The genre commonly known as noise rock, developed in the 1980s as an experimental outgrowth of punk rock. Fusing punk rock's attitude with the atonal noise and unconventional song structures of early industrial and noise music, the raucous rockers introduced a new kind of avant-garde music to the Alternative rock landscape. Sometimes the style is referred to as "Noisecore", although that can also refer to a variety of fast, distorted Techno music.

Some influences on the early breed of noise rockers were the stark rock and roll of The Velvet Underground, the bluster of the Stooges and the no wave movement of the late 1970s. Sonic Youth propelled the no wave aesthetic into the new direction of noise rock.

Later, the sound became associated with Japanese artists, who incorporated influences from Japanese noise music even further, and occasionally adopted completely chaotic song structures.

Some notable artists in the noise rock genre are Sonic Youth, Big Black, Black Dice , Boredoms, God Is My Co-Pilot, Melt-Banana, Pussy Galore, Swans, and Wolf Eyes. Homestead Records is viewed as a pioneering noise rock record label.