Front Line Assembly (CA)

About

Also known as: FLA, Front Line Assembly with Tiffany, Frontline assembly

Front Line Assembly grew out of Bill Leeb's decision to strike out on his own after leaving Skinny Puppy in 1986, and the Vancouver outfit quickly carved a distinctive space in the electro industrial world by blending electronic body music with harder, more abrasive textures. The lineup has shifted considerably over the decades, with Rhys Fulber and Michael Balch among the most important collaborators, but Leeb has remained the constant. Their 1992 record Tactical Neural Implant is widely regarded as the crown jewel of their catalog, a genuine touchstone for industrial music fans, while Hard Wired showed the band could push into heavier territory without losing their identity. FLA have racked up well over a dozen studio albums, several of which landed on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and they have also branched out into video game soundtracks, contributing to Quake III: Team Arena and AirMech. The band's sound has never stayed still, moving through drum and bass inflections, industrial metal, and back again, which is probably why they have kept releasing records deep into the 2020s.