D.o.A. The Third and Final Report

I'm not an industrial music fan. This isn't really for me. A lot of it I just find unpleasant to listen to.

There's a run of tracks (Hometime, AB/7A, E-Coli) that I thought were pretty decent. Reminded me of experimental bands like Set Fire to Flames or Thee Silver Mt. Zion, but then it becomes to cacophonous.

I mean, should it really be on the list?

Well, the day has come for me. Today, I got the lowest-rated album of the generator at the time of this recording. I'm not surprised with how it got here. Throbbing Gristle are considered pioneers of industrial music, which by its nature is very unconventional in the use of tape editing, distorted loops, and homemade instruments instead of the typical guitar, bass, and drums. In fact, Throbbing Gristle were very much opposed to the traditional rock music structures, as they sought to challenge their audience to explore the darker side of humanity rather than make attractive music to placate the masses. In a way, I respect their intentions, and I don't expect the music to immediately connect with me like what I usually listen to.

With all that in mind, I gave D.o.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle a listen, and it took me a bit to acclimate to their style, but I got there eventually. There's an almost ambient quality at times with the group's approach to combining tape loops, spoken word, oscillating synthesizers, and other such atypical electronic effects. Whether it's taking their previous single "United" and speeding it up to only 16 seconds long, reconstructing a conversation heard in passing with background noise on "Valley Through the Shadow of Death", or the filtered vocals over the electronic whirs on "Hamburger Lady", there's quite a variety in song deconstructions on this record. I found myself intrigued with some of the spoken word pieces like "Weeping" and "Hometime", leaving me curious as to why these particular tapes are arranged over such strange soundscapes. Of course, my personal favorites were the few tracks that feature steady clanking beats, like on "Dead on Arrival" with the buzzing and squelching noise effects, "AB/7A" with the grandiose synth flourishes, and the absolutely pummeling dirge that is "Walls of Sound". I personally don't consider every experiment to be worthwhile, particularly some of the shortened tracks like "Death Threats" and "Blood on the Floor". But more often than not, I was engaged with this album.

Again, I don't typically listen to this kind of music. Even compared to later offshoots like industrial rock and industrial metal that return to more conventional song structures while still embracing the distortion and tape manipulation, what Throbbing Gristle did on D.o.A: The Third and Final Report sounds foreign by comparison, and I think that's the point. It was a respectable challenge that certainly got me to appreciate the overall genre more with its abrasive DIY approach.

Not actually music

A collections of noises to irritate someone

1

Woke up with a massive headache today, this obviously made it worse.

Also why is it the third and final report when this is only the second album....

Points for being wholly original and mostly disturbing, but I do question whether there's any talent actually present here.

2.5/5.0: Mixed

this pushes the boundaries of what could be considered music. its deserves its place on the list but it isnt something im keen to revisit

I expected worse since this is the single worst rated album on this site, but it was thankfully not that bad. It's just normal bad.

i like this album honestly. i think it's really creative. but HOLYYYYY listening to it in my dark room at 12:20 at night is a little scary. i think the album is really ambient and i'm into it. unlike some other albums on this list i find myself curious about what the next song will be like and im actually looking forward to it. some of the other albums can get a little bit predictable with the same sort of songs or albums that all have a predictable, marketable, cliche progression to their songs.

What kind of crap is this? I only made it halfway through the album. Then I'd had enough. I didn't want to listen to any more of that stuff. The album deserves its rather poor overall rating. 1/5

Ok, eerlijk is eerlijk. Het boek heet ook gewoon '1001 albums' en niet '1001 muziekalbums'.

It's not an easy listen in the slightest, in fact it's quite oppressive, but I do think it's a project with real artistic merit contrary to what the reviews would have you believe.

Hamburger Lady and Hometime genuinely had me feeling uneasy, yet also completely captivated. On others, like Dead on Arrival and AB/7A, you do get some semblance of rhythm and more conventional electronic music, and it's enjoyable in a 'new experience' kind of way. I could see JPEGMAFIA drop a verse or two on that (I looked it up later, and Peggy has indeed mentioned Throbbing Gristle as one of his influences on several occasions).

E. Coli, my personal highlight, comes as a chilling track, and their use of sampling really stuck with me -- two recordings of opposing opinions on the ethics of disease testing, one on each audio channel, and a haunting soundscape to accompany it. This sort of storytelling is right up my alley, and from that point I really started to appreciate their musical experimentation. These sounds are impressive coming out of 1978; you could mistake it for an obscure Soundcloud release with 10 listens, but the release period certainly makes it feel much more intentional, and definitely had me approaching with each song like, "what are they trying to do on this one?".

It's the sort of album that makes you realize that music isn't just for dancing and vibing, but can actually present art through sound alone.
I'm not an art critic and can't find the words to expand much on that idea, so I'll just end this by saying that it was a fascinating, immersive experience. I do have an appreciation for albums that demand to be engaged with in a different manner than usual, so although it's definitely not making it into the rotation I feel like it does deserve a lil 4 here for uniqueness.

Standouts: Dead on Arrival • AB/7A • E-Coli

What could I say that’s hasn’t already been said. 1 star.

Younger me would have lapped this up, older me puts it in the pretentious arty bollocks category.
AB/7A is a standout (for good reasons).

Some interesting noises.

Wow, this is the lowest rated albums on here. Not looking forward to it. It's another case of "this is the first of a genre, so it must be on this list." Just because you CAN make something doesn't mean you should, or that it should be recommended to you 50 years later. I will tolerate this nonsense out of composers, not this. 1*
IBM: I was inside of my modem
I usually will power through all the garbage here, but this time I can't. I stopped at the start of the 3rd track. I just can't. My ears don't deserve this.

I will give this 2 stars just out of spite. Unique and influential offering, however barely listenable, but still this is one of the very few hommages to Musique Concrete movement on this list.

There was a brief moment of nostalgia for the sound of the old dial-up modem (I’m old). That was the highlight of this one. Now I’ve heard it, I’ll be stunned if I ever voluntarily listen to it again.
Ooh! I just saw that as of today this is THE LOWEST rated album on the list! I am going to help it stay that way. Good to get this one done.

Some of what Throbbing Gristle offers up falls under the category of music, but the majority of the material on Third Report does not as they are engaging in sound art rather than songwriting. As sound art it is somewhat interesting, but as an album of music it is lacking many of the features you should judge when writing an album review (melody, rhythm, etc.) They successfully create an uncomfortable and uncompromising atmosphere which I will not be returning to. I find the life story and personality of Genesis P-Orridge much more interesting than the output of Throbbing Gristle itself.

Interesting - and probably groundbreaking for the 1970's, but just not much musical value.