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.[9] WarMech features Jeremy Inkel's final recordings,[10] as he died on January 11, 2018.[11]

WarMech
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedJune 22, 2018 (2018-06-22)
Genre
Length73:21
LabelArtoffact Records
Producer
Front Line Assembly chronology
Kampfbereit
(2015)
WarMech
(2018)
Wake Up the Coma
(2019)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
I Die: You DieFavorable[1]
OverdriveFavorable[5]
Reflections of Darkness8.5/10[6]
ReGenFavorable[2]
Release7/10[4]
Side-Line7.5/10[7]
Spectrum Culture[3]
The Spill Magazine[8]

Background and production

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Already having been a fan of Bill Leeb's various projects,[12] 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."[12]

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.[12][13]

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."[13]

Release

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The songs "Mechvirus" and "Molotov" were released for early streaming through the group's Bandcamp account.[14][15]

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.[12]

Track listing

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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

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Credits adapted from WarMech liner notes.[16]

Front Line Assembly

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  • Bill Leeb – vocals, electronic instruments, production
  • Jared Slingerland – electronic instruments, production
  • Jeremy Inkel – strings recording, electronic instruments, production
  • Sasha Keevil – electronic instruments, production
  • Craig Johnson – electronic instruments, production

Additional musicians

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  • Jason Bazinet – additional samples

Technical personnel

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Chart history

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Chart (2018) Peak position
German Alternative Albums (Deutsche Alternative Charts)[17] 3

References

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  1. ^ a b "Front Line Assembly, "WarMech"". I Die: You Die. June 22, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Leach, Douglas (July 5, 2018). "Front Line Assembly – WarMech". ReGen Magazine. Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Wright, Darryl G. (July 17, 2018). "Front Line Assembly: Warmech". spectrumculture.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  4. ^ a b 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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". Retrieved July 4, 2018.
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