''Pulse'' is the eighth studio album by

Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Fr ...

, released on May 6, 2003 through

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993 by the late Dave Heckman. The label's all-electronic format closely tracked with European contemporaries, such as Off Beat, and, since 1995, has been instrumenta ...

. It was the group's first full-length studio release in ten years since 1993's '' 05:22:09:12 Off'', marking their largest gap between albums. In 2016, a restructured version of ''Pulse'' was released under the title ''(Filtered) Pulse''.

Content

''Pulse'' is a blend of

electronic body music Electronic body music (acronymized to EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of disco and dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe as an outgrowth of bo ...

and

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

. Unusually for Front 242, the album predominantly comprises a set of suites divided into sub-tracks.

''(Filtered) Pulse'' reissue

On June 24, 2016, a restructured, heavily shortened, and remastered version of ''Pulse'' was released under the title ''(Filtered) Pulse''. It was released through

Alfa Matrix Alfa Matrix is a Belgian record label. Founded in 2001, the label releases musical styles including aggrotech, industrial music, dark electro, dark elektro, synthpop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, the label consists of label and artists ma ...

as part of Front 242's thirty-fifth anniversary series of reissues. This release was organized by Front 242's own Daniel Bressanutti.

Critical reception

''Pulse'' received mostly mixed reviews. John Bush of AllMusic appreciated the album, writing, "''Pulse'' sounds like the record Front 242 wanted to make, the type they could make only once the pressure was off." '' Release Magazine's'' John Carlsson was more lukewarm, praising its technical construction but deeming it samey and unchallenging. Writing for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', Coreen Wolanski lamented how Front 242 had fallen from being the indisputable pioneers of

to being so repetitive. ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' magazine provided the most scathing review, writing, "Had this record been released in 1988, it would have been hailed a masterpiece. But memories of the glory days of “Headhunter” have receded, and the rest of the world has long since caught up with and overtaken Front 242."

Track listing

Personnel

All credits adapted from ''Pulse'' liner notes. * Jean-Luc De Meyer – lead vocals * Richard Jonckheere – percussion, backing vocals * Daniel Bressanutti – graphic design, mixing, producing, publishing * Patrick Codenys – mixing, producing, publishing

Chart positions

"Pulse" single

In advance of both ''Still & Raw'' and ''Pulse'', the single "Pulse" was released through the French label

XIII BIS Records XIII BIS Records is an independent record label based in Paris, France, that releases music in a variety of genres. Artists XIII BIS has issued releases by the following artists: * Adagio * Marc Almond * Alain Chamfort * Ray Charles * Lloyd Cole * ...

Track listing

Personnel

All credits adapted from "Pulse" liner notes. * Jean-Luc De Meyer – lead vocals * Richard Jonckheere – percussion, backing vocals * Daniel Bressanutti – graphic design, mixing, producing, publishing * Patrick Codenys – mixing, producing, publishing

''Still & Raw'' EP

''Still & Raw'' is an EP by Front 242 released on April 8, 2003 through

. It was intended to be a preview of ''Pulse''. Like the music on that succeeding album, ''Still & Raws sound is calm and slow. In 2016, a compilation combining ''Pulse'' and ''Still & Raw'' was released. Matthew Jeanes of

Brainwashed Brainwashed may refer to: *Brainwashing, to affect a person's mind by using extreme mental pressure or any other mind-affecting process Music Albums * Brainwashed (George Harrison album), ''Brainwashed'' (George Harrison album), 2002, or the ...

wrote about the EP, "''Still & Raw'' isn't liable to turn the heads of those firmly glued to Mille Plateaux and Rephlex platters, but It's a worthwhile effort from an old standby that warrants a listen if you were a fan and at least a glimpse if you weren't."

Track listing

Personnel

All credits adapted from ''Still & Raw'' liner notes. * Jean-Luc De Meyer – lead vocals * Richard Jonckheere – percussion, backing vocals * Daniel Bressanutti – graphic design, mixing, producing, publishing * Patrick Codenys – mixing, producing, publishing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulse (Front 242 Album) 2003 albums Front 242 albums Metropolis Records albums