Stockholm, Sweden – an early October evening, so dreary you could almost believe you were in Britain. Aging rivetheads and other EBM/industrial fans gather furtively at a club near the waterfront. Stiff, tentative glances slowly give over to anticipation. The oxygen level in the venue is low and the meagre bar is overpriced, but the night’s offering is opulent. Tonight, one of the deities of EBM/industrial take the scene. Front Line Assembly are playing Stockholm, supported by Austrian demo scene-inspired technopop outfit mind.in.a.box.

Everyone knows it’s going to be good. We will all go home with our senses blown and our eardrums quivering. It’s just a question of scale. Will it be The Gig, or will it just be another kick-arse show?

The DJ fades out. The lights fade.

It begins.

The mind.in.a.box set is good. The delivery is accomplished as well as polished and makes up for a certain lack in intensity by projecting heartfelt sincerity. Stefan Poiss gets special mention for being such a brilliant singer you can’t help wonder why he bothers with vocoders at all. It’s not as good as the marvellous Arvika gig of last year, but it’s enjoyable as hell and a good, cushy warm-up for what is to come.

After the usual lull as the roadies rummage around stage, tearing down one set and building another, the room goes dark again. The smell of anticipation briefly rises over the stink of booze and stale air as the ambient intro sounds rise from the speakers. Watching the younger band members come on stage, one by one, I catch the shadow of the core member – Bill Leeb himself – laughing in the backstage area. The music kicks off and the man who started Front Line Assembly back in ‘86 jumps on stage, obviously stoned off his arse, but keeping it together.

FLA immediately provide what m.i.a.b didn’t. The show is forceful, edgy and thunderous. Aside from a few technical mishaps and Leeb’s peculiar choice to eschew most filters and vocoders for his honestly rather lacklustre voice in the raw, the delivery is glorious.

Not for the first time, I find myself reflecting – as I wipe the sweat off my face between songs – that Leeb did really fucking well in recruiting younger talent for the band. Inkel, Slingerland and Bazinet all provide massive energy and tight musicianship. The band is a well-oiled killing machine, blasting its way through the set.

Ah, yes – the set. It’s a blend of new and old, focussing on the latest album and on the first half of the nineties. The result is a potent but balanced mix; the material from the new album working perfectly live. It’s clear, though, that many old fans want to hear at least a song or two from the eighties. Cries of Body Count and Landslide go unanswered. Personally, I’m ecstatic that they play Prophecy, Liquid Separation and Resist.

The second encore ends. As Jeremy Inkel finishes tweaking out filtered distortion and follows the other band members off stage, the audience slowly disperses. The bartenders earn their wages, glaring indignantly at those sweaty faces who deign to ask for mere water as the DJ’s blast off EBM floor hits. Climax over, the moment veers away into the moist Autumn chill, taking with it our severely battered minds and ears.

So, in the end, it wasn’t The Gig. It was just another fucking magnificent show in the continuing history of Front Line Assembly.

On!

The tracklist, for those of you who care about such things:

Main Set

• I.E.D. (Improvised Electronic Device, 2010)
• Circuitry (Hard Wired, 1995)
• Angriff (Improvised Electronic Device, 2010)
• Resist (Caustic Grip, 1990)
• Release (Improvised Electronic Device, 2010)
• Hostage (Improvised Electronic Device, 2010)
• Plasticity (Plasticity EP, 1996)
• Pressure Wave (Improvised Electronic Device, 2010)
• Prophecy (Implode, 1999)
• Shifting Through the Lens (Improvised Electronic Device, 2010)

First Encore

• Liquid Separation (Millennium, 1994)
• Mindphaser (Tactical Neural Impant, 1992)

Second Encore

• Bio-Mechanic (Tactical Neural Implant, 1992)