Pulse (Front 242 album)

Last updated
Pulse
Pulse (2003).jpg
Studio album by Front 242
Released May 6, 2003
Studio Art & Strategy
Genre
Length74:07
Label Metropolis Records
Producer Daniel Bressanutti
Front 242 chronology
Still & Raw
(2003)		Pulse
(2003)
(Filtered) Pulse cover
(Filtered) Pulse (2016).jpeg
Released in 2016

Pulse is the eighth studio album by Front 242, released on May 6, 2003 through Metropolis Records. It was the group's first full-length studio release in ten years since 1993's 05:22:09:12 Off , marking their largest gap between albums. In 2016, a restructured version of Pulse was released under the title (Filtered) Pulse.

Front 242 band

Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they were a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.

Metropolis Records Music label in the USA

Metropolis Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993. The label releases material in the electro-industrial, synthpop, future pop, darkwave, and gothic music genres, although it is open to releasing any genre of dark alternative music, whether electronic-based or post-punk.

<i>05:22:09:12 Off</i> 1993 studio album by Front 242

05:22:09:12 Off is an album by Industrial/EBM group Front 242. It was released by Sony on 2 November 1993. The album's title is a simple substitution cipher for the word "evil"; where each letter is represented by its equivalent numerical position in the alphabet.

Contents

Content

Pulse is a blend of electronic body music and industrial music. Unusually for Front 242, the album predominantly comprises a set of suites divided into sub-tracks. [1]

Electronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of disco and dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Germany and Belgium and came to prominence in Belgium at the end of the decade. EBM was generally considered a part of the European new wave and post-punk movement and the first style that blended synthesized sounds with an ecstatic style of dancing.

Industrial music is a genre of experimental music which draws on harsh, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments and punk provocation". The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by members of Throbbing Gristle and Monte Cazazza. While the genre name originated with Throbbing Gristle's emergence in the United Kingdom, concentrations of artists and labels vital to the genre also emerged in Chicago.

(Filtered) Pulse reissue

On June 24, 2016, a restructured, heavily shortened, and remastered version of Pulse was released under the title (Filtered) Pulse. [2] It was released through Alfa Matrix as part of Front 242's thirty-fifth anniversary series of reissues. [3] This release was organized by Front 242's own Daniel Bressanutti. [4]

Alfa Matrix is a Belgian record label. Founded in 2001, the label releases musical styles including aggrotech, industrial music, dark elektro, synthpop, and electronica.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Exclaim! Unfavorable [5]
Release Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Uncut 1/5 [7]

Pulse received mostly mixed reviews. John Bush of AllMusic appreciated the album, writing, "Pulse sounds like the record Front 242 wanted to make, the type they could make only once the pressure was off." [1] Release Magazine's John Carlsson was more lukewarm, praising its technical construction but deeming it samey and unchallenging. [6] Writing for Exclaim! , Coreen Wolanski lamented how Front 242 had fallen from being the indisputable pioneers of electronic body music to being so repetitive. [5] Uncut magazine provided the most scathing review, writing, "Had this record been released in 1988, it would have been hailed a masterpiece. But memories of the glory days of “Headhunter” have receded, and the rest of the world has long since caught up with and overtaken Front 242." [7]

AllMusic Online music database

AllMusic is an online music database. It catalogs more than 3 million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musical artists and bands. It launched in 1991, predating the World Wide Web.

Release Magazine is an independent alternative music online magazine based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was born in Umeå in 1986. The first years it was run by Britta Näsman as an A5 fanzine, just for fun. When she moved to Belgium, Mikael Kahrle and Lotta Kahrle took over the business gradually. They wanted to slowly convert Release to a real magazine, which they did. The web magazine was established in 1997, while the printed version was published until August 1998.

<i>Exclaim!</i> Canadian music magazine

Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists. Content is based on the monthly print publication, which publishes 9 issues per year, distributing over 103,000 copies to over 2,600 locations across Canada. The magazine has an average of 361,200 monthly readers. Their website, exclaim.ca, has an average of 675,000 unique visitors a month.

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."SEQ666" (P)4:02
2."SEQ666" (U)1:13
3."SEQ666" (L)1:20
4."SEQ666" (S)0:50
5."SEQ666" (E)5:09
6."Together"5:27
7."Triple X Girlfriend"3:45
8."No More No More"7:23
9."Beyond the Scale of Comprehension"7:22
10."Song" (Untitled)3:58
11."Song" (StarCandy)2:40
12."One" (With the Fire)3:26
13."One" (Reverse)2:23
14."Matrix" (OpenStatic)2:24
15."Matrix" (MegaHertz)3:50
16."Never Lost" (Faust)3:41
17."Never Lost" (Riley)7:01
18."7Rain" (Filter)4:10
19."Pan" (Dhe)1:56
20."Pan" (Mihk)3:07
Total length:74:07

Personnel

All credits adapted from Pulse liner notes. [8]

Jean-Luc De Meyer is a vocalist and lyricist who is best known as the lead vocalist of the Belgian EBM group Front 242.

Richard Jonckheere, more known by his stage names, Richard 23 and Richard JK, is a Belgian musician, best known as a member of Front 242 and was a founding member of Revolting Cocks. He released an EP with Jean-Pierre Everaerts and Marc Desmare using the moniker Holy Gang and two twelve-inch singles in 1999/2000 as LaTchak.

Chart positions

Chart (2003)Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) [9] 20

"Pulse" single

"Pulse"
Pulse (single, 2003).jpg
Single by Front 242
from the album Pulse
Released 2003
Format CD-R promo
Length28:54
Label XIII BIS Records
Producer(s) Daniel Bressanutti

In advance of both Still & Raw and Pulse, the single "Pulse" was released through the French label XIII BIS Records. [10]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Seq666 - PULSE
  • "1. Seq666 - P"
  • "2. Seq666 - U"
  • "3. Seq666 - L"
  • "4. Seq666 - S"
  • "5. Seq666 - E"
12:33
2."Triple X Girlfriend"3:42
3."One
  • "1. With the Fire"
  • "2.  • Reverse"
5:49
4."Song
  • "1. StarCandy"
  • "2.  • Untitled"
6:50
Total length:28:54

Personnel

All credits adapted from "Pulse" liner notes. [10]

Still & Raw EP

Still & Raw
Still & Raw (2003).jpg
EP by Front 242
Released April 8, 2003
Length27:56
Label Metropolis Records

Still & Raw is an EP [11] by Front 242 released on April 8, 2003 through Metropolis Records. It was intended to be a preview of Pulse. [12] Like the music on that succeeding album, Still & Raw's sound is calm and slow. [5] In 2016, a compilation combining Pulse and Still & Raw was released. [13] Matthew Jeanes of Brainwashed wrote about the EP, "Still & Raw isn't liable to turn the heads of those firmly glued to Mille Plateaux and Rephlex platters, but It's a worthwhile effort from an old standby that warrants a listen if you were a fan and at least a glimpse if you weren't." [14]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."7Rain"3:52
2."Loud"3:58
3."Strobe"3:27
4."Collision"5:13
5."7Rain (GHost)"4:05
6."Strobe (Fragments)"7:21
Total length:27:56

Personnel

All credits adapted from Still & Raw liner notes. [15]

  • Jean-Luc De Meyer – lead vocals
  • Richard Jonckheere – percussion, backing vocals
  • Daniel Bressanutti – graphic design, mixing, producing, publishing
  • Patrick Codenys – mixing, producing, publishing

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Bush, John. "Front 242 – Pulse". AllMusic . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ "(Filtered) Pulse (Remastered)" (Press release). Alfa Matrix. 2016. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  3. ↑ "What is '(Filtered) Pulse' all about? Daniel B. from Front 242 explains". Side-Line. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ A., Alex. "Front 242, "[Filtered] Pulse"". I Die: You Die. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Colanski, Coreen. "Front 242: Pulse". Exclaim! . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Carlsson, Johan. "Front 242: Pulse". Release Magazine . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Front 242 – Pulse". Uncut . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ Pulse (CD liner notes). Front 242. Metropolis Records. 2003. MET282.
  9. ↑ "Front 242 Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Pulse" (single) (CD liner notes). Front 242. XIII Bis Records. 2003.
  11. ↑ "Front 242 – Still & Raw". AllMusic . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Still & Raw – Front 242 – Metropolis Records" (Press release). Metropolis Records. 2003. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  13. ↑ "Front 242 – Pulse / Still & Raw EP". AllMusic . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  14. ↑ Jeanes, Matthew. "Front 242, "Still & Raw"". Brainwashed . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  15. ↑ Still & Raw (CD liner notes). Front 242. Metropolis Records. 2003. MET 277.
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