Throbbing Gristle

In 2003, after a rock critic announced he would listen to live Throbbing Gristle CDs for a continuous 24-hour period, band member Chris Carter warned, "I hope your ears don't bleed." He wasn't kidding. Twenty-seven years after a member of British Parliament referred to them as "wreckers of civilization," this English quartet remains best known as inventors of industrial music. For half a decade they churned out made-to-shock music and married it with abrasive skull-crushing noise. Today, their records play like Monty Python skits without the jokes.

Starting in 1976, Carter, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, Genesis P-Orridge, and Cosey Fanni Tutti challenged listeners with Burroughs-esque "cut-ups," and twisted lyrics on subjects like mutilation, murder, sex, and Nazism. Their first full-length, 2nd Annual Report, is a chaotic debut that snidely embraces redundancy by including three versions of "Slug Bait," four cuts of "Maggot Brain," and a disturbing tune called "Zyclon B Zombie" about an insecticide used for murder at Auschwitz. There is a lot of noise here, and it doesn't always seem choreographed. TG's second record, D.o.A.: The Third and Final Report, is a modicum more accessible. The most intense track, "Hamburger Lady," is also one of the band's most intriguing. "There's no end in site," murmurs P-Orridge under a Doppler synth-and-sample collage that drones as he tells the story of a suffering burn victim. None of this is dinner-party music, but this CD is worth spinning once or twice for friends, not least for the one legitimate electro-dance track, "AB/7A." The reissue also includes two tracks from an early EP: "Five Knuckle Shuffle" (a treatise on masturbation) and "We Hate You (Little Girls)." 20 Jazz Funk Hits is neither jazz nor funk, but there are complete tunes here that are less chaotic than on the band's previous albums. For the uninitiated listener who hates compilations, this is a decent place to start. "Still Waiting" plays like a blueprint for '90s techno-texture outfits like Autechre. "Exotica" is a lovely ambient piece, and "Hot on the Heels of Love" could easily have Xed-up ravers humping on the dance floor. TG's final album, Heathen Earth, continues the band's momentum, and would be worth the purchase if the album's best track, "Adrenalin," wasn't already included on Greatest Hits: Entertainment Through Pain. In fact, for listeners who are only mildly interested, TG's Greatest Hits is probably the best deal of all since it really does include (surprise!) the best stuff from TG's albums. Although the foursome split in 1981, they dipped into the archives and went on to release dozens of live records. After a reunion in 2004, they announced that their last ever show would go down in April, 2005. (DAVID MALLEY)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide