WarMech

WarMech
Soundtrack album by
Front Line Assembly
ReleasedJune 22, 2018 (2018-06-22)
Genres
Length73:21
LabelArtoffact Records
Producers
Front Line Assembly chronology
Kampfbereit
(2015)		 WarMech
(2018)		 Wake Up the Coma
(2019)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
I Die: You DieFavorable
OverdriveFavorable
Reflections of Darkness8.5/10
ReGenFavorable
Release7/10
Side-Line7.5/10
Spectrum CultureStarStarStarHalf star
The Spill MagazineStarStarStarStar

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. WarMech features some of Jeremy Inkel's final recordings, as he died on January 11, 2018 (additional programming by Inkel eventually appeared on the band's follow-up album in 2019, Wake Up the Coma).

Background and production

Already having been a fan of Bill Leeb's various projects, 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."

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.

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."

Release

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

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.

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.

Front Line Assembly

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Chart history

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

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.
  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". Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2018.