Music: Front 242: Front by Front, Hexfix93′s Take.
December 30th, 2008 by Hexfix93
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Front by Front
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This is one of the first records that got me into ebm and industrial music. I saw a video on teletunes on public tv here in Colorado. When i was a teen, i was really broke, I stole this TAPE and the Sky’s Gone out by bauhaus the same day from an old chain record store that i ended up buying tons and tons of vinyl from when I actually got a DJ gig back in the day. I still listen to both, but this one really sticks. I have since purchased the newer remaster on CD though. :)
This lp inspired 3 generations of music, and still people rip it off to this day. Even a lot of trance techno people list this band as an influence. Their use of the yamaha dx line was really well done, being able to make them sound fantastic, when most people made them sounds like pure shit.
This lp opens up with this menacing tune. Until Death, i love the feeling of the ultimate mooch it gives off. This probably is my favorite track on the lp. But Circling Overland is a close second. I love the intelligent brooding feel of the vocals on this whole lp. I still love blasting this lp at full volume any where I go. THIS IS WHAT EBM REALLY IS. In fact I think it was the guys in 242 that even coined the term to describe themselves. ELECTRONIC BODY MUSIC.
Nothing on this LP is fat per say. But it is super punchy and aggressive. It does sound old. Good though, because I really hate that detuned trance lead I hear in every fucking so called industrial ebm band in today’s scene.
Notable tracks are: Until Death, Circling Overland, Felines, Headhunter, Welcome to Paradise, and Work. Ok, ok, I used to really love headhunter, until it was played to death in the clubs, now i cringe when I hear it. Despite that, I still like it every once and a while. It really is a great track, but man, djs abused it so bad.
I give this a 242 out of 5. check it out. This is a must have, if you are a ebm industrial head. Sure most old school people have it, but i swear, some of these new kids really do not know the old school music at all. Click Here to Buy mp3 audio 256 drm free of Front 242: Front by Front.
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11 Comments »
December 30th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
front 242 are to EBM what Napalm Death are to Grindcore..the fathers!
December 30th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Indeed. I still get miffed when i meet people who have no clue about this band.. WOW.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
it is always the bands that helped to carry a genre further that get all of the credit, while the originators of the genre are always left behind with no exposure. it’s like trying to learn about a period of world history without having any previous knowledge of the time before it. there will be a gap that will leave you confused.
December 30th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
It’s interesting to me that you mentioned that new skoolers don’t know about this band. Often this seems true to me. Being a ‘new skooler’ myself (having not been lucky enough to be born before 1987), it is funny to me the way I found this band:
I was listening to some Funker Vogt with a friend of mine who was really into the whole electronica genre (I was listening to mostly death/black metal at the time). Then this track (a Headhunter remix) came on and though the Funker Vogt additives were recognizable, it was clear that it wasn’t their song. I looked up the song title, and lo & behold, I had discovered Front 242! I was lucky to find “Tyranny for You” used a few weeks later, followed by “Front by Front” which I now have on cd & cassette. It seems that new music fans just want to download what they hear and don’t do any exploring. Us young ‘uns just don’t seem to grasp the idea of a world without the web, where one had to really DIG to discover music.
Anyway, to end on a sad note, I have a found another copy of “Front by Front” at a local, popular CD chain in a local mall. There’s a Hot Topic right below it on the second floor. I’ve seen ‘fans’ waltzing about in there buying garbage, when up above a far superior album has been sitting for weeks. I already own it, as do my friends that like 242, so I’m leaving it for an experiment. How long will it take for someone to win ‘find the gem’? Bets anyone?
December 31st, 2008 at 12:49 am
8 years. or until they pull it from the shelf since it isn’t popular.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:03 am
that lead in Work is fucking sick, that whole song is just killer
December 31st, 2008 at 3:38 am
Fucking classic album
For some reason I dig the earlier stuff more, though. Like you said, this has been ripped off since its release, so their first couple of albums actually sound more original by today’s standards.
Oh and never forget the genius that is 06:21:03:11 Up Evil :D
December 31st, 2008 at 3:53 am
I actually wrote a long blog/essay just yesterday about old school EBM band and the history of the genre, with an entire section dedicated to Front 242 and what makes them so ingenious. :)
December 31st, 2008 at 4:06 am
Third post in a row, sorry.
@aaroN
You’re underestimating Front 242!
Sure, they aren’t POPULAR like, say, NIN or Depeche Mode, but they are still a much more established act than basically any EBM band since them. Front 242 aren’t just for rivetheads, they were among the very earliest “techno” artists (when taking the term lightly, of course this isn’t old school Detroit-techno), and most -serious- electronica/techno artists who know their music history, acknowledge this band.
When playing live they can still draw a larger crowd than VNV Nation or Combichrist, even though they have only released one (pretty much overlooked) album over the past 15 years, and most of their fans are 30 to 40 years old and have seen them play many times before.
They played here two years ago at a major music festival that usually NEVER deals with “scene” bands, and there were a lot of people there to see them.
That CD will probably stay in that store for a long while, because everyone who’s into F242 already owns the album, and when they see it, they think the same thing, ViddyDrone does. :P
December 31st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Actually, some of us newer people know and love 242. I got into the scene at roughly 14 (am 21 now) and listened to them and FLA before I discovered Skinny Puppy, and found your band by association with FLA.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
“I really hate that detuned trance lead I hear in every fucking so called industrial ebm band in today’s scene.”
aint that the truth! i so agree. 2 unlimited or more “industrial ebm” than most of the crap found on myspace.
“some of these new kids really do not know the old school music at all.”
aint that also the truth! “whats DAF? whats Nitzer ebb? whats Pouppée fabrikk?” blasphemers. all of them! :)
have a nice new years eve bryan.