making it 22 years since the last 242 album I bought.
No go/not enough for me
I really LOVED their earlier work.. But as said, when I back then first heard their 90ies Evil On/Off stuff (at a friends house), I instantly was like "no thanks. not for me. I don't like to listen to it at all..".
It was just the same with "FLAvour of the weak". Instant buy (as Wilhelm is my idol), listened once -> shoved it to the dustiest part of my CD shelf. I was so disillusioned, I even missed out on Implode and Epitaph for quite some time.. Which was a bad move from me, but it took me quite some time to realize that.
Both bands have gone through quite some changes in the 90ies. Front 242 earlier, and FLA later (for my taste).
I'm glad that Wilhelm/FLA managed to get the turnaround (for my taste at least) with Epitaph again.. and releases even got better from there on. But then again, Artificial Soldier / Improvised Electronic Devices.. Hmmm.. I can pickpoint tracks that are great, but most of it is just like.. I don't need/have to listen to these tracks.
For FLA, I think it is because Bill decided to jump to the commercial side. How on earth could he release a Soundtrack like "AirMech" under the FLA signature?
*SIDENOTE* I'm fully aware of, that "AirMech" was meant to be a Soundtrack for a game..
While "AirMech" does in fact have quite some tracks I really appreciate and also love to listen to them, there's just no sign of FLA in it to me. FLA sounds different.. FLA doesn't need Dubstep elements in it. If I want to listen to Dubstep, I wouldn't choose FLA as the "go to" project. Other people can do better..
Bill also had quite some other side projects in his life.. (Intermix anyone?) but as said - NO. "AirMech" just
ISNT Front Line Assembly to me. Get over it, Wilhelm. Would have been a nice Intermix release or whatever other side projects would have fit to go there..
Wikipedia reveals two more album releases for FLA after "AirMech". But, that's to late for me. I won't even listen to them. The disappointment with "AirMech" was too great for me. Even if I would miss out on great FLA tracks. But I can hardly imagine that this is the case.
If I want to listen to "New-School" / "laundered with fabric softener" kind of music (that I'd like to call "circus/fair" EBM [in my native language]), I'd go for something else.
BTW, not all "New-School" releases from the last decade are bad. There are exceptions. Glis had some great tracks. Even if they are melodic like hell
Glis ft. Karloz M. of Manufactura - Redemption:
or, Aslan Faction with "Blunt Force Trauma":
Too bad I missed their show by two weeks, back when I was frequently listening to them.. Still a good track that I like to listen to, from time to time