Tracklist
The State | |||
Insanity Lurks Nearby | |||
Casualties | |||
Ausgang Zum Himmel | |||
Nine Times | |||
Black March | |||
No Control | |||
Slaughter House |
Credits (8)
- C. Lepke*Cover [Cover Art]
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David RosychukDesign, Artwork [Production]
- Bill LeebEngineer [Engineered By]
- Michael BalchMixed By
- Bill LeebPerformer [Front Line Assembly]
- Rhys Youth Fulber*Performer [Front Line Assembly]
Versions
Filter by
19 versions
Image | , | – | In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory |
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Version Details | Data Quality | |||
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The Initial Command
CD, Album
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KK Records – KK 006 | Belgium | 1987 | Belgium — 1987 | ||||
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The Initial Command
LP, Album, Stereo
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KK Records – KK 001 | Belgium | 1987 | Belgium — 1987 | ||||
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The Initial Command
CD, Album
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KK Records – KK 006 | Belgium | 1987 | Belgium — 1987 |
New Submission
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The Initial Command
Cassette, Album, Reissue, Chrome, Dolby System
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ROIR – A-187 | US | 1990 | US — 1990 |
Recently Edited
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The Initial Command
CD, Album, Reissue
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Third Mind Records – TMD 9175 | US | 1992 | US — 1992 | ||||
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The Initial Command
CD, Album, Reissue
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Third Mind Records – TMD 9175 | US | 1996 | US — 1996 | ||||
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The Initial Command
CD, Album, Reissue
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Cleopatra – CLP 0062-2 | US | 1997 | US — 1997 | ||||
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The Initial Command
CD, Album, Reissue, Digipak
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Zoth Ommog – CD ZOT 189 | 1997 | — 1997 | |||||
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The Initial Command
10×File, FLAC, Album, Reissue, 16-Bit 44.1 kHz
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Cleopatra – none | US | 2009 | US — 2009 |
New Submission
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The Initial Command
LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Blue
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Cleopatra – CLO 2420 | US | 2021 | US — 2021 | ||||
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The Initial Command
CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered
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Cleopatra – CLO 2420 | US | 2021 | US — 2021 |
New Submission
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The Initial Command
10×File, AIFF, Album, Reissue, Remastered
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Cleopatra – none | US | 2021 | US — 2021 | ||||
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The Initial Command
LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Red
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Cleopatra – CLO 2420 | US | 2021 | US — 2021 | ||||
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The Initial Command
10×File, AIFF, Album, Reissue
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Cleopatra – CLP 0062 | US | 2022 | US — 2022 | ||||
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The Initial Command
LP; LP, Single Sided; All Media, Album, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Special Edition, Tan Transparent [Beer Transparent]
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Mecanica – MEC068 | Poland | 2022 | Poland — 2022 |
New Submission
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The Initial Command
LP; LP, Single Sided; All Media, Album, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered
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Mecanica – MEC068 | Poland | 2022 | Poland — 2022 |
New Submission
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The Initial Command
LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Blue Haze
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Cleopatra – CLO 3741 | US | 2023 | US — 2023 |
New Submission
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The Initial Command
CD, Album
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KK Records – KK 006 | Belgium | Belgium | |||||
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The Initial Command
CD, Album, Reissue
|
KK Records – KK 006 | Belgium | Belgium |
New Submission
|
Recommendations
Reviews
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Agreed with previous review! Sounds very very good and zero surface noise! Amazing early front line album!
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Gotta say, the ROIR cover art was pretty weird. I have both the first two albums on cassette, the ROIR versions, in early 90s, and I just went with it. But in retrospect, odd stuff. Not that Leeb has great taste in cover art generally. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's horribly cheesy.
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Both versions are still available through Mecanica store here:
https://mecanica.bigcartel.com/product/flatheinitialcommand
Transparent beer vinyl > 30,00 euro
Standard edition black vinyl > 28,00 euro -
referencing The Initial Command (LP, Album, Stereo) KK001
This should be seen without no doubt as Front Line Assembly's best Album, because of its sheer bleakness and raw technological beauty. FLA sounds on this Album still fresh and pure, and not so retractet like on latter Albums like Tactical Neural Implant and so on... -
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referencing The Initial Command (LP, Album, Stereo) KK001
First heard Nine Times on a 10" sampler and was immediately hooked. The initial Command is a primitive dark EBM masterpiece that has stood the test of time, even the heavy KK vinyl release seemed to have a weight that other similar EBM releases lacked.
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referencing The Initial Command (LP, Album, Stereo) KK001
I will never forget my « initial » introduction to F.L.A.; my best friend at the time came back from Dutchy’s record store (R.I.P.; was an underground institution in Montreal, semi-similarly as Bunker records) and being a “rental” member (one could rent out records and tapes for a week’s time) came back with this LP, after we had both stumbled upon “No Control” from an underground radio show at the time.
We both were stunned at this “new sound” we hadn’t been exposed to. We thought Skinny Puppy and Front 242 were “the sh*t” in of cold industrial music (we were still novices back in those days), and weren’t ready for this record, which to this day remains a testament to this period in time. Never before had we heard so coldly calculated machinic maddening repetition with such a drive and fervor; this was the purest form of “industrial” (or so we thought) - music seemingly designed to induce unease and a perpetual sence of anxiousness and dread. And even today, whenever I re-visit this album, an uncanny sensation of stress envelops me, reminding me of those early days of pre-dancefloor EBM assault.
“The Initial Command” is a serious must listen to any fan of the band, at the very least to hear where they came from. With “Total Terror 1 + 2” readily available, we can more easily hear the genesis of the post-Puppy Leeb, and even elements from those archival collections can be heard on this album. Although the general sound of F.L.A. would slowly mutate with each subsequent album released afterwards, it is still important to understand where they came from and the other directions the project itself could have explored instead of what they chose to focus on.
Not for everyone as this early entry in the band’s repertoire may be misunderstood as a necessary birth pain, to some of us it remains, alongside the follow-up “State Of Mind”, one of the most representative acheivements of a band just starting off on their long journey. I personnaly recommend it hands down and would still consider this a great industrial album from start to finish.
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Edited one year agoI hate the bonus tracks on this release (not the songs themselves, just their existence here). First off, bonus tracks shouldn't go at the beginning of the album and secondly, these were recorded nearly a decade later and absolutely don't belong. Complexity sounds like it was left off of Synaesthesia's Ephemeral. Core is a much more interesting track, it's hard to place it (proto Pro-Tech before Bill said "fuck it" and just sampled every Chemical Bros song?), but it absolutely isn't from anywhere near 1987. This is the version of the album you get now though, so place those two songs in your FLA rarities & b-sides playlist instead.
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referencing The Initial Command (LP, Album, Stereo) KK001
Nine times was the one that got me..Came across this album in 1990 (Australia)
I don't think I'll ever get sick of it either.. -
referencing The Initial Command (LP, Album, Stereo) KK001
This is THE FLA-album for me. I bought it in 1987, and I fell in love with Black March & Nine Times (they are still in rotation in my mp3-player).
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