Industrial Records Video (UK)

Background: Industrial Records Video was the multimedia offshoot of the record label Industrial Records, formed in 1976 by Throbbing Gristle, a British musical and performance art group who were pioneers of the industrial music genre. (February 16, 1980) Nicknames: "Lightning Bolt of Doom"

Logo: On a black background, we see the Industrial Records logo, a grungy, black and white still photo of what looks like a chimney or some sort of obelisk (previously thought to be the chimney at Auschwitz, now revealed to be the former Bankside Power Station in London, now the Tate Modern art museum). After approximately 10 seconds, the logo slowly moves to the right side, growing smaller as it does. It stops, and after a few seconds, the words "Industrial Records Video" wipe on from right to left (with a grainy, coarse effect) to the left of the Industrial logo. The grey background of the Industrial logo turns red a couple of seconds after the text is formed. A red rectangle appears from the center of the Industrial logo and wipes itself across the screen in both directions. The logo of Throbbing Gristle, a white stylized lightning bolt with a drop shadow, fades in from the center of the screen and grows in size, nearly taking up the entire height of the screen. The end result resembles the cover of the 1979 Fetish Records reissue of Throbbing Gristle's 1977 debut album, The Second Annual Report.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The Industrial Records logo moving and shrinking to the right, the text wiping on, the logo turning red, the rectangle forming and the Throbbing Gristle logo zooming in.

Music/Sounds: Starts with a recording of intense, swirling wind (or synthesized noise which resembles wind) which goes on for around 30 seconds. As the Industrial logo turns red it fades into a harsh synthesized drone. As the lightning bolt logo zooms into view, we hear three rising synthesizer notes, which are echoed as the drone slowly fades out.

Availability: Extremely rare. Can be found on the UK Throbbing Gristle VHS "Recording Heathen Earth", which can also be seen on Dailymotion.

Scare Factor: Nightmare. If you are unacquainted with the scene and happen to catch the logo playing, you will most likely find this frightening and disturbing with the darkness, the Industrial Records logo, the grungy and unfriendly text, the blood red colour changes, the sharp-angled lightning bolt zooming up and most of all, the horrendous synthesizer drone that occupies it. However, for those who are familiar with Throbbing Gristle and the industrial music scene and/or are used to it, this shouldn't be a problem.