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Front Line Assembly > State Of Mind
Scans from ROIR cassette booklet, click for larger (readable) image:
| Dossier records DCD 9005, CD 1988 | Third Mind TMD 9176 LP 1988 |
| ROIR A-180 MC 1988 |
| Dossier ST7547 [Ger] Cleopatra re-release [US] CLEO 9735-2 1998 |
Tracklist:
01 First Reprisal (5:21)
02 Consequence (5:36)
03 Burnt Soul (2:42)
04 Testimony (5:26)
05 Landslide (4:45)
06 Terminal Power (5:49)
07 Malignant Fracture (4:16)
08 Eastern Voices (5:27)
09 Resistance (4:31)
10 Sustain Upright (4:07)
11 No Tommorrow (5:06)
12 And They Shall Bow (4:45)
13 Bonus Track on Re-Release: Inside Out.
Credits on Third Mind version:
Produced by Michael Balch. All songs written by Bill Leeb. Mixed by Bill Leeb and Michael Balch. Recorded August 1987 and February 1988. Cover illustration by Manfred Schiek. Special Thanks To Rhys Youth F.
Credits on Cleopatra version:
Tracks 2-13 written by Bill Leeb. Mixed by Bill Leeb and Michael Balch. Edited by David Ogilvie. Track 1 written and mixed by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. Track 1 recorded in December 1991. Tracks 2-9 recorded in August 1987. Tracks 10-13 recorded in February 1988. Remastered by Judson Leach at JLAB, March 1996. Design by Michael Cripps at Control Graphics.
Review
First Reprisal A fairly monotonous bassline and beats, Bill`s echoing vocals and a smattering of spoken samples make for a fairly decent intro.
Consequence A similar outing for this track but Bill manages to induce quite a haunting feel with all the srings and pained screams. Vocals are pretty indecipherable.
Burnt Soul Loads of industrial clanks and effects in this rather weird instrumental track. Thankfully kept quite short.
Testimony A slow track that`s almost a synth-ballad, sounds like Bill was really depressed when he made this. Basically just an atmospheric track.
Landslide Upbeat again, quite a dancey feel to this one, heavy beats and TR707 toms. Deep vocals that you can actually just about understand.
Terminal Power Echoing samples and clanks for pretty much the whole song, another atmospheric track, fairly creative for it`s day.
Malignant Fracture Machine gun beats and basslines all the way through with some synth lines and distant samples. Very dark and monotonous.
Eastern Voices As the title suggests, there`s lots of Eastern influence in this track, lots of distant chanting behind powerful chords and news bulletin samples. Seems to be about guerilla warfare and conflict.
Resistance An interesting track, mainly as it contains the same chorus melody as `Mindphaser`, albeit played much slower. Not as intrusive as the other tracks due to less harsh beats, just a nice bassline and bassdrum with Bills unprocessed vocals.
Sustain Upright Another slightly laid back and easier on the ear track. With a slightly similar arrangement to the last one.
No Tommorrow A weird instrumental that uses samples from Evil Dead II. It wouldn`t be out of place in horror movie actually, it gets quite disturbing when the chords start.
And They Shall Bow Back to the pounding rhythms and beats for the last track, accompanied by bursts of strings.
Overall, you`ve got to be a real FLA nut to like this, it has a similar feel to the Total Terror stuff although I`d actually say most of it isn`t as good. There`s some interesting things to hear and Bill does quite a good job creating an atmosphere with the very limited equipment used. One for the Hardcore only!
Reviewed by Jon M
Bonus Track Review
Inside Out Bonus track added to the Cleopatra re-release in 1996. The liners say it was recorded in December of 1991, which means it was probably intended for the 'Toxic' EP, although to me it sounds like it's from the time period beteen 'Gashed Senses' and 'Caustic Grip' judgeing by the older sounds being used throughout. Wouldn't sound out of place on Noise Unit's 'Response Frequency'. A rather monotonous, linear track starting off with steam piston noises, a midpaced beat and layered minimal bass synths rattling about. Bill's vocals sound great on this one, a combination of shouting and fuzzy amplifier distortion that I wish he would have used more. No chorus or breakdown, but some playful sample manipulation and a high guitar feedback melody brings the track back to the piston sounds again before fading. Not bad, but obvious why it was set aside.
Reviewed by Douglas Sudia (recoil)
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Last updated 2009-11-03 18:12:09 by: recoil.
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