Whitehouse subject matter delves into the spheres of cruelty and sadism with unforgiving, surgical precision- yet upon listening to their records, their harsh sonic blasts can be interpreted in a number of ways. Whitehouse live events have been known to destroy huge P.A. systems, incite the throwing of razor blades and other harmful objects at the band, and in the end tear away that middle ground, that apathetic gray area which the mechanized urban lifestyle seems to implant in us, replacing it with either a sick state of delirious enjoyment or outright repulsion. In accomplishing this feat they manage to avoid all aspects of rock music other than the aural damage and the adrenaline rush. When asked about the current state of industrial music, his immediate response was that it just sounds like fucking heavy metal to me. I'm not so sure about ambient though.
Much industrial music tends to rely on sequences, patterns, and the like.
In contrast, Whitehouse electronics roar freely without being hinged to any type of beat or song structure. Bennett's compositions are surprisingly varied in texture for a band that many critics have bemoaned as white noise. Whitehouse material, while not beat or melody driven, does differ in the sounds produced. The sounds are hissing, boiling, ripping, roaring- a huge array of onomatopoeias all synonymous with loudness. Casual or chance listeners will be immediately disappointed at the ignorance of rhythm and mid-range in the Whitehouse ouvre.