Coldwave (USA)
From ArticleWorld
Since the early 1990’s, Coldwave exploded into the American music scene and had never really given up. Much of the style is based on the style of music that was set as a standard by early Ministry music and was carried on be a list of industrial bands.
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The music
Coldwave music in the United States is totally different from the genre with the same name in France and the United Kingdom. Where in Europe it was a style that signified the transition of punk music to new wave, the American version came later and was a more raw industrial style that also had some punk undertones to it.
The music relies heavily on the raw power of the electric guitar to set the tone with drums assisting. The style is made unique with the involvement of a synthesizer to dominate the music at times with a variety of sounds and distortions.
The Coldwave era
From 1992 thru 1996, Coldwave found a strong nitche in the music scene and took some of the thunder that the industrial genre had at the time. Much of the music was similar to typical industrial except that the guitars were the frontrunners and not the strong synthesizer sounds. Much of the music showed a brutal flare that was embraced by the youth at the time.
Many of the bands of that time flourished until the industrial scene began to revert to a more underground standing. At this point many of the bands either followed suite, changed their style to fit another genre, or they just broke up.
Since the end
Since the end of the Coldwave era, many of the bands have either found new nitches in the industrial genre, the gothic genre, or still persue the style of Coldwave, but with undertones that are similar to traditional to either heavy metal or industrial as a whole. Some of the bands that still remain with strong ties to this genre are 16 Volt, Hate Dept., and smaller bands that hold ties to former coldwave bands or following in their own path.
The split of industrial music and coldwave
For the past few years industrial music has begun to evolve into two base genres. One is more of a techno mesh and is continuing down that path with bands such as Assemblage 23, VNV Nation, and Razed In Black leading the charge.
The other direction is more to the roots of industrial, which is closely related to Coldwave using the hard sounds that made industrial popular. With these two directions, many of the undertones that made coldwave what it was are returning as well.