WarMech

Last updated
WarMech
WarMech (2018) cover.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Front Line Assembly
ReleasedJune 22, 2018 (2018-06-22)
Genre
Length73:21
Label Artoffact Records
Producer
Front Line Assembly chronology
Kampfbereit
(2015)		WarMech
(2018)		 Wake Up the Coma
(2019)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
I Die: You DieFavorable [1]
OverdriveFavorable [5]
Reflections of Darkness8.5/10 [6]
ReGenFavorable [2]
Release 7/10 [4]
Side-Line7.5/10 [7]
Spectrum CultureStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Spill MagazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]

WarMech is a video game soundtrack album by Vancouver-based electro-industrial band Front Line Assembly. The album was released through Artoffact Records on June 22, 2018 as the soundtrack to Carbon Games' AirMech Wastelands, a sequel to the 2012 video game AirMech that also featured a soundtrack by Front Line Assembly. [9] WarMech features Jeremy Inkel's final recordings, [10] as he died on January 11, 2018. [11]

Contents

Background and production

Already having been a fan of Bill Leeb's various projects, [12] Carbon Games founder James Green had approached the band for WarMech and its predecessor album AirMech because "I wanted to work with Bill/FLA for our games [for] the same reason I love the music as a fan. It's more of a signature Bill Leeb thing in fact, as you can hear it across all his music projects - the complex layering and build up of songs. [...] Having something with the depth and texture you find in FLA songs is exactly what I wanted." [12]

During the production period of some fifteen months Carbon Games gave the band complete artistic freedom, a process both parties described as easy-going. Carbon Games as well as Front Line Assembly considered the album a big improvement over the already well-received AirMech. [12] [13]

While Leeb saw AirMech as a learning experience, he emphasized the importance of the extensive dubstep programming "with different types of dubstepping" for WarMech: "In some of the songs they are the real key elements. It's more intense in that way, we just pushed it to another level." [13]

Release

The songs "Mechvirus" and "Molotov" were released for early streaming through the group's Bandcamp account. [14] [15]

The original intention of Carbon Games was to issue a physical release of the album themselves. Talks with label Artoffact about the vinyl edition lead to Artoffact assuming responsibilities also for the CD issue. [12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bill Leeb, Jeremy Inkel, Jared Slingerland, Sasha Keevil, Craig Johnsen

No.TitleLength
1."Mechvirus"6:33
2."Anthropod"5:45
3."Heatmap"6:21
4."The Imminent"4:54
5."Force Carrier"5:17
6."Meteorfall"6:49
7."Molotov"5:30
8."Rip Sensor"7:31
9."The Eminent"6:11
10."Mechanism"6:07
11."Earthriser"5:48
12."Creator"6:35

Personnel

Credits adapted from WarMech liner notes. [16]

Front Line Assembly

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Chart history

Chart (2018)Peak position
German Alternative Albums (Deutsche Alternative Charts) [17] 3

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References

  1. 1 2 "Front Line Assembly, "WarMech"". I Die: You Die. June 22, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Leach, Douglas (July 5, 2018). "Front Line Assembly – WarMech". ReGen Magazine. Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Wright, Darryl G. (July 17, 2018). "Front Line Assembly: Warmech". spectrumculture.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Carlsson, Johan (June 21, 2018). "Front Line Assembly – Warmech". Release . Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ Allan, Lewis (July 17, 2018). "Front Line Assembly 'WarMech' Album Review". overdrive-mag.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ↑ Uhlenbruch, J. Niggels (July 18, 2018). "CD Review: Front Line Assembly - WarMech". reflectionsofdarkness.com. Münster. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Front Line Assembly – WarMech (CD Album – Artoffact Records)". side-line.com. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  8. ↑ Badgley, Aaron (22 June 2018). "Front Line Assembly: WarMech". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ Carlsson, Johan. "Front Line Assembly to finally release "Warmech"". Release Magazine . Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Front Line Assembly reveal WarMech". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Jeremy Michel Neville Inkel". Legacy.com. 24 January 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Green, James (June 3, 2018). "Carbon Games' Founder Talks About Working With Front Line Assembly For Soundtrack On Their New Game 'Airmech: Wastelands'". brutalresonance.com (Interview). Interviewed by Steven Gullotta. Sweden. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Leeb, Bill (November 5, 2018). "Welcome to the future – Front Line Assembly interviewed in Hamburg". releasemagazine.net (Interview). Interviewed by Jimi Nilsson. Gothenburg: Release Musik & Media. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Front Line Assembly Streams First Track from WarMech". The Spill Magazine. 11 May 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  15. ↑ Barkan, Jonathan (22 May 2018). "Exclusive: Front Line Assembly Light a Fire with "Molotov"". Dread Central. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  16. ↑ WarMech (digital liner notes). Artoffact Records. 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Deutsche Alternative Charts Kategorie: Album" . Retrieved July 4, 2018.
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