Genre/Influences: EBM, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Frontline Assembly this year celebrates their 35 (!) anniversary. A very good reason for Bill Leeb and Rhys Fülber to release a new album; just the two of them! “Mechanical Soul” is the band’s seventeenth studio full-length. The work has been mixed by Chris Liebing.

Content: “Mechanical Soul” is an album where the fans will recognize the main ingredients that made this Canadian formation one of the uncontested leaders of EBM. The songs are driven by solid bass lines and driven by danceable rhythms. The writing remains sophisticated, mixing aggressive passages together with dense electronic atmospheres. Bill Leeb’s spooky timbre of voice injects an extra dark touch to the work. The song “Stifle” is featuring guitar parts by Dino Cazares (Fear Factory) while another surprising guest is Front 242’s Jean-Luc Demeyer singing on “Barbarians”. This song is a reworked edit of “Future Fail”, which originally appeared on “Artificial Soldier” (2006) on, which Jean-Luc was already singing. Last, but not least we also get a remix of “Hatevol” by Black Asteroid. The original edit of this song was featured at the previous album “Wake Up The Coma” (2019). 

+ + + : FLA remains a kind of sonic lab for sophisticated, intelligent Electronic music. Somewhere in between good-old EBM (especially for some of the bass lines),  Industrial music (for some of the sound treatments) and Ambient atmospheres, this work sounds a bit as summarizing the band’s history. The songs are meticulously crafted and creating a right balance with Leeb’s unique way of singing. I prefer the ‘harder’ cuts of the album like “Unknown” and “Komm, Stirbt Mit Mir” (sung in German). “Glass And Leather” is one of the most elaborated tracks reminding us of the genius of this formation, but also their very own sound DNA. There’s also something to say about “Barbarians” with great guest vocals by Front 242. But the best track, according to me, is the Industrial-Techno & Minimal-driven remix of “Hatevol” by Black Asteroid.

– – – : When you consider the impressive career and discography of FLA, this new work will definitely not enter into history as the band’s masterpiece. It’s maybe missing a bit of power here and then while none of the tracks really sound like an absolute new master hit! I also have a problem when my favorite song of the album is a remix by another formation.

Conclusion: Frontline Assembly hasn’t released their best work to date, but they simply did what we expect from them; releasing an accomplished work with some cool songs and a few little extras thanks to Jean-Luc Demeyer and “Stifle”. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll not be disappointed!

Best songs: “Hatevol – Black Asteroid Mix”, “Glass And Leather”, “Unknown”, “Komm, Stirbt Mit Mir”, “Alone”, “Barbarians”.

Rate: (8).

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

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

About Front Line Assembly

Front Line Assembly is the industrial project led by Bill Leeb, formed in Vancouver, Canada in 1986, joined since the 1990s by producer Rhys Fulber. “Mechanical Soul”, released via Metropolis Records in January 2021, is the band’s seventeenth studio album, mixed by Chris Liebing. The album was announced in October 2020 and features guest contributions from Front 242’s Jean-Luc Demeyer and Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Body-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Greek duo George Sofianos – Nick Von Karma last year released their debut album “Karma Reloaded”. It was an honest debut work featuring a fusion between EBM and Electro-Pop. Prometheus Flame is now back with this EP featuring the title-song “Magic Spell” originally released on their album. The work has been released in different formats featuring a limited 7” Vinyl with only two songs. The CD and Digital formats are featuring two extra songs.

Content: “Magic Spell” was not exactly my favorite song from “Karma Reloaded”. It has something EBM driven, but there’s also something more evasive and Pop-like running through it. The way of singing reminds me of Jean-Luc Demeyer (Front 242). We next get a “Club Mix” plus remixes by Rotersand and Massive Ego

+ + + : Quite honestly “Magic Spell” caught more my attention than on the album. It’s maybe because of the different versions/remixes while the essence remains the same. It’s a cool track for the natural osmosis between EBM and Electro-Pop. The song is well-crafted and clearly inspiring Krischan Wesenberg (Rotersand) and Scot Collins (Massive Ego) who both did a great remix. The Rotersand-remix has something icy-like while Massive Ego injected cool, refreshing bleeps to the song.

– – – : I expected a bit more punch and power from the “Club Mix”, which is a bit disappointing.

Conclusion: This EP is a nice addendum to the debut album “Karma Reloaded” and once more revealing a Greek band we better keep an eye on.

Best songs: “Magic Spell – Massive Ego Remix”, “Magic Spell”, “Magic spell – Rotersand Rework”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.prometheusflame.eu / www.facebook.com/Prometheus-Flame-402883157167543

Label: www.digitalworld.audio /   www.facebook.com/DigitalWorldAudio

About Prometheus Flame

Prometheus Flame is a Greek EBM and electro-pop duo formed by George Sofianos and Nick Von Karma, who released the debut album “Karma Reloaded” in 2019. The “Magic Spell(s)” EP, released via Digital World Audio in 2020, revisits the album’s title track across a club mix and remixes by Rotersand and Massive Ego, in formats spanning a limited 7″ vinyl to digital and CD editions.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Prometheus Flame is a Greek project set up by George Sofianos and supported by Nick Von Karma. The debut album “Karma Reloaded” was released by the end of 2019 and promoted by X-Beats.

Content: It’s not that easy defining the sound composed by Prometheus Flame. It clearly is an electronic format, mixing elements of EBM with darker influences. The songs are supported by melodic- and atmospheric strings, which have something pretty vintage like. The vocals are rather clear and sometimes remind me of Jean-Luc Demeyer (Front 242). “Karma Reloaded” is an album that will make you dance, but also features more melancholic pieces you can dream on. 

+ + + : The first aspect from this work that caught my attention are the vocals. The way of singing sometimes reminds me of the Front 242 singer. Sound-wise Prometheus Flame is mixing different influences. I like the EBM-pop driven “Human State”, which is a great song to dance on. But I also enjoy the more evasive and melancholic driven “Eight Of Cups”. But the most noticeable song is “The Price” revealing great songwriting and especially the way this song progressively evolves reveals talented musicians. I also want to mention “Dance In The Light”, which is carried by a solid lead.

– – – : It’s not that easy to label this band as one specific style and that’s maybe one of the single points to conquer an audience, listeners often preferring ‘standards’.

Conclusion: “Karma Reloaded” is an honest debut album revealing a band with some potential. So let’s see what they’ll bring next. 

Best songs: “The Price”, “Human State”, “Dance In The Light”, “Eight Of Cups”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Prometheus-Flame-402883157167543

Label: www.digitalworldaudio.com / www.facebook.com/DigitalWorldAudio    

About Prometheus Flame

Prometheus Flame is a Greek project set up by George Sofianos, supported by Nick Von Karma. “Karma Reloaded”, promoted by X-Beats, is the project’s debut album, released at the end of 2019. Prometheus Flame followed it with the “Magic Spell(s)” EP in 2020.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Klack is the meeting between Eric Oehler (Null Device) and Matt Fanale (Caustic). Their work has been introduced as new-beat. “2400bps 8-N-1” has been released as an EP, but it rather looks as a mini-album featuring five songs. It was their second work released in 2019.

Content: Klack is filled with EBM retro-elements. It doesn’t directly make me think to new-beat, but sounds like good-old ‘funky’ EBM with vocals reminding me of Jean-Luc Demeyer. The songs are well-crafted, driven by a rather slow cadence and yet being very danceable. Klack sounds like the imaginary fusion between Front 242 and Kode IV.

+ + + : I like the global approach of this work, which is definitely retro-like, but accomplished with intelligence. Even if it’s old-styled, it sounds original and refreshing. This is the kind of project the electronic scene is missing. I was impressed by the songs “Discipline” and “The Games We Play”.

– – – : This is a great work, but maybe without the ‘ultimate’ hit!

Conclusion: Call it EBM or new-beat, either way you’ll have to agree this duo has been touched by a great creative spirit accomplishing a cool production. I can only encourage Klack to move on!

Best songs: “Discipline”, “The Games We Play”, “Take Me Now”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.klackprodukt.com / www.facebook.com/klackmusik

About Klack

Klack is an EBM/New Beat project pairing Eric Oehler of Null Device and Matt Fanale of Caustic, based in Madison, Wisconsin. The duo’s discography began in 2017 with “Pump Up The Jam”, “Do You Klack?” and “Synthesizer”, followed by 2018’s “Addicted To Love”. In 2019 Klack also released “Introducing The 1984 Renault LeCar” and “Layover” before this “2400bps 8-N-1” EP.

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.

www.side-line.com

The 4th track on our free (or pay-what-you-want to support our charity work) download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 5” is by the Belgian darkwave act Aiboforcen.

“In My Arms” was originally released on the “Sense & Nonsense” album while the Ocean Mix of the track followed on the “In My Arms” EP which came out earlier this year. We picked it as it brings a very moody atmosphere which perfectly fits the feeling we had when creating this compilation. The track features the lush vocals of Mari Kattman who has been working extensively with the with the band in the past.

Aiboforcen was founded by the duo Benoit Blanchart and Seba Dolimont, but is nowadays mainly Benoit Blanchart who works with guest vocalists. After the release of two CD albums (“Elixir Lytique” & “Face (of) Death”), the band disappeared from the scene to work on various other projects. They returned with a more mature and better mastered type of sound on the “Sons Palliatifs” album which closed their trilogy around the “near death experience” theme.

Released in June 2004, their 4th album “Kafarnaüm” offers a complex and modern mixture of eclectic electronic styles ranging from harsh EBM to crunching power industrial through dark trip hop with a certain future pop touch and their trademark combination of harsh male growls and sensual female vocals. The next album was released in 2011, “Dédaleé” and in 2018 Aiboforcen released the extremely dark “Sense & Nonsense” featuring amongst others Jean-Luc Demeyer (Front 242), Damasius (Mondträume) , Lars Bass (Kant Kino) and many more guest singers.

The complete backcatalogue by Aiboforcen is available here.

Check “Face The Beat: Session 5” on Bandcamp to discover the other bands. All donations will go to charity.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘A Tribe Of My Own’.

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.

www.side-line.com

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘The Vintage Collection’.

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.

www.side-line.com

Read the review of ‘A Tribe Of My Own’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Four years have passed since the previous Suicide Commando-album (cf. “When Evil Speaks”). Johan Van Roy had to struggle with a burn out, but he finally found the energy to beat his inner demons. This experience inspired him to compose one of his darkest and maybe most ‘atypical’ albums to date entitled “Forest Of The impaled” (released on Out Of Line). Suicide Commando remains one of the leading ships of dark-electronic music and I’d a chat with the captain on board.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I think to have understood that “Forest Of The Impaled” probably is one of your most intimate releases to date, right? What is it all about and is there any particular meaning/symbolic behind the title?

Johan: Yes, it definitely became my most intimate and personal release to date. “Forest Of The Impaled” turned out to be my own private therapy to fight my fears and monsters which I had to conquer in the last 2 years.

There’s a lot more emotion and feelings in this new album then in my previous works. Maybe not because of the vocals, but surely because of the dark music and atmosphere. In fact there’s no real meaning behind the title, I just thought it fitted the cold and apocalyptic atmosphere I wanted to create pretty well.

Q: I remember one of your songs “Death Cures All Pain”, but don’t you think music can cures all pain as well?

Johan: Oh sure music can cure pain, actually I’m a perfect example of that. Music helped me to overcome my burn out, “Forest Of The Impaled” is the result of that. Half of the tracks on the album were already written 2 years ago before my burn out, the rest was written in the last few months and for me was the perfect therapy to fight my inner monsters. That’s why “Forest Of The Impaled” isn’t a happy album and probably my darkest album ever.

Q: “Crack Up”, “Death Lies Waiting” and “Chasm Of Emptiness” are quite refreshing songs; it feels a bit like you’ve reinvented the Suicide Commando sound by adding subtle treatments and ‘new’ influences. Are you aware of this evolution and did you’d a particular sound in mind when starting the writing?

Johan: I never really start with a plan. These things have to come spontaneously, you (well, at least I can’t !) can’t write something on command, it wouldn’t work for me. The only thing that in some way was done deliberately, was the plan to have more slower songs on the new album. Either I’m getting too old, or call me stubborn, but I really wanted to go into the opposite direction of all those copycats of today. In times where each song has to be over 120 bpm I only have 3 songs this time going over the 120 bpm.

Q: How did you convince Jean-Luc Demeyer to sing on the already familiar, but still surprising “The Pain That You Like”? How did the writing and recording of this song happened?

Johan: I’ve known Jean-Luc for many years now, but only got to know him better in the last 3 or 4 years. Since I’ve always been a big fan of his works for Front 242, I thought it would be a good idea to ask him to do some guest vocals. So when I was writing “The Pain That You Like” I thought that song might fit his voice pretty well, so I just asked and to my surprise he immediately agreed on doing so. After having Dirk Ivens who did guest vocals on my very first album back in 1994, I now finally could have one of my other heroes do guest vocals on a Suicide Commando song. So now I can die in peace… (laugh).

Q: “Forest Of The Impaled” will be released in different formats. What does the vinyl format means to you ano 2017 and what are your impressions about all the Suicide Commando songs that have been covered by other artists for the ‘fan-box’ edition?

Johan: I grew up with vinyl in the eighties, so for me it’s more of a nostalgia thing to have the new album on vinyl as well. It sure ain’t something to get rich with, but I’m really glad Out Of Line wanted to do a vinyl edition as well.

I’m really happy how the ‘tribute’-album turned out. It wasn’t an easy decision to pick the best covers as I received so many covers, but I think in the end it has the best mix of old and newer songs covered by bands that in some way or another have been influenced by Suicide Commando.

Q: I can easily imagine, Suicide Commando has changed your life. What’s the real impact of getting recognized and famous on the ‘person’ hiding behind the ‘artist’ and do you sometimes think what will come after Suicide Commando?

Johan: Sure it has changed my life in different ways. I was and still am able to live from and thanks to my music, with the goodwill of the company where I work to allow me to keep on working half time and spend the other half on my music. My music brought me to places all over the world where I otherwise never ever would have been able to go to. My music brought me satisfaction, friendships…

But sadly enough it also had a downside, the never ending work and stress, the killing combination of work + music + family got me into this burn out. Being recognized didn’t have much impact on my life, especially since this scene is so small in Belgium, I can still walk around on the streets without getting recognized… (laugh).

When you’re getting older you obviously start to think about things like what will come after Suicide Commando… When I started making music back in 1986 I never imagined I still would be doing this after 30 years, but I’m still doing music with the same old passion and love for this kind of electronic music. I guess that’s the main reason why I still do this music, my eternal love and passion for this kind of cold electronic music.

I have no idea how long I will continue, but I can easily imagine I’ll do this until death do us part…

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Side-Line also covered Suicide Commando’s ‘Click Interview’.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Background/Info: Belgian proud and master of dark-(h)el(l)ectronics is back on track with the first new album in 4 years. Johan Van Roy has often took the time to accomplish new studio work, but this production also is something special as it was a way to chase personal demons… Notice by the way this album is also available as double ‘deluxe’ disc, as double vinyl together with a CD and last, but not least as a special ‘fan edition’ 4-CD box.

Content: “Forest Of The Impaled” has been introduced as being the darkest and most intimate work of Suicide Commando to date. The opening cut featuring Nero Bellum (Psyclon Nine) definitely sounds as one of the most tormented songs in the band’s history. But if you think that all the upcoming songs are sounding similar, you’ll be surprised to discover slower compositions.

Johan Van Roy also experimented with new ideas, revealing a more sophisticated and intelligent writing process. I noticed songs with refreshing bleeps and even some minimalism. There also is one of the most EBM-minded songs ever written by Johan Van Roy. This is the already familiar “The Pain That You Like” featuring Jean-Luc Demeyer (Front 242, Under Viewer, 32 Crash) on vocals.

“Forest Of The Impaled” reveals a mix between some classic Suicide Commando songs carried by icy sequences, bombast-industrial rhythms and the harsh vocals of Johan at one side and some refreshing pieces at the other side.

+ + + : “Forest Of The Impaled” probably is the most diversified work of Suicide Commando ever. Another obscure and tormented cut is “The Devil” on, which you get the impression that a demon is singing. The album is merging the unavoidable ‘classical’ dark-electro cuts with a few more ‘minimal’-driven cuts revealing a different approach in the sound treatments plus an EBM-inspired song featuring Jean-Luc Demeyer.

This is probably not the album that will enter into history as the ‘best’ album of the artist and yet there are a few outstanding pieces featured. The opening track “The Gates Of Oblivion” featuring Nero Bellum truly is a real masterpiece. The song together with Jean-Luc Demeyer is another essential cut, but I also enjoyed the ‘modernism’ running through “Chasm Of Emptiness” and “Crack Up”. One more interesting cut is the sophisticated “Schiz[o]topia”, which comes closer to the style of Mentallo & The Fixer.

– – – : I just noticed a few single cuts, which left me rather unmoved. “Too Far Gone” and “Poison Tree” aren’t exactly the songs that will enter into Suicide Commando ‘classic’ hits.

Conclusion: Every single new Suicide Commando album always is an event. I don’t know if it’s the artist’s darkest album ever, but it clearly and once again deals with pain and torture. Suicide Commando has chased its demons on “Forest Of The Impaled” with music that sounds even more evil than the most dangerous demon!

Best songs: “Chasm Of Emptiness”, “Gates Of Oblivion feat. Nero Bellum”, “Death Lies Waiting”, “The Pain That You Like feat. Jean-Luc Demeyer”, “The Devil”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.suicidecommando.be / www.facebook.com/IIXIII

Label: www.outofline.de  / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Minimal-electro, experimental, EBM.

Background/Info: Thirty eight years after their debut Underviewer has finally released their official debut album! Behind this project is hiding the Belgian duo Patrick Codenys – Jean-Luc De Meyer. They got some worldwide fame and recognition, becoming a kind of living legends as members of Front 242. The Belgian pride of EBM was the result of Prothese (Daniel B) joining hands with Underviewer. During the past few years we discovered some old, forgotten and unreleased songs of Underviewer, which got released on limited editions of 242-albums, but the duo is now active again and even did their first live performances again.

Content: I expected pure experimentalism, which was the main influence of early Underviewer. I get a great and totally vintage-like electro-minimalism instead. It sounds a bit like early EBM and carried by the magic of analogue gear. The vocals of Jean-Luc Demeyer have been never that determinant and charismatic.

If you like old-styled electronics driven by deep, dry sounding bass lines and cold synth leads or you simply are into sound experimentalism, this album will for sure fulfill your expectations.

+ + + : There are for sure some arrangements and even a few sounds, but especially the vocals of Jean-Luc Demeyer that will remind you of Front 242, but this is definitely another band. Underviewer takes us back in time and this travel is a great experience made of sound magic. The music has been joined by a great vocals performance while even some of the lyrics are intimate and intelligent. I have a few favorite cuts on this album, but I was fascinated by the somewhat Depeche Mode sounds running through “I Remember”.

– – – : I’m not that fond of the more experimental cuts, which are less convincing although reminding us of the original spirit of the band.

Conclusion: “Wonders & Monsters” is without a shadow of a doubt a great album and not because it here concerns members of Front 242. They simply accomplished a great opus, which is for sure one of the hottest Alfa Matrix releases from the past year.

Best songs: “A Minor Detail”, “Was Soll Ich Tun?”, “I Remember”, “Wonders & Monsters”, “What Do You See?”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/Underviewer-1474737942739600

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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.

www.side-line.com

Yesterday we announced a first download single for the pre-Front 242 project and behold, today the full album “Wonders & Monsters” is being announced. Originally Alfa Matrix planned to announce the album details on Friday but one very quick distributor (hi Seb!) beat them, so the label sped things up and announced the details on its website too. You gotta love the stress that comes with this branch.

Here are the specs on this new release. “Wonders & Monsters” is being released as a standalone CD and on black vinyl (including the CD album) limited to just 300 copies, or you can get your digital download from Bandcamp.

Where to order?

The 2 formats can be ordered right here for the American market (You’ll get FREE Shipping on orders over 0), and right here for the EU market (add several items and pay less on shipping costs). If you want the audio from the 2CD set only, then you can also go to Bandcamp where the material can be ordered.

Below are a few details from the CD release.

One of the tracks featured on the download single have in the meantime been made public via Front 242’s newly launched YouTube channel.

Before joining Front 242 in 1981 Brussels-based artists Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer used to be working together as a duo since 1978 under the Underviewer moniker, using a bass, synthesizers, rhythm boxes and a tape recorder.

Dormant for over 30 years, the duo recently recovered a dozen of tracks from their early 4-track tape recordings or even recreated some of them by meticulously reusing the same vintage machines, only slightly adapting them where needed. These songs have now been gathered together to form the debut album of a band that has been existing for over 38 years.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Before joining Front 242 in 1981 the two Brussels-based artists Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer used to be working together as a duo (since 1978) under the Underviewer moniker, using a bass, synthesizers, rhythm boxes and a tape recorder. Some of that older material ended up on the “Geography” remaster released via Alfa Matrix a few years ago. But for the rest the project laid dormant for over 30 years.

The duo however recently recovered tracks from their early 4-track tape recordings and even recreated some of them by meticulously reusing the same vintage machines.

The first result is the 2-track download “Nobody But You” which was released out of the blue on Friday evening via Bandcamp (Side-Line readers following Front 242’s Instagram account got an exclusive preview snippet after which the ball really got rolling). Included in the single are 2 tracks: “Nobody But You (redux)” (03:12) and “I Remember” (02:41). The single is just a first teaser as the band is prepping a forthcoming full length album, “Wonders & Monsters”.

The reaction of those who bought the single instantly (even without pre-listening to the tracks) is more than clear, this release is exactly the good news they wanted. Peter Louies says: “These tracks are good! Love it. Typical Front 242 style was already present in these tracks. Looking forwards to the album.” The same positive sound came from Marcus Krummacher: “Bought it and I am positively surprised, I was expecting stuff like on the 2nd disc of the Geography remaster.” Didrik Peterson describes his surprise in 3 words: “Truly. Splendid. Damn!” Further feedback came from Hampton Mills (“These two tracks are fantastic!”), Mark Bristol (“Purchased. HIGHLY recommend. Great analog sound!”), Hálás Elod Joszef (“Impressive!!!!”), Luc De Schrijder (“Great great great great!!!”) and many many more.

Below is the Instagram post by Front 242, the single can be found right here:

Pre #Front242 material by #Underviewer to be released. First 2-track single now available via alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/music #ebm #jeanlucdemeyer #patrickcodenys

A video posted by Front 242 – Official (@front242official) on Oct 28, 2016 at 6:15am PDT

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Background/Info: If you’re a fan of ‘242’ this special “Deluxe Anniversary”-box strictly limited to 1242 copies definitely is an item you better purchase. For their 35^th anniversary the band together with Alfa Matrix decided to re-release some of their albums plus a lot of extras, which you’ll find in this ‘box’.

The bonus of this box consists of the EP “Politics Of Pressure” (1985), one CD with rare material and one more CD with live material plus some cards and other fan material.

This album also was the first one featuring Richard Jonckheere (aka Richard 23) while Dirk Bergen had left the band. Richard 23 joined Daniel B., Patrick Codenys and singer Jean-Luc De Meyer.

Content: “Geography” definitely remains a real EBM-phenomena, but “No Comment” would definitely place the Belgian ‘body’ masters on the international map of underground electronics. The songs were less experimental and more into danceable vibes. Front 242 also confirmed their fascination for icy sound textures while they created some controversy with their ‘military’ look and enigmatic songs like “S.Fr. Nomenklatura <1&2> and the later on released “Funkahdafi” originally released on “Politics Of Pressure”.

‘242’ never has been into fast rhythms, but into powerful sound treatments accomplished with the genius production skills of Daniel B. “No Comment”. This album revealed several hits and it is still pure magic to discover “Lovely Day” and of course “No Shuffle”.

“Politics Of Pressure” was an essential maxi in history of the band as well. Songs like “Don’t Krash”, the already mentioned and tormenting “Funkahdafi” and the brilliant “Kommando <Remix>” simply became early hits of the band.

The next CD reveals live versions of a few songs and even a demo version of “Special Forces”, an alternative version of “Body To Body” and probably one of the  first remixes, which was one of “S.Fr. Nomenklatura” by Acurack.

The last CD is a live recording from a gig in Hamburg (Germany) in 1987! That’s the year the 3^rd full length “Official Version” has been released. You here will get the opportunity to discover some of the most famous early EBM-hits of the band.

+ + + : “No Comment” is definitely one of the ‘242’-albums that might symbolize their sound the most accurate way. There still is this experimental touch through most of the songs and, which reveal amazing and visionary sound treatments, but it was definitely the album that made the band call their music EBM! The songs reflect such an impressive energy and powerful icy sequences. The vocals of Jean-Luc Demeyer gained in charisma while Richard 23 did great backing vocals –which is especially true for the live performances of the band. The main strength of this early material is that it sounds timeless. The extra fan material featuring old official pictures and other stuff in the genre is really cool. The artistic package of this release is again absolutely outstanding.

– – – : Speaking for myself I regret the band hasn’t considered putting out some articles, reviews and a few words about this record. Front 242 were really shocking for a lot of people and there was a huge controversy about their sound and image. It would have been great to bring it back to life and especially when referring to a song like “Funkahdafi”.

Conclusion: Great songs, great package, great band! “No Comment” and “Politics Of Pressure” both still sound very hot today, which simply proves the avant-garde and visionary composition of this unique band!

Best songs: “No Shuffle”, “S.Fr. Nomenklatura <1&2>, “Lovely Day”, “Special Forces” + “Kommando<Remix>”, “Funkahdafi”, “Don’t Krash”.

Rate: (9).

Band: www.facebook.com/Front.242

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Background/Info: There’re not enough adjectives to qualify Front 242, but let’s simply remind the Belgian veterans of EBM as the most famous and successful band in the genre from the EBM history. Front 242 created EBM in the early 80s and nearly 35 years after their debut they remain subject of devotion and veneration by the worldwide EBM community. It also is a perfect reason to celebrate this anniversary.

The debut full length “Geography” originally released in 1982 has already been re-released and re-mastered multiple times, but now gets a ‘deluxe anniversary’-edition for its 35^th anniversary. There are many editions available, but this special box-edition is the one for the die-hard fans and has been strictly limited to 1242 copies!

Next to the original album on CD- and vinyl format we also get an extra vinyl album with rare material plus an exclusive 7” plus fan material like cards, posters and an extra label sampler featuring Alfa-Matrix bands.

This album has been released together with the re-edition of the albums “No Comment” and “Pulse”, which are all available in a special limited box edition as well. All boxes together create a unique artistic piece.

Content: I’m afraid everything has been said about “Geography”, which remains the debut full length of the band featuring Daniel B., Dirk Bergen, Patrick Codenys and singer Jean Luc De Meyer. The work was pretty minimal and clearly experimental, but several songs were driven by a danceable cadence and icy vocals. Back in time I really had a shocking experience discovering “Geography”, which I still consider as the best work of ‘242’. The Belgian masters showed a new sound made by electronic gear, which sounded frozen and even a bit disturbing.

35 years later songs like “Operating Tracks”, “U-Men”, “Least Inkling” and “Kampfbereit” still have this original piece of magic! I can’t say this album was the real breakthrough of EBM, but definitely an opus that should quickly entered into history.

The next vinyl (album) reveals work from some ‘242’ side-projects that were still active during the 80s. We already got the opportunity (thanks to Alfa Matrix) to (re)discover bands like Prothese (Daniel B.) and Underviewer (Patrick Codenys & Jean-Luc Demeyer), which were bands active before the set-up of Front 242. You’ll recognize the total experimental expression of Prothese and the somewhat more accessible Underviewer. You’ll also (re)discover the rare Front 242-songs that were originally released on the previous Alfa-Matrix re-edition, which is now sold-out. You here will get several instrumental versions of early songs and two so-called “Aerial”-versions.

Last, but not least we get an exclusive single featuring the famous early hit “Take One” and the song “See The Future”.

+ + + : There’s only one Front 242 and that’s what this legendary album once again reveals to the entire EBM community. You can hear that the tracks are from another decade (and Century), but they still have this fascinating analogue elements revealing pure coldness. It also confirms the great skills of producer Daniel B. and the charismatic vocals of JL Demeyer.

The main strength of this new edition for sure is the artwork of this box. This is without a shadow of a doubt the most artistic edition in history!

– – – : I can’t imagine any kind of regret on this album and especially for this unique box-edition, but you for sure might wonder if this new re-edition will be really the last one!? The real last studio-album “Pulse” of Front 242 was released 13 years ago and we haven’t gotten a new song since then.

Conclusion: I thought to have seen it all about “Geography” till the band and their label came up with this amazing box bringing the legendary vibes and tunes of “Geography” alive again.

Best songs: “Operating Tracks”, “U-Men”, “Kampfbereit”, “Least Inkling”, “Kinetics” + “Take One”.

Rate: (9).

Band: www.facebook.com/Front.242

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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.

www.side-line.com