Search - Front Line Assembly :: Initial Command

Great early industrial music with two ethereal songs.

10/14/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Initial Command may not be Front Line Assembly's most well known album, or their most technologically advanced, but for me it clicks, with _Corroded Disorder,_ as their best. Tracks like "The State," "Casualties," and "Nine Times" show the band at the peak of its early output. However, the two real kickers are the first two "bonus" tracks, "Complexity" and "Intelligence Dream." These were not on the original album and were added as a bonus for the '97 version, but they are my favorite FLA songs. Brooding, dreamy, and meditative, they are a great set to have a musical "epiphany" and space out to. I would purchase the album just for the bonus tracks, although the original stuff is quite good too."

The Initial Debut

Ryan K. Fry | Sherman, TX | 04/18/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 1987 debut was Front Line Assembly's first commercially available album as the two 1986 demo tapes, "Nerve War" and "Total Terror" were self-released.



At this early point in Front Line Assembly's history, Bill Leeb was the band's only member. Armed with only a rather limiting synthesizer, Bill pushed his primitive equipment to its absolute limit in each track on The Initial Command. In songs like "The State" and "Black March", we hear a protoform of Front Line Assembly's trademark sound, complete with sampling and much distortion everywhere. The most enticing song on this release is the ambient and chilling "Ausgang Zum Himmel". When the title's English translation, "Exit to the Sky" is taken into consideration, the song's expansive and somewhat psychedelic soundscape comes into perfect focus.



It's a shame that this FLA release is so very overlooked these days as it's the perfect place to start for anyone looking to deepen his interest in Front Line Assembly."

The Initial Command (Oppression Breeds Violence) ~ Front Li

Bjorn Viberg | European Union | 05/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Leeb and Fulber have certainly come a long way since recording this very primitve sounding album. The samples sound cheap, the keyboard sounds are even worst and the lack of vocal treatment makes them seemingly reluctant to write extensive lyrics. Even so there is proof that they have immense tallent both of them and they use their equipment and create astounding music considering their limited budget and their very meager means. The cover art looks terrible and the photo on the back is a strange one. Even so this is a very good album as to use as a yard stick for thier humble beginings to the music that they record and produce today."