Monte Cazazza, An Industrial Pioneer And Shock Artist, Died At The Age Of 68

Monte Cazazza, the man who originated the expression “Industrial Music for Industrial People,” died at the age of 68.

The American shock artist and Industrial music legend, who is credited with coining the term “industrial” to describe powerful electronic music, died on June 29 following a mysterious illness.

Meri St. Mary, his colleague, verified the news on Twitter, stating, “It is with immense sadness and Love that I had to let Monte go.”He was very ill and in pain, so I’m relieved that part is over, but I already miss him! Wherever we go, I’m sure He’ll cause havoc in his own manner. RIP, the One and Only Monte Cazazza. (sic)”

Monte is most known for helping to shape the genre in the mid-1970s while working with London’s Industrial Records.

He is credited with the label’s noise collages and experimental sound manipulation, which became known as industrial music.

Themes and sounds of industrial music are harsh, mechanical, subversive, or provocative.

His work has been described as “insanity-outbreaks thinly disguised as art events” by Re/Search Magazine’s Industrial Culture Handbook.

In 1975, one of his performances was dubbed a “sex-religious show; giant statue of Jesus got chainsawed and gang raped into oblivion.”

Much of his work sparked debate, and he was a disruptor from an early age.

Monte was expelled from the California College of Arts and Crafts after producing a cement cascade that crippled the building’s main stairs for his first sculpture assignment.

Later, he fashioned a metal swastika and was known to bring a dead cat and formaldehyde (methanal) to burn in front of friends.

Monte recorded eight solo albums, the most recent of which being ‘The Cynic’ in 2010.

He was also recognized for his work with the San Francisco industrial ensemble Factrix, and he made soundtracks with Mark Pauline and Survival Research Laboratories.

On the day of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore’s death, Monte famously sent out images of himself in an electric chair, which a Hong Kong newspaper erroneously published as the real execution.

Gilmore was the first person executed in the United States in nearly a decade after being convicted of a double murder in 1977.

Monte Cazazza, An Industrial Pioneer And Shock Artist, Died At The Age Of 68

Monte Cazazza, the man who originated the expression “Industrial Music for Industrial People,” died at the age of 68.

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