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FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY > RE-WIND
CD Off-Beat XXXXX
Tracklist:
CD1
01. Predator (cease & destroy-mix) (8:12)
02. Aftermath (we shall all perish-mix) (7:27) (unreleased)
03. Electrocution (shocker-mix) (8:40)
04. Life (suck it up-mix) (8:10)
05. Oblivion (was it worth it-mix) (7:14)
06. Colombian Necktie (loosed lips) (7:34)
07. Comatose (re-entry-mix) (6:49)
CD2
01. Comatose (grisha-mix by Front 242) (5:51)
02. Predator (final-mix by Collide) (6:33)
03. Evil Playground (tim schuldt chainsaw remix) (8:02)
04. Life=Leben (different life=anderes leben) remix by kalte farben (5:54)
05. Comatose (mix 2.0) by eat static (8:05)
06. Comatose Necktie (Grit your teeth remix by Cydonia) (8:04)
07. Auto-Erotic (abstinence mix by fini tribe) (7:21)
Credits:
Disc One: All tracks re-constructed by Bill Leeb, Chris Peterson. Mixed by Greg Reely att Hyppo Sonic Studio. Assisted by Joe Varkey. Mastered at Bernie Grundman by Brian Gardner. Design, illustration and photographie by meran at p.i.x.a.r. 1998 visual arts.
Disc Two: Track 1 remixed by Patrick Codenys and Daniel B. Track 2 remixed by Statik at Noiseplus. Additional vocal performance by Karin. Track 3 remixed by Tim Schuldt at Aurinko Studios. Track 4 remixed by Kalte Farben / Ingo Beitz. Track 5 remixed by Merv Pepler for Eat Static. Track 6 remixed by Dino Psares for Cydonia. Track 7 remix and additional production by fini Tribe.
Review
Disc 1
The disc starts off with a very nice remix of Predator. Much more of a "groovy" track than the original. If you liked the pseudo-ambience of the original, you won't find it here. All of the basslines are much more apparent, and the percussion is stronger as well. Then there is the first of a series of small noise pieces that is present between each track.
Up next is the "We Shall All Perish" remix of Aftermath, a track recorded during the FotW sessions but left off. The original made an appearance on a german compilation, but this album sees a much more aggressive version with a dominant 4/4 kick beat throughout most of the track. Seems like this track benefitted a lot from Reely's involvement in the remix.
Next is a remix of Electrocution. It's rather bizarre that three of the seven FLA remixes are of B-sides, skipping AutoErotic, Sadomasochist, Corruption and Evil Playground from FotW. Anyway, this remix was kind of dissapointing, because I thought the Chemical Brothers sample added to the song immensely. But it is completely gone in this mix, replaced by a rather boring drum pattern. Also, much of the background elements of the original have been brought to the front, and its unfortunate, because in the reviewer's opinion it weakens the track.
Next is a remix of Life=Leben, but under the title of just "Life" This track has been made much more percussive than the original. (A small note, I really enjoyed the addition of a sample of Kevin Spacey in Seven saying "Breaking your face!" into the track at 4:49)The vocals are arranged a little differently, skipping the first chorus completely. Not much else different in this track.
Track 5 is a remix of another B-Side, Oblivion. This isn`t much different either, mostly just a much more present drum pattern than the original. Also, the Aphex Twin sample is absent, but the background elements are brought up which makes its absence almost undetectable if you havent heard the original.
A bizzare noise intro begins the wonderful remix of Colombian Necktie. There really isnt much different in this mix in terms of structure, but the production quality is amazing. Synth lines that you didnt think were there are out in the open, other dominant elements toned down, along with a much less abrasive vocal distortion for Leeb's voice. Also, a very nice FX loop accompanies the drum pattern which works well.
The last track is the most dissapointing. I thought that perhaps Leeb & Co. would use the opprotunity to really mess with Comatose. But instead, after listening to the two, I can find no difference whatsoever between the Re-Wind version and the version that was released on the Comatose single.
Overall, Disc one shows what FotW would have possibly sounded like had Reely engineered it. Also, I think the opprotunity given to Leeb to go back and re-work the tracks was also partly the reason for improvement. Definately a listener, even if you didnt enjoy FotW.
Disc 2
The opening remix is Comatose by Front 242. Their take is much more of a techno version, heavy on the 303`s with elements from the original track coming in later in the shape of a `Beg or steal` vocal sample and some of the intro sounds. It`s pacey and club friendly although I would have expected something a little more innovative from 242. 6/10
Next up is Predator remixed by Collide. Now this is what I call a remix! It`s still noticeable as the original but everything is pumped through various effects units or completely reworked. Imagine Massive Attack on steroids and you`ll get some idea of how this sounds. Bill`s vocals are replaced by Karin from Collide, I think Bill should sign this girl up immediately for the next delerium album, she would be perfectly suited. 9/10
Tim Schuldt supplies a hard trance style mix of Evil Playground, replacing the delerium style groove of the original with a much darker sound. 7/10
Kalte Farben remix Life=Leben (not an enviable task) and add distorted 303`s and hard chaotic beats. Vocals are retained and mixed in quite well. I`ve heard good things about Kalte Farben but this doesn`t impress me greatly. 6/10
Eat Static provide another version of Comatose, this is like a slowed down, more trippy version of their mix that appeared on the single, nothing too exciting really, they could have left this off and put the VAC mix of Sado Masochist in it`s place. 6/10
Cydonia`s remix of Necktie is another hard techno/trance variation with a mean feel. Not as good as Tim Schuldts mix on the single but still pretty good. It`s probably a bit too hard to appear in many Trance DJ`s playlists but was apparently very popular in Germany where it was originally released on some sort of limited edition vinyl.7/10
The FiniTribe mix of Auto Erotic is Bill`s favourite of all the mixes. It`s slowed down a bit and relies on a sampled drum loop and ambient textures with Bill`s vocals nicely processed over the top. A pretty good job. 7/10
Rating: B+
Reviewed by Henry Rexroad
Second Review
Re-Wind : Put your copy of Flavour to the trashcan! Nah, not really, but if you get that double-CD release, there will one thing that will surely happen : you won't play that "Flavour of the Weak" again, unless to listen to those songs that haven't been remade. Hey Mister Leeb, take this as a lesson : put more time to the creation of an album. Make the songs at first, let them stay in the shadow for a while, get them back and re-work them with new ideas. I`d prefer waiting a little bit longer for an album if it means it`s going to be better... and this is what happened with Re-Wind.
That was how I could review that album in a single paragraph... but I'll add some details.
Re-Wind is the remake of the previous release of Front Line Assembly, which was "Flavour of the Weak". That release featured the arrival of a new member (Chris Peterson, a long-time collaborator of Bill Leeb) to fill the space left by the departure of Rhys Fulber, and showed the shift in the sound and style of the music, getting more "electronica" by the use of break-beats, drum'n'bass and typical electronics. It seems that move, while not being really radical to me (I feel it is more of an influence than a new sound), had scared many purist fans who preferred their previous techno-industrial flavor. For my part I liked that album very much, mainly because of that innovation, but I noticed the agacing absence of the production talents of Greg Reely, making the results sound poor compared to previous stuff that kicked ass with tons of bricks :)
Maybe Bill & Chris got ashamed and wanted to redo it. Nice idea, especially because Greg is back and that makes a BIG difference. Also because Bill & Chris obviously gained some experience in doing music together and in using the new techno trends. And also because the result doesn't look as being "done in a rush", being far more mature. And as a bonus, Re-Wind is a double CD release, where the second CD is a set of remixes by various artists and projects, giving new points of view for the listener about ways electronic music can give results.
Now the question I ask myself : why did they not publish this one instead of rushing out the Flavour stuff? The effects on the fanbase could have been very different. And the songs on Flavour not remade on Re-Wind could have made great B-side stuff. Anyway, past is the past, but I hope some guys will learn from it.
You like techno-industrial, you like Front Line Assembly, you like complex and dense electronic music? Just one of these reasons is enough to get this album.
Now here is my track-by-track appreciation....
1 - Predator (Cease & Destroy-Mix)
2 - Aftermath (We All Shall Perish-Mix)
3 - Electrocution (Shocker Mix)
These tracks are just amazing. Aftermath is a remix of a track that appeared on a German compilation that I've never heard, but the two others are remixed from Flavour of the Weak. These are "real" remixes, complete reconstructions of the songs, using enough material from originals, adding enough new elements, lots of variations, better creativity, really improved sound quality. You can recognize the original songs but the remixes are fairly different. The use of noises (electro and samples) and the mix of drum loops seems smarter, even if they come to be even more abundant in fact we get more of everything but, strangely, we don't get a mess. Reely's magic touch!
By the way, at the end of each song, there is a kind of mini hidden track, some pieces of ambience.
4 - Life (Suck It Up-Mix)
5 - Oblivion (Was It Worth It-Mix)
"Life" is a remix of "Life = Leben" from Flavour Of The Weak, and Oblivion was a song on the Comatose single. These ones are less modified versions, in fact I consider them as re-produced versions. But they sound really really better, being more aggressive. Beats are more present, voice processing is different, some noises are different, some alterations on how synths sound.
6 - Colombian Necktie (Loose Lips)
7 - Comatose (Re-Entry-Mix)
These were the two songs initially extracted from Flavour Of The Weak as separate singles. These are unfortunately not very different of the versions we can hear on the singles, but at least they feature the better production quality, which is enough improvement already to appreciate them.
On the second CD we can find these remixes:
1 - Comatose (Grisha Mix by Front 242)
A kind of club-friendly acid techno, a goa track that uses only a few ideas and samples from Comatose. It didn't impress me, especially from Front 242... hey what is happening with these guys? Five years ago, F242 remixing FLA would have been a wild dream. Today it gives ordinary results.
2 - Predator (Final Mix by Collide)
Hey, Delerium sounding like Front Line Assembly! This songs reminds me impressions from the "Karma" release, like if Delerium could sound harder than usual. Very nice track, the female vocalist is really a good point.
3 - Evil Playground (Chainsaw Mix by Tim Schuldt)
This one is a kind of dark and hard goa track. Very interesting, very different from the original.
4 - Life = Leben (Anderes Leben by Kalte Farben)
I enjoy very much Kalte Farben, I have some material from them that I consider being among the top industrial stuff. This mix a somehow a strange one, the rythmics and structure are very different an unusual, there are proeminent 303 sound loops also. It is great but not the kind of stuff I was expecting from Kalte Farben, very different from their style which result usually in more intense and disturbing songs.
5 - Comatose (v2.0 by Eat Static)
If you enjoyed the first mix they did for that song on the single, you'll enjoy this one too. In the same style, but it is a fairly different mix, in fact it makes more references to the original song.
6 - Colombian Necktie (Grit Your Teeth Mix by Cydonia)
Another goa version of a track, but this one is more hybrid (can I say industrial goa?). Very interesting again to see how a song can change in style to get "danceable" and trancey.
7 - Auto-Erotic (Abstinence Mix by Fini Tribe)
Very creative remix of this song : while you recognize easily the original track, it has a completely different personality. It results in a trip-hop song (in the vein of the latest Massive Attack): slower, more ambient, dubby, typical drum loop, soft voice from Leeb nicely processed.
Reviewed by Bernard Bastien aka neonymeË
in Quebec City, Canada, September 22nd 1998
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