A little after a month of the release of their Still & Raw EP, Front 242’s first full-length studio recording for Metropolis, Pulse, will be available on May 6th. Like the EP, Pulse is a departure from hard-core industrial as the band adopts an ambient house sound. The first 5 tracks blend together into one mind bending journey of synthesized chaos and trip-hop beats. The mood of Pulse is ghostly unnerving as Jean-Luc De Meyer’s vocals draw on the eerie whisper effect of Skinny Puppy. Heavier drum beats manifest as the disc continues to intensify on the voyage into dark avant-industrial.
The easiest thing Front 242 could have done was to follow the current wave of hardcore industrial of the bands they influenced. Instead they have remained experimental. And while some fans of the group’s earlier work might not approve of Front 242’s new direction, Pulse will find a new fan-base for these pioneers.