Prehistoric period

First experiments that later formed the basis of lazer appeared in the early 1990s. Cradle of Thorns’ releases Remember It Day (1990) and Feed-Us (1994) contained sound going far beyond the gothic limits, although the band positioned itself as a gothic-rock formation back then. Cradle of Thorns was a part of the Bakersfield underground scene, so their early experiments couldn’t gain wide attention. Later, the band changed the style towards more mainstream industrial and alternative rock, and then unique sound of the early 1990s remained lost in the shadows of history.

In the middle 1990s, nu metal and industrial metal begain to gain popularity. The period was marked by the appearance of such bands as Orgy and Deadsy on the world rock scene. Their futuristic original sound had determined the vector of the development of rock music for the next decade. Orgy’s groundbreaking ideas showed new, previously unknown aspects of synth guitar music, whereas Deadsy’s college-friendly style took industrial to a new level of populatiry.

Orgy’s Vapoor Transmission (2001) and Deadsy’s Commencement (2002) were the key releases that formed the core of the underground industrial music of the 2000s. They got really close to creation of a new genre (as Jay Gordon sang, and we make this new religion to escape what we’ve become), but fate decreed otherwise.

The peak of Orgy was at the turn of the century. Their debut album received platinum certification and brought them worldwide fame. Since 2002, Orgy had faced problems with their label what caused delays in the upcoming release. As a result, the band started losing populatiry and finally left the label. Later, the majority of the band became involved in side projects, so the formation ceased active work since 2005.

Although Deadsy started their path along with Orgy, they weren’t known around the world in the 1990s. The real success came to the band in 2002, after the release of Commencement. Since then, Deadsy’s singles regularly entered the international charts. The band remained popular up to 2007 when they took a hiatus for side projects.

Each band had its own internal crisis, which was worsened by the global crisis of the alternative metal scene. The mainstream nu-metal was superseded by gaining momentum post-grunge, whereas on the world underground scene, nu-metal and industrial metal gave way to new metalcore and emocore. The bands ceased their activity to minimum, most of them ceased to exist.

Forming

In the 2010s, Jay Gordon re-launched Orgy with ex-members of Deadsy and Lunarclick. With the new line-up, the band released Talk Sick EP in 2015. Their new sound was closer to the modern electronic music, the band got rid of nu-metal influence and became way softer. The same year, Flame of Life released Dark World EP, which was considered alternative rock, very experimental though. In 2016, Flame of Life released a new album, Atomic Cocktail, which contained so many experiments that its genre became unidentifiable. Flame of Life positioned themselves as a lazer-band (the term “lazer” was introduced by Fazer to identify their style). Flame of Life described it as a mixture of nu-metal, grunge and rock’n’roll, although the critics tend to define it as a mixture of industrial-metal, synth-rock and nu-metal.

Popularization

In 2017, Flame of Life released their self-titled album, which is considered a classic of its genre. The musicians systemized industrial experiments of the past two decades and defined standards for lazer. The self-titled album differed song structures and sound, so lazer became more than just a mixture of various styles. This release still remains the icon of the genre.

The same year, Bleeding Corp and Emma peal released their albums Ex Machina and Party, which are also considered lazer, though the bands came from other genres. Gradually, the core of lazer had formed. The genre brought together many underground industrial projects, which experiments satisfy generalized concepts of lazer. Among them are such bands as The Scaners and Street Sects. The period from 2017 to 2020 is considered the peak of lazer. The most popular lazer albums were released during these years.

The Second Wave of Lazer

In the 2020s, the genre stagnated. There is an opinion that it’s related to Flame of Life’s album El Kama, which was underground-oriented. Some attribute this to low activity of the core lazer bands, i.e. Emma Peal was disbanded, The Scaners and Bleeding Corp didn’t release new albums for long periods. The scene was reanimated by Black Dresses who integrated lazer into noise-pop. The electronic experiments of Heaven Pierce Her and Keygen Church gave the genre a second wind. The mainstream side of lazer during this period is represented by Your Favorite Blockbuster. The band positioned itself as Flame of Life successors. Their debut album Incineration wasn’t received warmly by critics, although the songs became a success on radio.