Chrome: Godfathers of industrial rock

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When I was young I enjoyed the experimental rock band Chrome and the albums Half Machine Lip Moves and Alien Soundtrack I listened much to. Chrome is an American rock band founded in San Francisco in 1975 by musician Damon Edge and associated with the 1970s post-punk movement. The group’s coarse sound brought together science-fiction themes, tape experimentation, and electronic noise with distorted acid rock guitar, blending elements of punk, psychedelia, and industrial music.

They found little commercial success as part of San Francisco’s 1970s music scene, but developed a cult following in the United Kingdom and Germany. They have been cited as forerunners of the 1980s industrial music boom. Edge died in 1995, subsequently, guitarist Helios Creed has revived the Chrome name for recordings and performances.

Band members:

Helios Creed (guitar, bass, vocals, composing) 1977-82 & 1995-present, Damon Edge (guitar, synthesizer, drums, vocals, composing) 1976-95, Gary Spain (vocals, guitar, bass) 1976-79, John Lambdin (vocals, guitar, bass) 1976-78, Mike Low (guitar, synthesizer, bass) 1975-1976, John Stench [John Haynes] (bass) 1981-82, Hillary Stench [Hillary R. Haynes] (drums) 1981-82, Fabienne Shine (vocals) 1981-88, Lux Vibratus (bass, sound collage, composing) 2007-present, Tommy Grenas (Keyboard, sound collage, composing) 1997-present, Aleph Omega (Drums, sound collage, composing) 1998-present, Lou Minatti (guitar, sound collage, composing, sound engineer) 2012-present, Anne Dromeda (background vocals, vocals, composing) 2012-2015, Steve ‘Trash’ Fishman (bass) 2013-present.

Seminal avant-punk psychedelic outfit Chrome are considered to be the Godfathers of what became the Industrial Rock movement due to their groundbreaking experimentation in sound and raw energy. They started a revolution in music according to Rockerilla Magazine, Italy 2011. Chrome is known for their de/re-construction of rock and roll, innovation, weirdness, found sound samples, hooks, pile driver rhythms and Helios Creed’s signature effects laden, Hendrixian, lysergic, layered guitar work and vocals. Their blend of raw energy and mind-bending audio manipulation influenced a wide range of musical genres, from the avant-rock of Sonic Youth and the Flaming Lips to Industrial rockers like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. Theirs was a Cyber-Punk vision of the future that came a decade before the term was coined as psychedelic connoisseur Julian Cope put it.

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