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Front Line Assembly > Maniacal
Metropolis Records cat no XXXXX / SPV cat no XXXXX.
Tracklist:
01. Maniacal 7.21
02. Maniacal (Re-percussion Mix) 7.42
03. Anti (exclusive B-Side) 7.59
Credits:
Produced by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. Mixedby / Special Edits by Greg Reely. Programming by Rhys Fulber. Mastered at Bernie Grundman by Brian Gardner. Graphic Design by Carylann Loeppky. Photographs by "US Department of Energy Photograph".
Maniacal got to #15 on the US Billboard Dance Chart for w/e 27th Oct 2003 and #85 on the Billboard Singles Chart for the same week.
Review
BANG!
Rhys Fulber is back. When I heard the first snippets of the single a while ago, I was really surprised. Ive been following the outputs of both Leeb and Fulber after Fulbers departure in 1997, and I thought I had an idea what would happen now, now that Conjure One, the Peterson era, and last but not least Deleriums Chimera had happened. And it all came different. BANG!!! One word to summarize the surprise so perfectly.
Heavy is this. Fast is this. My first impression was something in the vein of "Gashed Senses FLA meets new Haujobb", now after knowing the full tracks Im gonna change it slightly towards "the heaviness of Caustic Grip FLA, a touch of the melodies of Chimera, and a very reduced beats arrangement that shows all the goddamn futurepop bands that they have forgotten to check their basic ENERGY settings, and here is the maniacal manual how to do it right, just press the ANTI button" ... or something.
So this is the first view on FLA 2003. Reduced arrangements, very variable songstructure, the formula is breaking into fragments that find their place in places outside the rules we knew FLA to use. The heaviness and energy of the band that we used to know in 1990, return. And not to forget this little fact, all tracks on this single cross the 7-minute-mark. There is nothing left to loose.
Why?
cause FLA is dying. The time is almost up, the end is near. After so many years of darkness, salvation is brightening the lightrays falling through this opening door to eternity. Nothing is left to lose and there are no more reasons to keep the rules alive, its just time to let go. This is what the single tells me. Ive listened to it about 30 times in the last 2 days, been thinkin pretty much about this. And here we go once again, track by track
01 Maniacal
The lights are dark. Its quiet. Then the choirs rise. Remind me of the Lord of the Rings movies. More and more, we know this, its building up, at first the half-speeded drumloop, then the bells, getting louder, this guitar part that reminds me of "body count", and there it is, the main beat, and finally the bassline. The intro needs the listeners concentration, just switch out the light and stop talking, tell your girlfriend to shut up for 7 minutes, press play. Okay, we are at the point where the vocals start. And here we have the retro thing, as the vocals are the perfect example for the return to oldschool FLA. Barking, agressive shouting, distortion. Even though Im pretty much into it, I have to say that the main beat of the song, although its undeniably heavy, lacks the perfect groove. The vocals are angry, the beats give your speakers the kicks, the sound structure has grown into an almost living organism of components layered into each other. But the construction seems to suffer with the heaviness of the beats, as they seem to miss an additional element to the groove. Hey, its just a little bit on another approach, maybe I should go BANG and stop writing. I dont like the chorus soo much, let me be honest again, the perfect hook is missing. I never got behind this, its just not the kind of melodyline that I get mental with. So the result as I have it now is, I like this song, the vocals bite, and if you play this loud, and have space to move, you can feel this song hitting, but this is not the perfect FLA tune for me. Its weird, but many listeners feel that Maniacal is the B-Side on the single. Anyway, this is powerful.
02 Maniacal (Repercussion Mix)
Well this is just an add-on, a variation of the original track. Mainly the sounds have different orders inside the song, something is being left out here and there, and something more appears there and here instead. If you like the original version, you'll be happy with this mix so far, as its kind of a continuation of the other one. Its less complete work than the other one, you'll have the feeling of missing something here and there I guess. Otherwise it brings lights to some ideas that didnt find space in the other one, got some really good parts that make it worthy in a way. And theres a main difference to the original, this one avoids the fast beats most of the time, uses the slowed down drumloop instead.
03 Anti
You hear voices, coming from everywhere, echoeing to everywhere. the system has been deactivated, now receiving sonar beams from the soundscape outside. where are you? Then the machine awakes, the pulsing sound of the ice scanner heats your bodies neural tracks, seconds later the beatmaker sets in: you feel the pressure of your blood returning, and then, all of a sudden, your heart returns to function and you feel the fire, energy of life returning to your circulation. you FEEL it. you hear people talking around you, you recognize words in the stream of signal overdose. and then your heartbeat stops. you feel like being on the best drug trip that exists in the universe as you fall free. then your heartbeat returns after seconds, and you remember what it means to be alive. ALIVE. you travel through this experience with all sensors active. you suffer phases of freezing and extreme heat, its a rollercoaster between extreme gravity and total weightlessness. signals racing through your field in 4dimensional circles. phases build up and break down, the moment overweights the fact of passing time. for the last time, you see the stars, become the universe, enter lightspeed. then at 7.30 into the procedure, all gravity is lost, heartbeat ends, the rotation remains as the last thought, and as this last element fades, you begin to realize where you are, and the dream vanishes the way it started, as you return to the floor of reality. wake up neo...
So this is what you can see when you listen to Anti. This is the real deal, there isnt much that comes close to it. Club friendly but spacey and psychedelic, taking you along, drifting, moving, freestyle. It took FLA 18 years to come up with a track like this, but the waiting is over, here it is.
Reviewed by Henrik Bauer aka 21st Century Jesus
From Industrial Nation Issue 19 2004
Parting, As Shakespeare once said, is such sweet sorrow. Perhaps the Bard wasn't thinking of Front Line Assembly when he penned those famous words, but had he been a 20th Century rivethead he surely would. In the years since Leeb and Fulber unpaired, fans have been waiting for the day that the two would share, once more, the communal mixing board. Happily, that day has arrived. Maniacal is the first single for Civilization, the upcoming final FLA record, and the first Leeb and Fulber FLA vehicle since 1995's Hardwired. Featuring just three songs - the title track, one remix and one b-side - Maniacal is a spartan release, but not one that is devoid of power. Within the first few minutes of Maniacal it's clear that, while the heart of FLA beat on in Fulber's absence, its spirit suffered. Building and breaking with FLA's patented formula of electronic aggression, Maniacal and Anti are in the milleu of heavy-hitting dancefloor burners that made tracks on Hardwired so beloved. If Maniacal is any indication of things to come on Civilization, FLA will be going out with a bang, not a whimper.
Kyronfive
From Sideline Issue 46 2004
FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY
Maniacal • (mcd Metropolis/Synthetic Symphony)
After two years, like a mythical hydra, FLA have returned. It's no secret to FLA fans everywhere, Bill Leeb's longtime collaborator, Rhys Fulber is back' The new full length "Civilization" is set to come out at the end of January, "Maniacal" foreshadows what the re-united FLA might sound like. The single contains the original version, a remix done by FLA, and an exclusive b-side/'Anti." The production work of this disc is stellar. When I first heard "Maniacal," it was like Rhys had never left FLA. Leeb and Fulber have not missed a single beat, "Maniacal" is by far the most ferocious track since "Plasticity." This is one pissed off epic that lasts over 7 minutes. This single is more cataclysmic than "Epitaph," but not in a metal sense like "Millennium." Leeb's vocals have a more punk aesthetic that evokes the ghosts of "Gashed Senses and Crossfire" and "Caustic Grip", Mind you, they are not re-treading on past glories either. The duo is reinventing their technocratic warfare with one word, "BANG!" Verses are verbal hand grenades lobbed into the ears of the listener only letting up during the soothing ultra-synthesized mechanical voice reminiscent of "Tactical Neural Implant's" "Bio-mechanic," The music is distinctly Front Line with its long introspective intros with angelic chanting ala Delerlum. Sounds build upon sounds, machines come to life, tempos ebb and flow. There is even a brilliant textured guitar skinning riff performed by Fulber himself. The "repercussive remix" brings the beats and different keyboard melodies forward while some vocals are removed. "Anti" is an awesome 8 minute melodic, industrial-techno instrumental with lots of samples from news broadcasts probably in Afghanistan or Iraq. Reminds one of latter period Noise Unit or Intermix. Both of these songs will be unstoppable live. Front Line Assembly has delivered, "Maniacal" has truly lived up to its name. (CH:8) CH.
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Last updated 2005-04-30 04:35:50 by: unknown user.
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