Various Artists - Red Spot (1981)

Super overlooked comp from Subterranean Records can take care of all of your minimal wave and no wave needs. Super dark and super gritty, there's not really too much to dislike about this comp. It even has a rare Minimal Man track! Definitely worth checking out.

You have a forcefield
And a tracking beam
You pull me to you
With curiosity

Clock DVA - Thirst (1981)

Nice dark oldschool industrial with a heavy post-punk influence. Almost like a cross between Red Mecca and In the Flat Field. The album has a lot nice angular repetition all throughout. Thirst also serves as a good bridge between post-punk/gothic rock and industrial music if you ask me. Certaintly worth a listen if you're into post-punk and curious about industrial music or vice versa.

Maybe it was the empire of senses

It's not too clear

Portion Control - ..Step Forward (1984)

Excellent old-school EBM album out of London. A bit more on the synth-punky side of EBM, but the group also have this very distinct pop/new wave influence to them, and they even throw in kind of a tribal feel into some tracks. The song "Havoc Man" even reminds me of a more industrial/angry version of New Order's "Temptation" and surprisingly enough, they don't even remotely butcher that concept, in fact "Havoc Man" is one of my favorite tracks off the album. Definitely a really great EBM album and perhaps even a good starting point for those interesting in that genre. It's also a decent starting album for industrial music (albeit a more industrial rock than a Throbbing Gristle kind of industrial) and for synth-punk, as it delves into all of those genres. Definitely worth checking out.

There is hope; and there is vision

Angry looks pass me by

Cradled in your indecision

I really wonder; wonder why

Cabaret Voltaire - 1974-1976

While we're on the topic of really early works of well-known bands, here's 1974-76 by Cabaret Voltaire. This one is official and was released in 1980 and it consists mainly of the bands rawer, more experimental, and unrefined stuff. If you're looking for another Red Mecca or Micro-Phonies you're not going to find it here. Not to say that's a bad thing though, this album is excellent, just nowhere near as accessible as something like Red Mecca. It's a very peculiar album, definitely worth a listen, especially if you're a big fan of early industrial acts like Cabaret Voltaire or especially Throbbing Gristle.

Gonna make you shake
Keep your ass up well off the ground
Move to the music, DIG THE SOUND
Snake snake, snake snake, snake snake, snake

Monoton - Monotonprodukt 07 (1982)

Monoton as certainly an interesting group, formed in 1979 in good ol' Austria, whose music scene always seems to get slept on because most people are too busy idolizing Germany. Anyway the group makes some very chilling minimal synth. They offer such a textured sound and create such a spooky soundscape for being so repetitive. The album reminds me almost of a more minimal 20 Jazz Funk Greats, the two certainly have the same sinister atmosphere to them. It's just a great, hypnotic record, that needs to be heard to be understood, the album was so ahead of it's time, and it's definitely worth a listen if you ask me.

link

Lemon Kittens - We Buy Hammers for Daddy (1980)

Lemon Kittens were a really far-out Post-Punk who emerged from Reading in the 80's. The duo is really just all over the place on this album, ranging from bombastic and hyper tracks to song that are more slow and morbid. It definitely seems to me that these guys were influences by the No Wave scene going on in New York at the time. I also pick up an early-industrial kind of sound, which is great to see because I can't actually think of too much Industrial Post-Punk groups. They're like the bastard child of Throbbing Gristle and Y Pants, I mean that in the best way possible. Intriguing, unique, spastic, and demented, overall this is a really solid album that can do nothing but grow on you over time.

And we take time to dance
Meaninglessly

Throbbing Gristle - D.o.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle (1978)

This is probably one of the most demented album I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. And I mean that in the best way possible, Throbbing Gristle was one of the most influential groups of Industrial music, and they did it by making some very sick, hypnotic, and fantastic albums. Eons ahead of their time, they really just didn't have any contemporaries, they were raw, unadulterated, and grotesque. And Throbbing Gristle have the ability to be great at crafting songs that are up-in-your-face-violent and psychotic, while being equally good at writing songs that manage to build a subtle sense of dread, songs that really have the power to leave the listener uneasy by the end. This is my favorite release from them by far, though their most accessible is probably the legendary 20 Jazz Funk Greats. It's unique, hypnotic, and just plain spooky. While it's not the best starting point for the industrial genre, but it's a fantastic listen for those already accustomed to the abrasive genre.

You didn't see me on the floor weeping
You didn't see me lying by the door
You didn't see me swallowing my tablets
You can't look inside my eyes no more

Food For Animals - Belly (2008)

One thing I love to see in Hip Hop is an incorporation of Noise or Industrial music to the production, unfortunately acts like those seem so few and far between. Groups like dälek will be remembered for their brave and caustic production, and there are more newcomers like clipping who are trying to forge a name for themselves with frantic Harsh Noise being incorporated into his music. Food For Animals is another one of those rare bands. They are a Noise-Hop trio from D.C. who released their first, and as of now only, full length album in 2008.  Their tendency to incorporate Glitch and Harsh Noise into their Hip Hop creates a really stunning sound.

Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! (2007)

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is an album from New York born rapper, slam poet, and actor Saul Williams. He released his first album, Amethyst Rock Star, in 2001. Three years prior he starred in the movie which would launch his career, Slam, it won a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance awards and raked in about $1,000,000 at the box office. If you enjoy this album I would highly recommend watching the film because it features a lot of great poetry from him. After Slam he released a few albums, including Amethyst Rocks Star, which, while not nearly as acidic as this, still has a bit of an Industrial influence.