If we are going to cast a wide net and say Industrial/Noise/PE, I think you have to include Throbbing Gristle, 2nd Annual Report (1978).
They coined the term Industrial, so are indisputably influential in that alone. But also the confrontational aspects, outre topics of nazism, perversion, pedophilia etc seem to kind of started with them. They were more of a 'band' but did have some elements of PE involved if you consider the stuff Chris Carter did with sound generation devices he built himself.
I'd also posit that Cabaret Voltaire's releases up until 'Crackdown' were pretty influential. "Red Mecca" (1981) which contrasted the Christian right with Islamic extremists. 'Baader-Meinhof' (1979) and similar 7"s from early CV show a lot of directions that later bands kind of templated. Of course they later veered off into electro-industrial and then straight up dance music. Not as much my cup of tea, but I think they cast a pretty long shadow in that regard with acts like Skinny Puppy, NIN and other more commercial acts certainly taking cues from them, but leaving out any controversial content.
But hey, if you are acknowledging SPK who later went pretty much straight up dance with some funny edges, it's hard to write off CV and TG for doing the same.
