Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 02/12/2008
Front Line Assembly's entry in the
Roadrunner label's 2008 two-fer series contains their 1992 album
Tactical Neural Implant plus their 1994 effort
Millennium. There are no bonus tracks or remastering, and the only new offering of any substance are the short liner notes by
Gary Levermore, the man who founded the legendary
industrial label
Third Mind and also recorded under the name
Bushido. As
Levermore points out, this release covers the years before and after the band remixed
Fear Factory, a highly influential gig which influenced the usually synth-only band to break out the
heavy metal guitars.
Tactical Neural Implant is quintessential early
FLA with cold
electronic landscapes under dark words that are sometimes samples, sometimes sung.
Millennium is the crunching guitar album that divided fans and while it's the weaker of the two, it is an interesting blend of
electro-industrial and
metal; of futurism and rock-hard riffage. Loyal
FLA buyers would have preferred an upgrade or expansion, but value-minded newcomers to the band are well served by this release.
~David Jeffries, All Music Guide