Face Line Assembly

Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian group of Electronic music , composed of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. Its music, with crossed Electronic body music, undue and Techno, is characteristic of the kind Electro-undue money, of which it is one of the founders.

Remarque: the name of the group perhaps spelled " Face Line Assembly" or " Frontline Assembly". This one differs from an album another.

History

Front Line Assembly is founded with Vancouver in 1986 by Bill Leeb, after it left Skinny Puppy (it played in this group under the name of Wilhelm Schroeder). After having left the two demonstrations Nerve War and Total Terror , it is joined by Michael Balch and their first album, The Initial Command , leaves in 1987 on the Belgian label KK Records , album marked by the industrial influences of Skinny Puppy and by EBM of Front 242. Rhys Fulber, which had already started to contribute to the group, joined soon Front Line Assembly as an occasional member. The following album, State off Mind , signed by Third Mind Records in 1988, is the first to be the subject of a world exit. FLA enriches its music, preserving a balance between temptation dancefloor to which groups EBM succumb, and the experimentation bruitist of the industrial scene.

In 1989, Michael Balch leaves Front Line Assembly to join Ministry, and is replaced definitively by Rhys Fulber. The album Gashed Senses and Crossfire leaves in 1989 and the piece " DIGITAL Dementia" Tension; the attention of a great number of DJ and music lovers underground retains, by his irresistibly with dimensions dancing. It is also at that time that the members invest themselves in the first parallel projects: Delerium, a project of Leeb and Fulber allowing the expression of facets much éthérées of their music, and Noise Links, initiated like a collaboration of Leeb with Marc Verhaegen, of Klinik. FLA will be from now on a regular resident of the label Wax Trax! Records , which accommodates all the great names of the Electro-undue money and the metal-undue money.

Caustic Grip leaves in 1990 to become at once traditional clubs Gothic and industrial, offering an electronic music at the same time dancing, extrèmement complexes and highly elaborate. The swarming of the parallel projects continues with the appearance of Cyberaktif, joining together Bill Leeb, Cevin Key and Dwayne Goettel (both coming from Skinny Puppy), and a participation of Blixa Bargeld, Einstürzende Neubauten; Will, collaboration of Rhys Fulber with a future member of FLA, Chris Peterson, like John McRae; Intermix, a project more directed techno/house than FLA.

1992 sees the exit of Tactical Neuronal Implant , which seizes brilliantly the set of themes Cyberpunk, exploring a sound increasingly more electronic, more technoïde that on Caustic Grip , to become one of the archetypal albums of the Electro-undue money, one of the most appreciated FLA. Following its exit, Leeb and Fulber are devoted again to their parallel projects, remixent for other artists, and mature the following evolution.

Or revolution, could one say? Because the exit in 1994 of Millennium at Roadrunner Records mark a new radical evolution of the sound of FLA, digesting the influences of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry or Soothsayer Townsend. Built around heavy samplés fronts of guitar on which come to be added the tablecloths and happy electronic which make the clean sound of the group, the album disconcerts the fans, but receives a deserved success.

The set of themes Cyberpunk re-appears in 1995 with HardWired , left at Metropolis Records , which makes to some extent the synthesis between the sounds of Tactical Neuronal Implant and Millennium . This album, better sale of the career of the group, is followed of a world tour which gives place to the exit of an album live, Live Wired , and of a video of the same name. The period which follows is active on the face of the remixes (in particular the Remix Wars with Die Krupps), and of the parallel projects: it is the birth of the project Conjure One of Rhys Fulber, and of the projects Equinox and Pro-Tech of Bill Leeb.

Free Rhys Fulber FLA to deal of its project and the electronic parts of Fear Factory. Bill Leeb replaces it by Chris Peterson, to be confined of an album which marks a new development in the sound of the group: Flavor off the Weak , left in 1997 digests this time the influences of the Trance and the Electronica, opening a new way for the undue. It is followed quickly by an album of remixes, Re-Wind (1998), then by Implode in 1999, an album exploring more the ways of the complexity and the richness of the sound that those of the innovation. During this time, the project of Bill Leeb, Delerium, becomes extensive more and more, at the point to eclipse the popularity of FLA little by little, first of all with Semantic Spaces in 1994, then with Karma in 1997, the album of the explosion, which goes until profiting from the favors of the general public.

Epitaph leaves in 2001 in a climate rumors separation, Bill Leeb being devoted more and more to Delerium: an album joining together a sound typically FLA-esque, together with influences come from Delerium. In spite of the importance increasingly great catch by this last project, Leeb and Fulber find in 2003, without Peterson, to produce Civilization , an album which, if it does not have with dimensions innovator of many other albums of FLA, does not remain less effective about it and in the line of work of the group.

Finally, the Leeb/Fulber/Peterson trio reforms and leaves Artifical Soldier in 2006. This album marks a true return of FLA to the sources of the Electro-undue money, its kind of predilection, and makes forget Civilization that many fans did not appreciate. Unfortunately, the round finishes prematurely following a disagreement with the company providing the bus. The group must then officially announce its return to Vancouver after having carried out half of the round more or less.

During the year 2007, FLA leaves an album remixes entitled Fallout whose majority of the pieces comes from Artificial Soldier : it is not their first test there since they had already carried out this with Flavor off the Weak and its during Re-Wind . Beside the remixes carried out by FLA itself or other groups (Combichrist, Covenant), one also finds three pieces new recorded during the production of Artificial Soldier but which had not been finally included on this last.

Discography

Albums

Nerve War (Cassette demonstration, 1986)
Total Terror (Cassette demonstration, 1986), republished under the name of Supplements Total Terror (2004)
The Initial Command (1987)
State Of Mind (1987)
Gashed Senses and Crossfire (1989)
Caustic Grip (1990)
Tactical Neural Implant (1992)
Millennium (1994)
Hard Wired (1995)
Flavor off the Weak (1997)
Implode (1999)
Epitaph (2001)
Civilization (2004)
Artificial Soldier (2006)

Remixes and collections

Convergence (1988), republished under the name of Corroded Disorder (1996)
Complaint (1997)
Re-Wind (1998)
Monument (1998)
Explosion (2003)
Fallout (2007)
Millennium No-claims bonus Disc (2007), sold with the remasterized version of Millenium

Albums live

Live (1989): Live recorded during the round Gashed Judicious and Crossfire .
Live Wired (1996)

Individual and maxis

Corrosion (1988)
DIGITAL Tension Dementia (1988)
Disorder (1988)
No Limit (1989)
Iceolate (1990)
Provision (1990)
Virus (1990)
Mindphaser (1992)
The Blade (1992)
Circuitry (1995)
Surface Patterns (1995)
Plasticity (1996)
Colombian Necktie (1997)
Comatose (1998)
Fatalist (1999)
Prophecy (1999)
Everything Must Perish (2001)
Maniacal (2003)
Vanished (2004)

Vidéos and clips

Live Wired (VHS, 1996)

Side Projects

; Delerium: Initially an electro-dark project of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, it evolved to a more pop sound, with only Bill Leeb with the orders, assisted various singers. ; Entreats One: Electro solo project and ambient of Rhys Fulber. ; Decree: Project of Chris Peterson, initially with John McRae and Jeff Stoddard, then with Ross Redhead and Sean Lawson. ; Blackland: Principal project of Michael Balch. ; Noise Links: Project begun like a collaboration techno-undue money from Bill Leeb with Marc Verhaegen (Klinik), it also counted Rhys Fulber, a collaboration with Haujobb, like Chris Peterson. ; Intermix: Techno/dance project of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. ; Synesthesia: Project ambient tribal of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, in the continuity of the beginnings of Delerium. ; Equinox: Drum' project low of Bill Leeb and Chris Peterson. ; Pro>Tech: Electro-dark project of Bill Leeb and Chris Peterson, halfway between the sounds of FLA and Equinox. ; Will: Electro-medieval project of Rhys Fulber, Chris Peterson and John McRae, with the collaboration of Jeff Stoddard and Michael Balch. ; Cyberaktif: Collaboration between Bill Leeb, Cevin Key and Dwayne Goettel (both members of Skinny Puppy), with an appearance of Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten).

External bonds

Official site
Mindphaser, the most complete information source on FLA

Random links: