'' LAour of the Weak'' is the ninth full-length studio album by industrial music group

Front Line Assembly Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 in music, 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The ba ...

, released in November 1997 by Off Beat.

Background

'' LAour of the Weak'' is the first album of the band to feature Chris Peterson. Peterson had already toured with Front Line Assembly for ''

Caustic Grip ''Caustic Grip'' is the fifth full-length studio album by Front Line Assembly, originally released on Third Mind Records in Europe and on Wax Trax! Records in the United States in 1990. Background The album was the first without co-founding memb ...

'' and ''

Tactical Neural Implant ''Tactical Neural Implant'' is the sixth full-length studio album by electro-industrial artists Front Line Assembly. Third Mind Records originally released it in 1992 on both compact-disc and LP formats. The album has also been issued by Roa ...

'' but had never been part of the creative process. He also had teamed up with

Rhys Fulber Nowell Rhys Fulber (born October 10, 1970) is a Canadian electronic musician and producer. He is a member of Front Line Assembly and Delerium, along with Bill Leeb. He also records under his own name and under the name Conjure One. Biograph ...

in the band Will before Fulber became official member of Front Line Assembly. After Fulber's departure, band leader

Bill Leeb Wilhelm Anton "Bill" Leeb (born 21 September 1966, in Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian-Canadian electronic musician and record producer. He is best known for being a founding member of the industrial music group Front Line Assembly and Deleri ...

asked Peterson to join Front Line Assembly.

Musical style

The style is somewhat of a departure from previous releases in the FLA catalog, with the group's beat-heavy signature beginning to take heavy cues from styles such as IDM and breakbeat. "We felt we had come as far as we could with the industrial/metal, all the experimental things.", said singer Bill Leeb, "I think that with 'FLAvour' and with '

Re-Wind ''Re-Wind'' is a remix double album by Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly, released in 1998. All tracks were originally recorded for the band's previous studio album '' LAour of the Weak'' (some as b-sides). The band's longtime mixer ...

', I was trying to do something, not necessarily dance-oriented, but just more 'electronic', almost a low-fi kind of record."

Samples

"Sado-Masochist" uses samples of

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

from an interview with

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

while both "Comatose" and "Predator" as well as the B-side "Oblivion" contain samples from 1996 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'' Hellraiser: Bloodline''. Non-album track "Electrocution" from the ''Colombian Necktie'' single makes use of samples from

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

's " Rollin' & Scratchin'" and from

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...

' "

Block Rockin' Beats "Block Rockin' Beats" is a song by British big beat duo the Chemical Brothers. Released in March 1997 by Freestyle Dust and Virgin Records as the second single and opening track from their second studio album, ''Dig Your Own Hole'' (1997), it to ...

Release and promotion

In 2015, the album saw a limited re-release on vinyl through Canadian label

Artoffact Artoffact Records is a Canadian/ Icelandic record label that concentrates on industrial, postpunk, heavy metal, and electronic music. The label was founded in 1999. History In 1997, Jacek Kozlowski laid the groundwork for Artoffact Records. I ...

Singles

'' LAour of the Weak'' spawned two singles. The "Colombian Necktie" single contains an edit as well as a remix by Tim Schuldt of the title track. It also features two non-album tracks, "Deadlock" and "Electrocution". The second single, "Comatose", contains the "Ketamin 45mg" and "Valium 15mg" mixes by the band themselves. A third version of the title track ("Prozac 75mg") was remixed by Eat Static, who would deliver another, drastically different, remix of "Comatose" on ''Re-Wind''. The single also contains an exclusive mix of "Oblivion". Most of the tracks from the singles were re-released in 1999 through Off Beat on the compilation album ''Explosion'' together with tracks from the "

Circuitry An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. It is a type of electric ...

" and "

Plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Behavioral plasticity, change in an organism's behavior in response to exposur ...

" singles. This coincided with the release of '' Implode'' and the timing of the compilation's release displeased Bill Leeb.

Touring

The band embarked on a two-week tour in support of the album.

Track listing

Personnel

Front Line Assembly

– production, keyboards, vocals * Chris Peterson – production, programming, mixing

Technical personnel

* Adam Drake – editing *

Dave McKean David McKean (born 29 December 1963) is an England, English artist. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculpture. McKean has illustrated works by authors such as S. F. Said, S.F. Said, ...

– design, illustration, photography * Jamie Griffiths – band photography * Tom Baker – mastering

Chart positions

Comatose

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FLAvour of the Weak Front Line Assembly albums 1997 albums Albums with cover art by Dave McKean Metropolis Records albums Albums produced by Chris Peterson (producer)