Front 242 – Official Version

EBM pioneers Front 242's third album 'Official Version' came at a time when the band were on the cusp of greatness. This 1992 reissue from the 'Epic' collection features the record in full as well as a few bonuses for your trouble so you get a little more bang for your buck.
Opening with the soundscape 'W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G." (What You Hear Is What You Get) the album gets off to a fine start offering up a wide open production featuring toe tapping synths and anthem ready vocals. Much of the runtime is either made up of tracks such as these and shorter punchy instrumentals that imprint on your soul. 'MasterHit', 'Television Station' & 'Quite Unusual' immerse you into early Electronic Body Music and goad you into checking out more of their work. The album also includes the original CD release's bonus tracks - both 12" versions of single 'Quite Unusual' and 'Agressiva' - as well as the first 2 tracks from the 'Masterhit' release, both of which add percussive depth to their original counterpart.
With the 80's being such a wealth of electronic music Front 242 managed to forge a line in the sand with this album by creating a new sound that is equal parts Depeche Mode, Thrill Kill Kult & Art Of Noise, but offering up a no nonsense broadsword motion across the genre. If you are new to both the band and the genre this is probably the best place to start as it will give you a fair idea of what these headhunters are all about.

This album opens with the longest track, clocking up an impressive 7'28" and showing a new strength of composition & sampling very much to the forefront - apparently fracturing composition which shows a skill & diversity hitherto only hinted at. "Rerun l Time" is another 'song', a vocal lead composition showing FRONT 242 moving away from instrumental music. What's more, the vocalist has a creepy late-night-horror-flick tone to his voice - a little like CHROME used to use - 'B' movie drama over a danceable piece of music. "Television Station" chugs in on a nervy sequencer, lower & darker than the previous tracks. It's a dramatic, serious piece, again a proper song, rather than an instrumental, although it's probably the tune which is most memorable - a simple but effective sound. "Agressiva Due" is a hard & occasionally noisy piece of pure dance music, drums bludgeoning through their unswerving path. "Masterhit - Part I & II" comes next, using taped voice to introduce a fast-paced track which might be described as typical 242 although, either through the mix or a growing familiarity with the instruments, it has a smooth, honed-down feel to it. Again a 'song', full of interesting effects, punctuated by occasional harsh synth sounds - fanfares and sudden jolting noise. "Slaughter" is actually the 'title track' (in that the chorus consists of the words 'Official Version'). It's a slightly different thing for them, an unusual rhythm which I feel still falls into the Body Music category. "Quite Unusual" is a well-known piece by them, a catchy little track - simple but effective - which most of you are probably aware of. Darkly sombre without being either threatening or 'evil'. "Red Team" is a transmuting, changing instrumental, heavy dance with taped voice, switching back to a more ive beat, then back, making it a 'difficult' track. "Angst" follows this with a taped Evangelist ranting & raging. The sound itself is a swell of sound - non-beat - which rises through the fanatical shouting, then fades away again. Next up comes two tracks from the "Interception" 12" - versions of "Quite Unusual" & "Agressiva", the latter being a little different- the final two tracks are culled from the 1987 "Masterhit" 12", the first, "Masterblaster" & "Hypnomix", both being standard FRONT 242 recordings for this period of time. The former has some interesting synthetic fireworks, great sparkling sprays of sound, taking "Masterhit" a few steps further, and the latter lacks the brutal density of many 242 works, giving it a refreshingly thin, although hardly minimal sound.
An album which shows them losing obvious influences & perfecting their own unique sound. The mix is muscular & the sound full of promise.

Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.