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| Propaganda Magazine #21, 1994
"Front 242 - beyond Good and Evil" There is an old English saying: "The Devil is the most dangerous when he's being pleasant." It is this sentiment that underlies two albums released by the Belgium-based industrial stormtroopers, Front 242, this past summer. The 06:21:03:11 UP EVIL Lp came out in June and represents the dark side of human nature (or should we say...the Devil's nature). The follow-up Lp, 05:22:09:12 OFF, which came out in September, represents our light side, our good-natured side. The albums are as different from each other musically as they are philosophically. UP EVIL is harsh and demonic sounding, while OFF is angelic and ambient, with the pleasant touch of ethereal female vocals. Both maintain the Front 242 trademark of musical experimentation and conceptual exploration. This band has never conformed to the conventional contemporary musical format. From their earlier self-released 7" singles in 1981, "Principles" and "U-Men", to their Herculean Lp efforts like GEOGRAPHY ('82), FRONT BY FRONT ('88) and TYRANNY > FOR YOU < ('91), this group of sonic techno-terrorists have always paved their own path along the creative cutting edge. UP EVIL and OFF prove they still have that ability.
The recurring themes in the songs on both albums pretty much describe where each Lp is
coming from. On UP EVIL, selections like "Mutilate," "Waste," and
"Religion" emphatically impart the image of power and destructiveness--the kind
of industrial-strength noise Front 242 has become famous for. "Religion" is an
eleven minute epic with three distinct parts that are monumental musically as anything
Cecil B. Demille did visually. Patrick says that this piece was constructed the way it was
for a very specific reason. "OFF was recorded much more quickly than UP EVIL, " says Patrick. "It's
a much more spontaneous and light-hearted record--which of course was by design, not by
accident. There is plenty of heavenly-type atmosphere. We found this great sound we were
after--very angelic." (If you like evil angels.) Along with fellow co-founder Daniel B. and longtime band members Jean-Luc DeMeyer and Richard JK, Patrick Codenys takes the industrial movement into uncharted territory. Mixing high-tech hardware with ancient riddles, Front 242 is as daring a band as there is. Their unceasing commitment to experimentation stems from their backgrounds as art school students in Brussels. Abstract design aesthetics combined with computer graphics knowledge allowed them to tinker with a variety of visual and aural arrangements. As the technology in musical instrumentation advanced in the early '80's, so did Patrick's and Daniel's ability to create the kind of music that had been swirling around in their heads for many years. "Advances in synthesizer technology directly paralleled the advances in our ability to create the kind of music that most interested us," recalls Patrick. "We could create amazing collages of sound by matching the technology to our theoretical knowledge. MIDI created an absolute revolution in the way one could create music. We felt no one else out there was doing it properly, and that was motivation enough for us. Our live shows allowed us to combine these musical collages with visual ones." To see Front 242 live is indeed a multi-sensual experience. It's a trip to the bowels of Hell. Shake hands with the Devil! Interview by Scott Crawford |
"The two albums not
only distinguish between good and evil, or light and dark, but also make the distinction
between our passive and aggressive sides," explains the band's co-founder and
spiritual head, Patrick Codenys. "The general concept is based on the traditional
characterization of Satan. (The lord of darkness also happens to make an appearance on the
cover of UP EVIL). He was originally an angel, who later fell from grace. He can take
positive or negative forms. The positive ones can be the most treacherous because they are
used to seduce. This can be seen as a metaphor for human nature itself. UP EVIL and OFF
were put together thematically as a screenwriter would put together a script for a film.
Each album has a specific theme running through it, and each is musically consistent
throughout as well. We brought in harsh guitar distortion for UP EVIL to give it power.
Just the opposite atmosphere was desired for OFF, so we used predominately ambient
keyboards and vocals."