Lazer is more than just a genre. Back in the 2010s, it was a movement encompassing a wide variety of musicians, from industrial projects to garage punk-rock bands. Starting from 2016, when Orgy and Flame of Life released their albums “Talk Sick” and “Atomic Cocktail”, the world underground scene has evolved. It’s given rise to a trend towards synth-rock guitar sound, non-standard intervals and rough recording. One on side, there were former industrial bands like Bleeding Corp and Emma Peal, who turned out to be limited by the style rules. Lazer provided a space for experiments where they could express themselves while preserving the industrial core. On the other side, the scene united various grunge/punk-rock formations who didn’t want to become a part of the mainstream. One of the most prominent such formations was the French band The Scaners integrating space-rock vibes and synth-punk sound.
At the beginning of the current decade, the traditional lazer core reduced its activity. Some once-famed bands tend to release a single per year, whereas others completely disappeared from the scene. The genre definitely past its prime and remained relevant only in the underground circles.
But trends tend to return, and lazer is no exception. The success of Your Favorite Blockbuster and their debut album “Incineration” brought the genre back into popularity. Raw guitar sound and synth bass lines were the trademarks of their predecessors, and these young people from Buffalo follow the familiar path. In parallel, such projects as Master Boot Record and Heaven Pierce Her entered the scene with their electronic experiments.
The new generation has grown up, they are ready to pick up the slack. Lazer didn’t disappear, it survived under the rubble of the first wave hype and became mature. It’s difficult to predict how long the genre will be in trend, but one thing is obvious – it carved out a niche for itself in the music world.
