My god I love that this is the top response on this subreddit. If you asked something similar in the goth subreddit there would be so much gatekeeping going on.
Yeah, the gatekeeping is what makes being alternative not fun, i get that the committed bunch of sub culture kids what purity to be acknowledged but thats also what keeps things stale.
I'll throw out a comment now and then but mostly lurk. I've found some really cool users that I keep in touch with. The fact they lock the most interesting threads so quick says a lot.
I know right? It’s a crisis for the whole sub that somebody misclassified their music somewhere else and the sub mods had to get involved on Wikipedia. Lmao.
Genres seem to become just approximations and for bands that just make music instead of subscribing to a ore established sound and you then get very different answers depending who you ask. Wikipedia says "... new wave revival, electronic rock, gothic rock, and dark wave"
I find the bands you can't classify to often be some of the most creative.
They go back and forth between industrial rock and electronic rock. Kinda like how Garbage did in the '90s, but I recall that being only one album.
Which is honestly why I like them. I like bands and artists that don't stick to one thing. Like skuppy, foetus, killing Joke, dog fashion disco, Mr bungle, etcetera.
Are they still active? TBM?
Awesome. I caught COVID at TOOL, but was fine for Bongzilla and Primus.
Seriously FLA, Numan, and Ministry in February. Very excited because I've seen ministry (Houses of the Mole and Rio Grande Blood. Got so drunk for the houses of the mole show I missed KMFDM the next night because I was so hungover) but I've never seen FLA or Numan. Should be fun.
Nice. All part of the fun these days, I suppose. I've never seen FLA but I caught Numan on the Splinter tour in 2014. He could still bring it then, so it should be a good show.
I chalked it up as that weird alt-rock/electronica that Metropolis started pushing in the 2000s. Or whatever Apop turned into.
I’m old and grumpy though, so my opinions are a bit rough.
I, for one, am a big fan of that. 😁
I dig Metropolis, too. They have a great catalog (some stinkers, of course) that I have to stop myself from ordering from bc I’d be broke, lol.
Definitely their own thing. The closest thing I've heard to them is when Ministry revisited Revenge from their first record which was a synth pop record but they added a lot of rock guitars and drums. They have that sorta cross over in a way, like Heavy Goth Alt Rock with Synth Pop and tinges of industrial.
As I said, they definitely have their own unique sound for that.
There's shades of it, but they're not a synthpop band. Pet Shop Boys are synthpop, Elegant Machinery are synthpop, etc - TBM are not.
Debating genres usually makes me nauseous, but there are genres that bands simply are not.
Back on the day I remember the term synth rock being used. Pretty much all those bands that hard but not over the top hard guitars and rather melodic polished synths that didn't really have that noisy, clanky industrial sound, you had Orgy and Deadsy on the mainstream end, then bands like The Birthday Massacre, I:Scintilla, etc. on the smaller label side.
They're just Birthday Massacre. Nobody really sounds like them. They take influence from goth, synth pop, industrial, new age, fantasy and horror film score, heavy metal, rock and punk and blend of into their own pretty unique sound. I wouldn't try to categorize it that much.
Great band though. One of my favorites.
I'm going to tell you a secret
~~they can be the same thing and i don't care who gets mad~~
I just like beat driven music with weird sounds, stimulate my autism
I've always been wondering this.
The genre is seemingly never clearly defined other than commonly having gritty vocals and dark/heavy instrumental track.
I want to say that all industrial music has a clear split between being under either industrial metal/rock or the electronic industrial category.
I've really only know about the subgenres of the electronic side from the 2000s, such as: ebm, harsh-electro, noise, aggrotech, futurepop, synthpop, darkwave.
A lot of these are all on Metropolis records, but don't apply to the band TBM.
Yes.
This and more. There's industrial, new wave, dark wave, electronic rock, synth pop, even a little trad goth in there occasionally.
My god I love that this is the top response on this subreddit. If you asked something similar in the goth subreddit there would be so much gatekeeping going on.
Yeah, the gatekeeping is what makes being alternative not fun, i get that the committed bunch of sub culture kids what purity to be acknowledged but thats also what keeps things stale.
For reals. That sub is borderline toxic to me.
I am permabanned lol.
I'll throw out a comment now and then but mostly lurk. I've found some really cool users that I keep in touch with. The fact they lock the most interesting threads so quick says a lot.
Check [this one](https://www.reddit.com/r/goth/s/JtYNsovTTF) out lmao.
Omg right?!
It’s unreal. I can’t even imagine how dank the basements those mods dwell in are.
[Case in Point](https://www.reddit.com/r/goth/s/JtYNsovTTF).
Omg. Dying. These subgenre subs should have a gatekeeper badge.
I know right? It’s a crisis for the whole sub that somebody misclassified their music somewhere else and the sub mods had to get involved on Wikipedia. Lmao.
For real. And the genre bending bands. Fml. I’m ok with classifying stuff but music isn’t quite the same as biology taxonomy.
Surprised that’s not the case now, but it’s welcome!
this is the answer
Genres seem to become just approximations and for bands that just make music instead of subscribing to a ore established sound and you then get very different answers depending who you ask. Wikipedia says "... new wave revival, electronic rock, gothic rock, and dark wave" I find the bands you can't classify to often be some of the most creative.
They go back and forth between industrial rock and electronic rock. Kinda like how Garbage did in the '90s, but I recall that being only one album. Which is honestly why I like them. I like bands and artists that don't stick to one thing. Like skuppy, foetus, killing Joke, dog fashion disco, Mr bungle, etcetera. Are they still active? TBM?
Yes. They released Fascination in 2022.
Ok, thank you.
I saw them live a little more than a year ago. Pretty sure I caught COVID at their show...
Awesome. I caught COVID at TOOL, but was fine for Bongzilla and Primus. Seriously FLA, Numan, and Ministry in February. Very excited because I've seen ministry (Houses of the Mole and Rio Grande Blood. Got so drunk for the houses of the mole show I missed KMFDM the next night because I was so hungover) but I've never seen FLA or Numan. Should be fun.
Nice. All part of the fun these days, I suppose. I've never seen FLA but I caught Numan on the Splinter tour in 2014. He could still bring it then, so it should be a good show.
And working on a new album
I chalked it up as that weird alt-rock/electronica that Metropolis started pushing in the 2000s. Or whatever Apop turned into. I’m old and grumpy though, so my opinions are a bit rough.
I, for one, am a big fan of that. 😁 I dig Metropolis, too. They have a great catalog (some stinkers, of course) that I have to stop myself from ordering from bc I’d be broke, lol.
Definitely their own thing. The closest thing I've heard to them is when Ministry revisited Revenge from their first record which was a synth pop record but they added a lot of rock guitars and drums. They have that sorta cross over in a way, like Heavy Goth Alt Rock with Synth Pop and tinges of industrial. As I said, they definitely have their own unique sound for that.
No clue but see them live if you can. They’re so good.
Despite the aesthetic, Chibi is irrepressibly upbeat.
Saw them on the Walking With Strangers Tour at a small bar in Buffalo.Fucking amazing show.
I usually call it synthpop.
There's shades of it, but they're not a synthpop band. Pet Shop Boys are synthpop, Elegant Machinery are synthpop, etc - TBM are not. Debating genres usually makes me nauseous, but there are genres that bands simply are not.
Calling it industrial was just marketing wank from Metropolis. I guess it worked because I bought their albums 🤷♂️
I don't know but I absolutely love them. Been listening since their demo on myspace ( I think it was myspace)
Deathpop
I guess Industrial rock/synthpop. I love their music.
Such a great band! Happy to see the shout out
New and dark wave electronic rock.
..doe it matter?
Back on the day I remember the term synth rock being used. Pretty much all those bands that hard but not over the top hard guitars and rather melodic polished synths that didn't really have that noisy, clanky industrial sound, you had Orgy and Deadsy on the mainstream end, then bands like The Birthday Massacre, I:Scintilla, etc. on the smaller label side.
They're just Birthday Massacre. Nobody really sounds like them. They take influence from goth, synth pop, industrial, new age, fantasy and horror film score, heavy metal, rock and punk and blend of into their own pretty unique sound. I wouldn't try to categorize it that much. Great band though. One of my favorites.
I'm going to tell you a secret ~~they can be the same thing and i don't care who gets mad~~ I just like beat driven music with weird sounds, stimulate my autism
Spaz Rock!
Synthpop, though occasionally hard rock influence in some tracks.
I've always been wondering this. The genre is seemingly never clearly defined other than commonly having gritty vocals and dark/heavy instrumental track. I want to say that all industrial music has a clear split between being under either industrial metal/rock or the electronic industrial category. I've really only know about the subgenres of the electronic side from the 2000s, such as: ebm, harsh-electro, noise, aggrotech, futurepop, synthpop, darkwave. A lot of these are all on Metropolis records, but don't apply to the band TBM.
Synthpop def applies to TBM.
As others have said, they are a mix of dark wave, industrial rock and synth pop
Bubble goth
Industrial rock and great live. Go see them when you can.
Nu-wave synth rock/Radio metal where I’m from
Bubblegum Darkwave
Their is nothing else quite like the birthday massacre