The
problem with mainstream music is that it puts all its eggs
in one basket. If the musician at the forefront of the genre
decides to sit in his basement, the genre suddenly ceases
to exist, or at least in popular theory. When it comes to
the industrial side of things, it seems if Nine Inch Nails
isn't up to anything, then apparently no one is. Everyone
eagerly anticipates the day Trent Reznor stops mopping and
gets it together to put out an album (which incidentally is
rumored to be in the late summer/early fall). Listen up, because
here is a music history fact you won't learn at Hot Topic
- Far before the man who wanted to fuck you like an animal
there existed the godfathers of everything industrial - Skinny
Puppy (without which Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and
the likes wouldn't exist). Skinny Puppy put out some great
disks, but as all great bands do, they split. Left over was
Bill Leeb, who in 1986, went onto form Front Line Assembly.
Front
Line Assembly has an impressive history which spans more than
a decade, and presently they have made their home on Metropolis
Records. Their new album, Civilization, is their fourteenth
release and a masterpiece of ambient electronics, with a little
bit of heavy electronics thrown in for good measure. To try
to put this album in one category of the every expansive electronica
sound would be close to impossible. It is dance, yet has jungle,
house, EMB that blend surprisingly well.
Civilization's
whole sound has a futuristic space age feel, like an album
you could pick up if you lived in the movie Bladerunner. Front
Line Assembly has been around for so long, so one should expect
Civilization to be built on a foundation of solid songwriting.
This album defiantly delivers. Each track is a finely composed
with complex rhythm sections and an overall complicated structure
that works efficiently to keep the listener interested, not
something that can be generally said of the more recent electronic
releases.
Overall,
Civilization is an excellent listen. It is a symphony of industrial
beats with a vast musical landscape. It provides a mix of
slow paced harmonies like Fragmented, Parasite, Schicksal,
and more upbeat tracks, starting with the opener, Psychosomatic.
Maniacal has a great breakdown in the middle which seems like
a soundtrack to a laser battle. Fragmented also has a noteworthy
breakdown with a harmonizing string portion. The one downside
to the album is the vocals. Although the lyrics are clever,
Leeb has a very monotone voice that sometimes would be better
left out. But the iffy vocals aren't enough to detract from
the overall album+. Time can make some bands played out and
boring, not true with Leeb and Fulber, the Front Line team.
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