FRONT 242 "Pulse" /CD/

The ninth full-length album by Belgian EBM/IDM/Industrial/Ambient band.
It was the band's first studio album in 10 years. Front 242 never allowed the commercial world to embrace them, pulling back from the brink in 1993 with a pair of radical, difficult albums. Since they undoubtedly had little to fear from the mainstream circa 2003, ten years after their last discernible studio album, the trio returned to their vision of detached but hooky Industrial angst with "Pulse".
Some CDs should have the mention "headphones compulsory" as a superficial and careless listening can make you miss the essential. "Pulse" is the perfect example because it needs the greatest attention to detect all the subtleties. For the opening, Front 242 invents a kind of electronic riff, one of those which asserts oneself, with a frantic rhythmic and near trance sounds.
The record begins with "SEQ666," a five-track suite of gritty, hi-res EBM instrumentals - slightly updated, with the help of Cubase, but clearly recognizable and pure joy to fans of mid-'80s classics like "Official Version". Following are a few tracks of thematic Pop ("Together", "Triple X Girlfriend") and an able evocation of the era when Front 242 were the kings of grim, catchy Teutonic angst ("Headhunter", "Tragedy [For You]"). The rest of the record is muddled, taken up by extended, multi-track suites that prove the trio's continued programming prowess but are also as inscrutable as much of the material on their most difficult record (1993's "05:22:09:12 Off").
Similar to the return of Industrial kingpins Ministry a few months earlier, though, "Pulse" sounds like the record Front 242 wanted to make, the type they could make only once the pressure was off. The 74 minutes are dense and varied and Front 242 hasn't chosen the easy way!
XIII Bis Records/Soyuz Music, 2003 (REF6403392). Made in Russia. Used (cover/disc): VG/VG.


Tracklist:
1. Seq666 P 4:01
2. Seq666 U 1:12
3. Seq666 L 1:19
4. Seq666 S 0:49
5. Seq666 E 5:09
6. Together 5:26
7. Triple X Girlfriend 3:44
8. No More No More 7:22
9. Beyond The Scale Of Comprehension 7:21
10. Song Untitled 3:57
11. Song Starcandy 2:40
12. One With The Fire 3:25
13. One Reverse 2:22
14. Matrix Openstatic 2:24
15. Matrix Megahertz 3:50
16. Never Lost Faust 3:40
17. Never Lost Riley 7:01
18. 7rain Filter 4:10
19. Pan Dhe 1:56
20. Pan Mihk 3:06
Total playing time: 74:54


Samples: http://www.last.fm