įront Line Assembly produced their next album Gashed Senses & Crossfire in 1989. Both records were re-released together with three more unreleased tracks on the compilations Convergence later that year and Corroded Disorder in 1995.Īdhering to Third Mind for Europe and Wax Trax! for North America resulted in better availability of the albums in both places, and the signing with Third Mind attracted the attention of established music magazines, including Melody Maker or NME as well as the underground magazine Music From the Empty Quarter. Through Levermore Corrosion was licensed to Wax Trax!. A planned release on the Canadian label Nettwerk fell through, and the two finished masters were issued instead by Third Mind in 1988. ![]() This partnership produced the releases Corrosion and Disorder. Balch mostly contributed by providing keyboards and programming. In 1988, Balch became an official band member and began writing songs alongside Leeb for the next few albums. They changed labels as Leeb did not want to be bound to one label, so the releases were issued only on European labels. With the next album State of Mind, released in January 1988, the band switched to German independent label Dossier. The album had been produced on a tight budget which would determine whether or not cuts would be done with an eight track system or split into two four track cuts. Although the contact to Third Mind would later develop into a long-standing collaboration, the band debuted its first album The Initial Command with credited assistance by Fulber and Michael Balch on Belgian independent record label KK at the end of 1987. The track would be re-released the following year on the Disorder EP. The first appearance of Front Line Assembly was the track "Aggression", which was included on the compilation For Your Ears Only, released in 1987 by British independent record label Third Mind showcasing the label's repertoire at the time. The band members were influenced by early electronic and industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, but mainly by the electronic body music style of Front 242. Early releases and Michael Balch (1987–1989) Both demo releases were limited to 100 and mostly distributed amongst friends. As an unofficial member at this time, Fulber partnered with Leeb during the production of Total Terror and was credited for the song "Black Fluid" on the demo. Īround this time, Leeb and Rhys Fulber became friends when they discovered they both had a similar interest in underground music. Contacts in the music scene he had gathered while with Skinny Puppy led to contract offers from the first two labels that Leeb later approached with cassettes. Leeb started by producing a demo tape, Nerve War, which was distributed on a limited basis. Leeb decided to call the project Front Line Assembly to reflect his belief that strength lies in working together. Having developed some instrumental skills and music industry experience, and wanting to do more vocal work, Leeb decided to take the risk of starting his own project. Not prepared for another tour, Leeb left Skinny Puppy in early 1986. Leeb had no musical training, and learned to play synthesizer while contributing bass synth and backing vocals for the band. History Formation (1985–1986) īetween 19, Bill Leeb performed with Skinny Puppy under the name Wilhelm Schroeder, a combination of his first name and the name of the Peanuts character and was meant as a joke. The former spelling is the most common, and the band's members have stated that the version with three separate words is preferred. Over the years, the band's name has sometimes been published as "Front Line Assembly" and sometimes as "Frontline Assembly". ![]() They have also produced soundtracks for video games such as Quake III: Team Arena (a collaboration with Sonic Mayhem) and AirMech. The albums Tactical Neural Implant and Hard Wired are two of the group's most successful records, the former being considered a classic among industrial music fans. Since their inception, the group have produced over a dozen studio albums and EPs, several of which have charted on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Album chart. ![]() ![]() The band's membership has rotated through the years, including Michael Balch, Rhys Fulber, and Chris Peterson, all of whom are associated with several other acts. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. Front Line Assembly ( FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy.
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