Frontline Assembly – Wake Up The Coma (CD Album

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Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro.

Background/Info: Frontline Assembly have been active for more than 30 years now. They don’t exactly release a new album every single year and got also involved with ‘special’ releases like the “WarMesh”-album released last year on ArtOffact Records and, which was a kind of soundtrack. They last year also released the EP “Eye On You” announcing this new studio work.

Content: FLA no longer has anything to prove. Even if the fans are sometimes desperately waiting for a new “Caustic Grip” or “Hard Wired”, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber are simply moving on, accomplishing new studio albums from time to time. We already discovered Robert Görl (DAF) who was featured on the last EP, but the album also features Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks, Ministry, Cocksure) and Jimmy Urine (Mindless Self Indulgence) who sings on a surprising cover version of Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”.

It all resulted in a pretty diversified work, which also features ‘typical’ FLA-song; sophisticated song structures recovered with dark atmospheres and the spooky vocals of Bill Leeb.

+ + + : The best part of the work remains the more ‘traditional’ FLA songs, which bring all the familiar sound elements together. Great bass lines, obscure electronic atmospheres, complex, but danceable rhythms and Bill’s great timbre of voice. The sound production is absolutely impressive confirming the experience of this band. “Eye On You” featuring Robert Görl remains a great collaboration. My favorite song is the easy recognizable “Mesmerized”, but I also have to mention the more into bombast driven “Living A Lie”.

– – – : Speaking for myself I expected a bit more out of the other featuring. The songs together with Nick Holmes and Chris Connelly bring some diversity, but aren’t exactly the most convincing cuts. I’m missing a climax. I also have to say a word about the cover version of Falco. The adaptation itself is pretty cool, but not exactly what you can expect from FLA so in the end I can say this song took me by surprise…

Conclusion: When you realize the impressive discography of this band, “Wake Up The Coma” is probably not the production that will enter into history although it reveals a few brilliant songs. I’m afraid a few great songs don’t make a Spring, but in the end there only is one Frontline Assembly!

Best songs: “Mesmerized”, “Living A Lie”, “Eye On You”, “Arbeit”, “Tilt”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.mindphaser.com / www.facebook.com/frontlineassembly

Label: www.metropolis-records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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