Mindflayer is a noise rock band from Providence, Rhode Island, made up of Brian Chippendale and Matt Brinkman which was formed out of Fort Thunder....
, Part Chimp
Part Chimp
Part Chimp is a band from Camberwell in London that were formed by Tim Cedar, Jon Hamilton and Nick Prior in 2000. Current line-up is Tim , Jon , Joe McLaughlin and Iain Hinchliffe ....
, Slicing Grandpa
Slicing Grandpa
Slicing Grandpa is an experimental music/noise rock band based in Seattle, Washington. The group formed in the spring of 1993 in Elmira, New York, by John Laux and Lance Tarr. The group's sound is minimalistic, repetitive and harsh, with recordings tending to be produced at high volume on...
, Japanther
Japanther
Japanther is an art project, established by Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, then students at Pratt Institute. Japanther was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and the 2011 Venice Biennale, and has collaborated with a diverse pool of artists such as gelitin, Penny Rimbaud, Gee Vaucher, Dan Graham,...
, and Hella
Hella (band)
Hella is an American band from Sacramento, California. They play a technical blend of math rock, noise rock, and experimental rock. The primary members of the band are Spencer Seim on electric guitar and Zach Hill on drums...
. In L.A. No Age
No Age
No Age is a two-person American indie rock group consisting of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Allen Spunt. The band is based in Los Angeles and is currently signed to Sub Pop records...
, Skeleteen, The Mae Shi
The Mae Shi
The Mae Shi are an experimental punk band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002.-History:The band was formed by Tim Byron and Ezra Buchla, who had known each other for years, having spent time growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of Claremont together—Jeff Byron and Buchla were classmates at...
, HEALTH
HEALTH (band)
Health is an American noise rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band's 2007 release with Crystal Castles charted at position nine in the UK indie singles chart.- History :...
, and Foot Village
Foot Village
Foot Village is a tribal noise rock band from Los Angeles, consisting of four drummers of which two also do the vocals.Band members Brian Miller and Grace Lee come from the band Gang Wizard, Josh Taylor was in Friends Forever....
practice the style. Pre
Pre (band)
Pre, often written as PRE, is a British noise rock band on Skin Graft Records and Lovepump United. It is based in London and was formed around 2005 with singer Akiko Matsuura, known for taking the stage in only her underwear and extensive stage diving. Pre includes former members of Todd and Seafood...
, Part Chimp
Part Chimp
Part Chimp is a band from Camberwell in London that were formed by Tim Cedar, Jon Hamilton and Nick Prior in 2000. Current line-up is Tim , Jon , Joe McLaughlin and Iain Hinchliffe ....
, Male Bonding
Male Bonding (band)
Male Bonding is an English punk rock band. The group released their debut album, Nothing Hurts, on May 11, 2010.-History:Based in London, England Male Bonding is composed of John Arthur Webb , Kevin Hendrick and Robin Silas Christian...
, and Action Beat
Action Beat
Action Beat is an instrumental improvisational noise rockband from Bletchley, UK, consisting of a rotating line up of three or more drummers and four guitar players and a bass player. The band was founded in 2004 by core members Don McLean and James Carney...
from the UK, The Intelligence
The Intelligence (band)
The Intelligence is a lo-fi post-punk rock band from Seattle, founded by Lars Finberg, drummer of the A Frames.-Biography:The Intelligence was formed by Lars Finberg. Finberg played since the late '90s in other bands with vocalist/guitarist Erin Sullivan, and bassist Min Yee .A-Frames and the...
, from Seattle, Japandroids
Japandroids
Japandroids is a Canadian rock duo from Vancouver, British Columbia. The group consists of Brian King and David Prowse . Formed in 2006, Japandroids rose to prominence in 2009 following the release of their debut album Post-Nothing...
from Vancouver, and The New Flesh, Animal Collective
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
and Ponytail
Ponytail (band)
Ponytail was a 4-piece art rock band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, on the label We Are Free. Their sound has been compared to Deerhoof as well as Ecstatic Sunshine, since Dustin Wong was a founder of that band, and due to the band's experimental guitar work and unique vocal stylings...
, from Baltimore are more examples of modern noise rock outfits. Experimental luthier Yuri Landman
Yuri Landman
Yuri Landman is a Dutch experimental luthier who has made several experimental electric string instruments for a list of artists including Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Liars, Jad Fair of Half Japanese and Liam Finn...
has experimented with a variety of extended techniques, with instruments created for the benefit of numerous groups in the scene, including Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Lightning Bolt, Liars
Liars (band)
Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
, HEALTH and Jad Fair
Jad Fair
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist and graphic artist, most famous for being a founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.-Biography:In 1974, with his brother David, Jad Fair founded the lo-fi group Half Japanese...
.
The post 2000 noise rock often features tribal polyrythmic
Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms.Polyrhythm in general is a nonspecific term for the simultaneous occurrence of two or more conflicting rhythms, of which cross-rhythm is a specific and definable subset.—Novotney Polyrhythms can be distinguished from...
drum patterns. Recent bands have carried on older traditions while branching out and furthering their theatrics. Bands such as Comparative Anatomy
Comparative Anatomy (band)
Comparative Anatomy is an experimental drum & bass band from Charlottesville, Virginia. Known for their elaborate costumes, absurd humor, simple but diverse textures and unique sound, the band has recently become known in the experimental and noise rock scenes for their outlandish performances...
, Lightning Bolt, The Locust are known for wearing outlandish costumes.
Labels
The following is a list of record labels that specialize in noise rock.- Amphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile RecordsAmphetamine Reptile Records is a nationally renowned record label which was founded in 1986 by then-US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington State, US The label is best-known for its roster of noise rock artists, and its Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking In The Streets series of compilations.-History:Hazelmyer...
- Bulb RecordsBulb RecordsBulb Records is a Michigan-based record label that was formed in 1993 by Peter Larson , and James Magas ....
- Ecstatic Peace!
- Gold Standard LaboratoriesGold Standard LaboratoriesGold Standard Laboratories or GSL was an independent record label which was founded in 1993 in Boulder, Colorado by Sonny Kay. In 2000, it was relocated to San Diego, California, USA, and two years later, to Los Angeles. It was headquartered in L.A...
- Hanson RecordsHanson RecordsHanson Records is an American independent record label founded in Brighton, Michigan and now based in Oberlin, Ohio. It is operated by the musician Aaron Dilloway, formerly of the band Wolf Eyes.-History:...
- Homestead RecordsHomestead RecordsHomestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were...
- In the Red RecordsIn the Red RecordsIn the Red Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, CA formed in 1991 by Larry Hardy. It is known for hosting garage punk related bands on its label....
- Ipecac RecordingsIpecac RecordingsIpecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
- Load RecordsLoad RecordsLoad Records is an American noise/experimental independent record label based out of Providence, Rhode Island. "Load Records might possibly be in possession of the world's most challenging record roster," writes Mark Hensch of Thrash Pit...
- Narnack RecordsNarnack RecordsNarnack Records is an independent record label founded in 2002. The label developed in NYC & Brooklyn’s underground music scene, quickly becoming known for its ability for developing new artists, but also working with established bands like The Fall and The Slits...
- Silent ExplosionSilent ExplosionSilent Explosion was an independent record label founded by the band White Zombie in 1985 and discontinued in 1987.-History:The record label was started in order for the few indie albums that the band White Zombie recorded to be released under. White Zombie's albums were the only releases to bear...
- Skin Graft RecordsSkin Graft RecordsSkin Graft Records is an independent record label specializing in No Wave and noise rock music, originally based in Chicago, Illinois...
- SYRSonic Youth RecordingsSonic Youth Recordings is a record label established by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth in 1996. SYR was set up to allow the band to release records by themselves and their friends without the commercial pressures of a major label...
- Three One GThree One G31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California based record label, started by grindcore and hardcore musician Justin Pearson in 1994...
- Touch and Go RecordsTouch and Go RecordsTouch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...