Customer Reviews

Caustic Grip

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first electro-industrial song I ever heard was Provision off of this album. That was 12 years ago. I discovered Willam Gibson's Neuromancer and the movie Bladerunner that same day. I have been a devoted electro-industrial slave ever since. How can this even be compard to NIN or Skinny Puppy? In no universe is this the same genre.

I have over 2000+ albums and cd's of mostly electro-industrial, noize, power electronics, dark ambient, and all the new school sing-songy electro groups and I find myself coming back to this time and time again.

It is special because it documents pre- world wide web and the industrial cyberpunk scene of the late 80s. The mantra was Bladerunner (not The Matrix, we hadn't experienced the tech boom or Wired magazine yet), Laether Strip, Klute, 242, Funkervogt, and pure dance floor violence( we didn't call ourselves rivetheads and strap PVC pipe to our bodies either). The world had just started raving, grunge had not come on the scence, and punk was turning emo. Bill Leeb lived within a few miles of William Gibson in the western tech utopia of Vancouver. This is what the music is about.

New FLA suffers from overproduction, fascination with equipment that lets you create any sound, and a overuse of layered sequencing. This is powerful in its simplicty, after listening to something like Imminent Starvation or Somantic Reponses this is refreshing. And no Rhys induced headbanging guitars!

Caustic Grip is a classic, and the time and place it was created in is key. I recently rebought the CD as the first one I had from a decade or so ago is actually worn out.

When this disc came out in 1990, it was just about the most aggressive industrial dance album out there. It hasn't aged well in this regard, but it still stands as a classic work of its time, and it established FLA as a giant in the genre. From the electro-punk of "Overkill" to the heavily sequenced industrial classics "Provision" and "Iceolate," "Caustic Grip" stomps forcefully through your eardrums at a near-steady 120-bpm clip. If you're looking for a quick energy boost, this disc will fit the bill--just don't expect happy, hi-NRG music; this is dark, dark stuff. Every picture tells a story, and the cover art speaks volumes.

caustic grip by front line assembly is without a doubt one of the classics of industrial. it has a cold, mechanic sound, not as furious as let's say ministry or godflesh, but much more bleak, more mechanical. the album is mainly driven by its distorted basslines and vocals, with samples, complex programming and synths layered on top of it. lyrical themes are typically FLA, with a futuristic approach toward alienation through technology and corporate control. there are two reasons i don't rate this higher. while it is a cohesive listen it also is fairly repetetive and also it sounds dated. especially when it is compared to the likes of skinny puppy, front 242 or ministry, who released albums around the same time which sound much fresher today (ministry - mind is a terrible thing to taste, skinny puppy - too dark park, front 242 - tyranny for you)
altogether a good album, although flawed. recommended

I've always considered FLA to almost be the next step just below the top acts: Skinny Puppy, NIN, Ministry, Front 242... Their older stuff has too weak a voice and the later stuff is too trendy and watered down. Although their very best sound is found in the pounding death/industrial remixes of Fear Factory, Caustic Grip is their best album of their own accord.

Front Line Assembly is not an emotional act like NIN or Skinny Puppy. They are, for the most part, cold and inhuman. This album does cold and inhuman better than anyone. Nowhere in the album will you find overused or time-dated sounds such as the latest bass thump or heavy guitar sample. This album is raw, brash, original synth without ever reverting to noise. Very dark and hard. Very inhuman. Very worth listening to.

Aww man, this album is beyond description. Two words: MENTAL DISTORTION! (And Victim... and Provision...) This was one of the later FLA albums I got my hands on... actually just got it last year. If it weren't for Tactical, this would be the best one out there. The style is at top form, beeps and bells and whistles and EVIL! All FLA fans out there... if you don't have this album, you just have NO clue what you're missing out on. Absolute Genius from Rhys & Bill.

Several years ago a friend made me a compilation of industrial songs. I was a devout metal head at the time with the exception of some mainstream industrial bands like KMFDM, Rammstein, NIN, and back when I was a kid Marilyn Manson. I didn't want to admit it to myself that I found any kind of "techno" cool. Some of the stuff he sent me was actually good, so I decided to look into checking out some industrial music. While wandering through customer reviews online I decided to go to my cd shop and have "Caustic Grip" ordered. Right away I was blown away by how awesome this Cd is. It was noisy enough not to be straight techno, but it also had enough hooks, and melody to keep me interested. So now after several years of being a fan I still come back to listening to caustic grip more often than most other FLA/Leeb & Fulber/Leeb & Peterson Cd's and projects. The songs on Caustic Grip are not as diverse as some of FLA's later releases. Cd's like Hardwired and Tactical Neural Implant have songs with more distinguishing characteristics. On the other hand the songs here are more about complex layer's of textures. Despite that there are still plenty of catchy beats, and melodies to keep even a sufferer of Attention Deficit Disorder listening.

Resist 10 What can I say about this song that hasn't already been said. When I bought this Cd I put it into my car stereo, and I was immediately hooked. This is a instant classic. Between the brilliant infectious opening beat, the various noise, and the subtle melodies this is a feast for the senses. I get the irresistible urge to hurl a Molotov cocktail every time I hear this.

Victim 8.5 "scrape the skin off your bone's". Not as good as resist, but still very good. Sample heavy with much clattering and tattering beats. Plus some good synth melodies.

Overkill 7.5 Nothing wrong with this. It just isn't on the level of some of the other songs. My favorite piece of this song is the sound at 2:55. I wish they would have done more with that.

Forge 8.5 Good chorus and vocals add to the killer music. I can go either way with this song. Sometimes I skip it, and other times I put it on repeat mode.

Provision 10 This one is equal to resist. Maybe even better. Resist has more sentimental value for me. Great lyrics, catchy chorus, perfect beats, and riveting drum machines. This song has no weakness.

Force Fed 9 I really don't know how to describe this one. Excellent drum beats, and plenty of grinding, swooshing mechanical sounds. Almost a perfect 10.

Iceolate 9 More of the same good $h!t. There is one particular noise at 1:22-1:54 that just gets stuck in my head every time. Classic industrial.

Threshold 10 Easily the most accessible song here. Some other reviewer put it this way. That this is kind of a ballad but FLA style. To me this has a Front 242 flavor. Bill Leebs vocals are more like singing compared to his usual distorted vocals. Very beautiful melody in this song. Even a FLA fan who likes the newer stuff would still like this.

Mental Distortion 10 This one is my 3rd favorite one on here. Resist, and Provision are first and second. Great noise and a even better melody. The last few months I have been totally obsessed with this song.

The Chair 7.5 This is a heavily sampled outro. Good but not he best.

I really wish FLA would have explored this sound a bit more for at least a few Cd's. If you are a industrial fan you must have this. On the other hand if you like Leeb's more techno ish music I suggest getting Tactical Neural Implant, or Implode first.

This has been my favourite FLA album ever since I first heard it. It is cold, harsh, intense, noisy, and has perfect electro-cyberpunk beats that always incorporate a dark twist. Earlier FLA is more experimental but has less structure, and their later stuff is too polished and boring at times (I'm mainly refering to the album 'Implode' when I say polished/boring, it is a very poor release in comparison to any of their previous releases, much worse than 'FLAVOUR OF THE WEAK').
But 'CAUSTIC GRIP' is a must have if you dig electro/industrial/80's/beats/dark twisted vocals and sci-fi/horror/political topics. This is not for the weak or narrow-minded.
'CAUSTIC GRIP' is more like something Skinny Puppy would have released than FLA. There is no other FLA release as dark and twisted as this, or as easy to listen to.
Another reviewer said he had trouble listening to this album because it lacks fluidity, but I find that this is the sound that FLA should have concentrated more on, because they do it so perfectly, but I guess they wanted to experiment more. Best FLA releases are; 1.CAUSTIC GRIP 2.VIRUS(EP) 3.GASHED SENSES AND CROSSFIRE 4.TOTAL TERROR II 5.TACTICAL NEURAL IMPLANT. But CAUSTIC GRIP is the climax of those 4 releases. It is raw yet has developed tasty bass lines to go with their precise beats. I can't get enough of this album, wish they had done more of this type of raw/powerful style they had developed. This may not appeal to everone, but you don't know until you listen to it. The horrific elements are also something worth mentioning more than once, since they are what make this release stand out from their later material. Bill Leeb should have searched deeper into the world of nightmares and horror(actually he has a few songs that have that beautiful horror like the song 'Heatwave' on THE BLADE (EP) and most of the HARD WIRED album, but it's not as effective on HARD WIRED) despite the fact that Skinny Puppy were doing the same at that time. It is clear that this album is so strong, why FLA didn't take this horror further is beyond me.

IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE FLA CD, MAKE SURE IT'S THIS ONE. IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU PERCIEVE MUSIC FOREVER.

This is a classic example of industrial music that reached its peak in the early 90's, till techno reared its "ugly" head. i still listen to this one!

This was my 1st FLA purchase, and I was hooked. I've been collecting their work ever since. This is a classic in Industrial music. If you like Industrial Dance music, this CD should be one for your collection.

Bill Leeb's career in FLA has seen many evolutions in it's sound, but it was this album that concludes the 80's period of industrial/ebm and prepares it for the 1990's. Even with outdated hardware (multi-layering a Roland TB-303 for an example), this album is the precursor to Leeb's sound that fully develops throughout the 1990's.

Most of this album is indeed electronic (with the exception of the guitars on "Provision"), but it doesn't hold back from sonically blowing away your mind. Every track from front and back carries on the album coherently with no track that sounds alike, from the hard-driven "Resist", to the pounding beats and cynical samples of "The Chair" which is what I feel is the precursor to the next album 'Tactical Neural Implant'

This was my first FLA purchase, and like all great music it takes time to develop an ear and appreciation for what this underground masterpiece really is. This album will always have a place in my heart, along with it's polar opposite 'Tactical Neural Implant'.

If you happen to buy this album, and have a taste for heavy/electronic music, you will not be disappointed.