The life cycle of a industrial/ebm/noise band

[phee]

I just saw that Combichrist has a "Best of" or "Early Years" compilation coming out. Now Combichrist has been around since 2003 (less then a decade) my mind started going... It re-enforced my theory about the life cycle of industrial/ebm/noise bands for the last 25 years give or take a day.

Step one: Formation

- A IEN (industrial/EBM/Noise) band forms (usually from the wreckage of a previous one).

Step two: Single/Digital Single

- The band releases a much anticipated (usually by the fans of the old band that fell apart) single with about 2 original songs... and about 13 remixes from other IEN bands (one of whom is oddly done by the old band that broke up to form this current band).

Step three: The song is played A LOT.

- Generally in local goth/IEN clubs. And usually not a good remix but a highly requested bad remix is played for months.

Step four: The album

- The full length album finally comes out.... only 8 tracks long, 5 shorter then the single, and one of the tracks is oddly another remix. (maybe a tour?)

Step five: The Remix album

- A two CD album of remixes is released, usually with one or two new tracks on it (again with IEN remixes... one breakbeat one that no one ever listens to, and another remix by the now non existant band that this band came from

Step Six: Another single/EP

- Contains the long awaited follow up! but the band has now gone in a radically different direction, incorperating female vocals and an acoustic guitar. One awesome track! Several shitty remixes... and one not so shitty one where "The girl" sings.

Step Seven: An album of new material is supposed to come out that doesn't.

- But somehow some DJ has tracks from it.... go figure.

Step Eight: A best of album is released

- Never mind the fact that only one album actually has ever come out, the band has been around now for almost 4 to 8 years! time for a best of. (More shitty remixes) And the tracks that one DJ had all to himself for a while now everyone has.... great.

Step Nine: The original band has reformed! (The other band is kind of broken up)

- All the fans rejoice! The stuff is played again. (With some shitty remixes)

Step Ten: The jaded members of the kind of broken up band, who were not in the original band... start a new band. Go back to the beginning.

[candyman]

Wow its just like all the stars in the sky...but we don't hear about all the drama that goes on in the galaxy...

[DJ Saint]

pretty funny and in some (most?) cases rather true.

Interesting that some bands can last 25+ years (Vomito Negro for example), continue to release great material and see no need for a greatest hits. They prefer instead to carry on releasing music feeling their greatest hits have yet to be written.

As for that Combichrist release you mention - it's not to be considered a best of or greatest hits release, moreso a collection of deleted singles, the 12" vinyl on CD for the first time and rarities. And looking at the track listing I welcome the release. It's all the early GOOD noise-influenced stuff that the City Club and Necto crowd would thumb their noses up at. One can only hope the casual fan who latched onto their stuff later (ie: Everybody Hates You) gets the much needed smack in the face of how much DIFFERENT (perhaps better?) this band was early on...