As genre progenitors pushing beat-driven industrial, corrosive metal, and electronic body music in the late '80s and early '90s,
Front Line Assembly helped formulate this hybrid style before acts like
nine inch nails carried it into the mainstream. Initially,
FLA dealt with the dark synth atmospherics heard on their official debut, 1987's The Initial Command. The addition of EBM dance beats followed, heard on releases such as 1989's
Gashed Senses & Crossfire and 1992's
Tactical Neural Implant. As the genre incorporated more metal influences, so did the band, who injected jagged guitar riffs and aggressive sampling on 1994's
Millennium. After returning focus to electronic, techno-oriented beats,
FLA entered the 21st century with a trio of releases that landed the group on the Billboard charts for the first time with 2006's
Artificial Soldier. They repeated the feat in 2010 with
Improvised. Electronic. Device. before turning their attention to video game soundtracks on
AirMech (2012) and
WarMech (2018). They remained active with studio efforts like 2021's
Mechanical Soul.
Through various lineup shifts over the decades, the act's core duo is comprised of
Bill Leeb (vocals, synthesizers) and
Rhys Fulber (synthesizers, samplers). After working in the mid-'80s under the pseudonym Wilhelm Schroeder with
Skinny Puppy, the Austrian-born
Leeb formed the industrial/techno-based
Front Line Assembly in 1986 with
Fulber -- who initially joined on as a studio assistant -- and synth player
Michael Balch. After a handful of compilation appearances and cassette-only releases,
Front Line Assembly issued its first three full-length efforts -- The Initial Command,
State of Mind, and Corrosion -- on a monthly basis between December 1987 and February 1988. Later in 1988, Corrosion, a subsequent mini-album titled Disorder, and a number of exclusive bonus tracks were compiled and released as Convergence.
In 1989, the group returned with the album
Gashed Senses & Crossfire, which contained the dance-flavored singles "Digital Tension Dementia" and "No Limit." A European tour in support of the record yielded a live album -- simply titled
Live -- that was released and deleted on the same day in a limited edition of 4,000 pressings. After
Balch departed
Front Line Assembly in 1990,
Fulber stepped in as a full partner; the streamlined duo soon released the electro-styled album
Caustic Grip, while 1992's
Tactical Neural Implant found the group's music moving in a harder-edged disco direction.
By 1994, their sound had evolved yet again, with the album
Millennium displaying a newfound reliance on guitars; both the title track and "This Faith" scored as club hits.
Fulber departed the lineup by 1997, while his replacement
Chris Peterson debuted with 1998's
Monument.
Implode appeared one year later. Sticking with a heavy dose of synth pop trance and throbbing melodies,
Leeb and
Peterson issued
Epitaph in fall 2001.
Rhys Fulber returned for the 2001 album
Civilization and remained for the 2006 release
Artificial Soldier, which found guitarist/keyboardist
Jeremy Inkel joining the band. The remix album
Fallout followed in 2007.
The group returned in 2010 with
Improvised. Electronic. Device. (Metropolis), featuring new members
Jeremy Inkel and
Jared Slingerland, as well as "Stupidity," with
Al Jourgensen. After years of contributing previously released tracks to video game-related soundtracks,
Front Line Assembly gave full focus to an entire album with
AirMech, the electronic instrumental soundtrack for the video game of the same name, which was released in 2012. The next year, they returned with the dubstep-influenced
Echogenetic -- the remix album Echoes a year later -- which they promoted on tour with
Skinny Puppy.
Echogenetic marked their highest chart success to date, topping the German Alternative Albums list and entering the top 20 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic and Heatseekers Albums charts.
In early 2018, keyboardist
Inkel passed away due to asthma complications at the age of 34. The band carried on, joining
Die Krupps on a spring European tour before the release of
AirMech sequel
WarMech. Closing out the 2010s, they issued
Wake Up the Coma, which featured a cover of
Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus" with
Jimmy Urine, as well as appearances by Nick Holmes (
Paradise Lost) and
Chris Connelly (
Revolting Cocks). A new decade in the band's catalog was inaugurated with 2021's
Mechanical Soul, which recruited guests
Jean-Luc De Meyer (
Front 242) and
Dino Cazares (
Fear Factory).
FLA was featured on
Black Asteroid's 2022 single "Methane Rain." ~ Jason Ankeny & Neil Z. Yeung