Front Line Assembly - Improvised Electronic Device [Deluxe]

Front Line Assembly - Improvised Electronic Device [Deluxe Edition] (2010) 1. I. E. D. 6:35 2. Angriff 6:43 3. Hostage 6:57 4. Release 5:21 5. Shifting Through The Lens (Edit) 6:06 6. Laws of Deception 5:21 7. Pressure Wave 4:58 8. Afterlife 5:57**** 9. Stupidity (featuring Al Jourgensen) 4:15** 10. Downfall 8:06 11. Day of Violence 8:27* 12. Attack The Masses 5:23* Hits: I.E.D., Angriff, Hostage, Shifting Through The Lens, Laws of Deception, Afterlife, & Stupidity "Front Line Assembly and Al Jourgensen would like to dedicate the song Stupidity to the loving memory of Wax Trax! CEO's jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, may the Wax Trax! legacy live forever." All tracks by Front Line Assembly (members below) except: Stupidity and Release written by FLA and Justin Hagberg BILL LEEB - Vocals, Lyrics, Synths CHRIS PETERSON - Programming, Synths*** JEREMY INKEL - Programming, Synths*** JARED SLINGERLAND - Guitars, Programming, Keys Engineered by Greg Reely Additional Engineering by Chris Peterson & Jeremy Inkel Mastered by Greg Reely at Green Jacket Studios Design & Illustration by Dave McKean Guest Personnel: Al Jourgensen: Production, vocals, lyrics, string arrangements and additional programming on Stupidity. Sawton D'Ambruoso: Additional drum programming on Stupidity. Additional 'Gang' vocals [on Stupidity] by: Sawton D'Ambruoso, Andrew Davidson, Jeremy Carbary. Craig Joseph Huxtable: Additional keys on Shifting Through The Lens Justin Hagberg: Guitars on Release, Stupidity and Afterlife * Download version of the album only, not the CD. ** Produced by Al Jourgensen *** Both listed as "Programing" on back cover. **** Additional Engineering by "Loud" Chris DeMarcus Total Size: 171.1 MB Total Length: 1:14:05 Quality: 320 KBPS Track-by-Track Review: FLA mutates again! Following up 2006’s ‘Artificial Soldier’, FLA underwent yet another change, this time emerging as a true 4-piece band instead a list of collaborators. ‘Improvised.Electronic.Device.’ sees Leeb paired up once again with Chris Peterson and Jeremy Inkel, this time with axe-wielder Jared Slingerland contributing guitar to almost every track (Rhys was set to participate as well, but multiple scheduling conflicts got in the way). The end result is a very interesting record with a distinct “band” feel to it. The writing of & inclusion of guitar in every track gives I.E.D. with a more cohesive feel than AS had, a level of consistency which makes the album feel more like a whole work rather than a collection of tracks. Drum & bass marks a big influence this time around, but paired with a distinct industrial rock/metal feel, making some call I.E.D. a true follow-up to ‘Millennium’ in style if not substance. Atmosphere and mood permeate everything at a high level with more space in the mix than ever before (due to the tandem mixing duo of Greg Reely and Ken ‘HiWatt’ Marshall this time), and Dave McKean returns for yet another stunning cover. The album also includes some of Leeb’s most personal moments on an FLA record, a theme of the state of the world today, & a guest appearance that no one expected to ever see. Like or dislike, I.E.D. proves to be FLA’s most interesting album in a very long time. 1. I.E.D. (6:35) A distant explosion kicks off the album, followed by a lengthy intro of eerie, tension-filled droning and ambience, painting a desolate picture to gear you up for what this album is all about. Eventually rhythmic tribal percussion builds up and bursts out with heavy off-kilter drumming and synths. “I.E.D.” is the first FLA track to be done in 6/8 time and break out of the confines of pop structure, or the lawlessness of ambient mood music. Heavy chugga-chugga guitar takes the place of where traditionally a bassline would be, as Leeb paints a dark lyrical landscape. The chorus is heavy as hell; guitar, synths, and epic strings working a simple melody that’s no less powerful. Piano stabs and some slightly vocoded vox follow, as most of this track is comprised of simple elements arranged in an off-kilter way to great effect. The track is also indicative of the space in the mix, as the track is oppressive and hard but not claustrophobic. Nothing on AS was this hard. One of FLA’s finest moments indeed. 2. Angriff (6:43) Same as on the “Shifting…” single, but I’ll go into more detail. This marks the first appearance of the more personal elements of the record, this song being, according to Bill, about the first time FLA went to Russia and about “the history of the country, the industrial symbolism, and the hardship of the land”. This is also doubly personal as Bill’s mother fled Russia during WWII. A steady mid-paced song, light chords and panning sequences start until a thick, bubbly bassline appears. Another heavy beat, a slow two-step with distinct head-nod appeal to it works with more chugging guitar, though lower in the mix than before so as not to mask the bassline. Leeb chants in a low drone setting the melancholy feel to everything, painting images of stone monuments in a frozen landscape. Vocoded shouting leads to the chorus, heavy and melodic featuring Leeb switching to low Germanic growls over a slow simple riff and strings. Another collection of simplistic elements tied together by a thick, sad atmosphere, although the chorus manages to be epic at the same time. The track grows on your with each listen. 3. Hostage (6:57) Another ambient beginning (this will be a theme as it goes on), with whispery noises and an odd electronic pattern, faster DnB elements build up to a faster beat this time with a pastiche of breakbeats and acid-y sequences playing off each other. The aggression comes back hard in this one, with Leeb singing more forcefully over a very deep & driving bassline and in the chorus a 3-note arpeggiated synthline. DnB is larger in the sound in this one, and once again the separate elements of the track are pretty simple for FLA standards but they all play off each other well, especially here where there are multiple breaks & bridges in the track to keep the song interesting until it all ends in an implosive bang. A little overly long for what it is, but still pretty good, and one of the more electronics-heavy tracks on the album. 4. Release (5:21) Again more ambient droning to start. Much like the distorted breaks of AS, this is a running theme in each track. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s superfluous. In any case, things start pretty quickly here, with a collage of fractured drumming leading to a heavy, slow, dub-ish beat with deep bass rumbles and sequences. Leeb breaks out the early 90’s sadistic whisper here, having more fun vocally than he’s had since ‘Caustic Grip’. The chorus is heavy, and undergoes a long bridge near the middle that changes the melody a bit before coming back and ending with another first, Leeb singing plainly over just some pads. Very honest there. Still, Leeb’s vocal fun is the real highlight of an otherwise average track. 5. Shifting Through the Lens (6:06) Written expressly as a club track, this was a pretty obvious choice for a single, even occupying the sweet spot for singles on most FLA records. Another slow, building intro, but this time with main melody of the track appearing right away, first as phone-like chords before the main beat breaks out and things get super-dancey super fast. The track is upbeat and melodic to a degree with an aggressive edge to it. Leeb sings in a heavy vocoder throughout the track, sounding very eerie, especially in the chorus with the “Sterilize all contact points” line (Leeb says the track is about "peering through the keyhole and seeing something you're not supposed to see"). The chorus repeats at the end with suitably thematic strings closing everything out. This is the 2nd all-electronic track on the album, with one more to come, and obvious choice for a single; it still works tremendously, sounding like a mixture of the smoother ‘Civilization’-material and the synth-riffs of ‘Hard Wired’. A bit of old and new in tandem, I think it deserves the title of FLA classic if for no other reason than being a monument to the classic FLA dance sound in itself. 6. Laws of Deception (5:21) And speaking of old-school, here’s a title that sounds right off of ‘Corroded Disorder’ itself. Hey guess what, more slow building ambience to start, leading to another heavy beat, this time a slow swing-style 3/4 churner similar to “Dopamine” from the last album with metal guitar going right with it. Leeb growls menacingly with vocoder mixed in with some pitch shifting (think Leeb’s voice is naturally low? Watch what they do to it here). Everything is heavy and slow-stomping, with another 4-note chorus as they are wont to do now. Average for the most part, the chorus contains some gorgeous choral strings that really lift everything to a spiritual high when they come in. Nice to see them keep experimenting with different structures even if the end result doesn’t blow you away. 7. Pressure Wave (4:58) Nothing too special here, another mid-paced guitar-heavy track centered around an offbeat guitar riff and drumming similar to that of the first track. More lyrics about the after-effects of battle, and the chorus repeats a bunch of times before it ends. Nothing much more to say really, it’s a filler track but it’s not bad, just uneventful. Sounds like it would be loads more fun live, both to play and to hear. Displays the FLA band-sound if nothing else and the chopped up thematic hits that start this track are pretty cool. 8. Afterlife (5:57) The most personal, and melodic, track on the album. Starts with acoustic guitar strumming (which isn’t a first for FLA because not only has Delerium used it well before, but “Transmitter (Come Together)” from ‘Civilization’ had some as well), almost with a western feel to it. This leads to a heavy distorted beat, slow and electronic, with hollow-sounding warbling sequences forming the bassline. Leeb half-chants, half-sings the verses, until the chorus comes in with live(ish) drums enhancing the bear, more acoustic guitar, and a distinct Delerium-feel to it. This is as close as FLA has ever come to a ballad, with pop elements, piano, and melodious pads framing the most personal lyrics Leeb has ever sung, these being about the passing of his birthfather whom he met a few years ago for the first time. He passed mere weeks after meeting Bill for the first time, and this obviously stuck with him. If you can get into the pop-mentality of it the track is very beautiful, and another first being as straight-up ballad as it is. 9. Stupidity (feat. Al Jourgensen) (4:15) That’s right, Ministry & FLA come together for the first time (and look for FLA to remix SOMETHING from Ministry very soon no doubt), something roughly no one on earth ever expected to see. The track starts slow…again…this time using the dark atmosphere and distant clanging machinery noises to lull you in before the track goes absolutely insane with some constant intricate changing drum programming, being stompy and thrash at the same time. Guitar-heavy at the very least, it’s a Ministry production through and through, as Al roars the usual lyrical fair for him about the government and state of society…Shakespeare it ain’t. A track you either love or hate, as it does sound a little out of place being so much like a Ministry song, and yet having it follow the sedate seriousness of “Afterlife” makes things interesting. To me, I hear elements of both bands in the track which I like, but I understand why others may not. The drum programming is incredible at the very least, especially at the end as it speeds to an explosion & cools down with ambience again. 10. Downfall (8:06) And now another long-forgotten classic, the downtempo ambient instrumental, closing the album this time (although bonus tracks are to follow). The track takes it’s time, with dark ambience building to effected samples from the movie ‘Moon’, high tones and a looping rumble. Melody breaks in slowly, sounding very much like Synaesthesia’s ‘Desideratum’ material, with the reverbed strings and slow breakbeat to accompany it. Half-way through the track the beat shifts, incorporating more elements that lead to a closing sequence of descending melody, piano twinklings, high strings and invoking imagery that only an FLA instrumental can do. The ‘Moon’ sample comes back, audible this time, enhancing the spacey feel the track accomplished. A beautiful, lush, and laidback (but no less epic) end to the album. Bonus tracks: 11. Day of Violence (8:27) The first of 2 bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of the album, which was a boneheaded move if there ever was one having these here and not on the “Shifting” single, while the single featured “Angriff”…which appears here anyway! In any case, this track is the star of the bonuses, undergoing many mutations all within itself. You oughta know by now what starts us off, going for a little bit until a slow distorted break starts up. Deep, submersible noises and sweeping washes pile on until suddenly a heavy 4/4 beat breaks out, then collapses in on itself. Then the meat of the track starts, with a deep stabbing bassline & a fast DnB beat pair with Leeb’s distorted whispers & stuttering chords. Then this also ends, as the chorus of the track is beatless and comprised of epic orchestral strings and militaristic hits. These scenes go back and forth with the 4/4 dance beat coming back a few times as well, ending in a very EBM-like sequence. A very busy track with lots of separate elements combining in a neat way. 12. Attack the Masses (5:23) Another heavy guitar-track, full of metal stabs and another 2-step beat. The chorus slows down to half-speed, with Leeb singinig in German again much like did in “Angriff”, over a melody similar to the chorus of “No Limit”. Lyrics are sparse here, feeling very much like ‘FLAvour’-era material. Not much to say, again, it’s a simple track that was obviously meant to be a b-side and would have made more sense on the single, but whatever. Not bad, but on the whole a little boring. As you can see, it’s not a perfect album by any means. But when it’s on it’s ON, sporting some of the best material FLA has ever written in my opinion, albeit paired with some material that I’m sure was more fun to make than it was to listen to. But as I said before, everything is interesting here, especially for long-time FLA fans to truly witness FLA sound more like a band and less like a studio project than ever before. Sounding very modern and timely, FLA unleash more metal here than they have since ‘Millennium’, and that was mostly samples. The different track structures, heavy mood, and a distinct sense of all the band members truly liking what they’re writing all work in I.E.D.’s favor as well as everything being more cohesive than ever before. It’s truly an album, not just a collection of songs. When the worst track on the album can still change your mood and set images so distinct in your head, you know it’s worth a listen. Review by Douglas Sudia (recoil)

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gHighway (2010-07-09)

Thought I would just say a quick thank you. :-)

piratescorpio (2010-07-18)

Thanks Dude ! FLA forever!

bulbasour (2013-01-04)

thank you from me as well!