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Front Line Assembly > The Initial Command
Scans from ROIR cassette, click for larger (readable) images:
KK records KK 006. CD 1987 Third Mind TMD 9175 [US]. MC 1987 ROIR A-187 [US]
US re-release Cleopatra CLP0062-2. Euro re-release Zoth Ommog CD ZOT 189.
Tracklist:
01. The State (6:18)
02. Insanity Lurks Nearby (6:03)
03. Casualties (4:46)
04. Aussgang Zum Himmel (7:15)
05. Nine Times (6:30)
06. Black March (6:02)
07. No Control (6:40)
08. Slaughter House (5:12)
Extra info on Cleopatra release The Cleopatra rerelease has two new tracks
listed, Complexity and Intelligence Dream. A Lot of people have mistakenly come
to the conclusion that Cleo slapped a Synaesthesia track on to their rerelease
by accident (which would not be out of place for that label) but this is not the
case. What they have done is print a wrong tracklist for the album. The first
two tracks should be "Complexity" with a time of 7:40, and "Core" with a time
of 6:05 (whereas "Intelligence Dream" had over nine minutes). The tracklist on
the inside of the liner notes has the correct song titles, but lists the two bonus
tracks at the end. I know that this is wrong, not only because of the track times,
but because the first two tracks have a completely different sound. I searched
all over the known FLA pages for some hint as to what compilations these bonus
tracks had come from, but found none. When I looked again at the liner notes for
an explanation, I discovered that all tracks were by Leeb/Balch, except for tracks
1 and 2 by Leeb/Peterson. This can only mean that the bonus tracks are in fact
NEW FLA MATERIAL (1997)! Their sound is much like a simple FotW or a slower, darker
Pro-Tech. Nick Ferro.
It has also been reported that at least one pressing of the Cleo release has no track break between Insanity Lurks Nearby and Casualities, making the CD 9 tracks long rather than 10. (Thanks to Torniojaws)
Credits for KK records release:
Produced by Bill Leeb and Michael Balch Engineered by Bill Leeb Mixed by Michael Balch All songs written by Bill Leeb except The State, Casualites and Ausgang Zum Himmel written by Bill Leeb/Rhys Fulber FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY IS Bill Leeb with Rhys Youth Fulber on The State, Casualties, Ausgang Zum Himmel Cover Art C. Lepke Design and Production David Rosychuk Appreciation to Alain Neffe All songs Copyright Control.
Credits on Cleopatra Re-release:
All Songs Written by Front Line Assembly. Mixed by Bill Leeb and Michael Balch. Tracks 1+2 Mixed by Chris Peterson and Bill Leeb. Cover Design by Carylann.
Review
All tracks composed by Bill Leeb except 1 and 4 composed by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. Produced by Bill Leeb and Michael Balch. Engineered by Bill Leeb. Mixed by Michael Balch. Re-release by Cleopatra contains two extra tracks, Intelligence Dream and Complexity.
The Initial Command is similar in feel to the Total Terror demos. Bill was obviously limited by the range of equipment back then so there isn't a great deal of variation. Rhys is listed as playing on three of the tracks with Michael Balch credited for the mixing.
With a limited range of equipment, Leeb manages to do an amazing job on this album back in 1987. It may sound primitive at first, but the tracks really grow on you.
The State.
This is a nice intro for the album. It's very repetitive, with no chorus or vocals, but it's catchy nonetheless. It starts with a medium paced synth line and then quickly adds a strong looping drum beat which is the highlight of the song. There are some very effective samples used throughout the track in place of vocals, and some Delerium-like orchestrations in the background.
Insanity Lurks Nearby.
Very bass driven track. The bass sound is quite artifical sounding compared to more recent works however. Leeb also does a decent job of singing on this track, with no vocal distortion. Overall a decent mid-paced track, very EBM-like, but a little darker.
Casualties.
Fast, tinkly synths start off this track. It's also quite melodic overall. There's some low singing by Leeb far in the background. Again no chorus. This track is very different from usual FLA, sounds like it should belong on an early Delerium album as it's pretty atmospheric.
Ausgang Zum Himmel.
This is a very strange track. No real structure or beat to it. Mostly a lot of samples and sound effects thrown together with no vocals. It's quite dark as well. This one I would almost have to put on a Synaesthesia album because of it's style.
Nine Times.
This one starts with tinkly synths and samples, followed by a funky bass synth that wouldn't sound out of place on a Front 242 track. There's also a high pitched synth that almost souds like a guitar solo, but works well in the song. Again quite catchy overall, very EBMish.
Black March.
This one sounds quite like Front 242 musically, and even in terms of vocals. It's also the first track on the album that seems to have something of a chorus. It's a great track, with some dark vocal melodies.
No Control.
Very rythmic synths with lots of reverb. A lot of different instrument sounds. No real vocals. One of the fastest tracks on the album. It is also quite atmoshperic in places. Excellent overall.
Slaughter House.
This track is basically synthpop with samples. Not bad, but not outstanding either.
This is a good album overall. Excellent if you factor in the limited equipment and the fact that it's Leeb's first album. A must have if you like EBM, but be warned, it's very different from their recent albums. Hard to find in record stores but plentiful and cheap at online music stores. I got my mine for $10 US.
Review by Flavius
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Last updated 2008-05-20 23:26:38 by: epidemic27.
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