Industrial rock is a musical genre that emerged in the late 70s, which is characterized by the mixture of industrial music with more specific elements of rock, mainly electropunk and punk rock. The first groups to fuse these styles were post-punk and noise rock groups such as Chrome, Killing Joke, Big Black, Foetus and Swans. This style is often confused with industrial metal, although the latter is only a variant of industrial rock.
Industrial rock uses typical rock instruments, electric guitars, basses and drums, combining them with instruments such as synthesizers, samplers, drum machines and other instruments typical of electronic music. They also often use factory or machine noises to create a truly industrial atmosphere.
Industrial rock was created from its progenitor, Industrial music, which developed between the early and mid-1970s, between the punk rock revolution and the disco music fever. Early industrial musicians stand out such as Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, NON and Z'EV, who served as inspiration for many other musical performers to later incorporate elements of industrial music into rock in a wide variety of musical styles.