"Front by Front" was released in 1988 and here I am playing a copy of the original European vinyl I bought from eBay about six months ago.
"Until Death (Us Do Part)" is driven by a Yamaha DX7 bassline and riffs played on the classic 12 String preset that would be used later by The KLF on "3 A.M. Eternal". The mix of samples and FM synthesis continues on the fantastic "Circling Overland" and "In Rhythmus Bleiben" which keep the bar high.
Things fall off a bit with "Felines" and its annoying reverse vocal sample, but the pure EBM of "First In/First Out" soon banishes these doldrums.
"Blend the Strengths" is an instrumental that fills time before the centre piece of the album "Headhunter" kicks in. This song has a catchy chorus and beats clearly designed for the dance floor. Whilst you could never call this a conventional pop song, it does bear some sonic resemblance to bands like Depeche Mode and even had a video directed Anton Cobijn.
"Work 01" is another instrumental augmented with samples culled from films that feels a bit like album filler. Due to its positioning on the album the next track "Terminal State" is a bit overlooked but this is a fun track with an almost funky groove and great lyrics: "We're in the doldrums!"
Things close out with the classic "Welcome to Paradise". The concept of sampling American TV evangelists was first used on "Angst" from the previous album but on this track everything gets turned up to eleven. 4/5
