The Initial Command

The Initial Command is the first full-length studio album released by Canadian industrial band Front Line Assembly, as their first two releases, Nerve War and Total Terror, were demo tapes.

The Initial Command
Studio album by Front Line Assembly
Released	December 1987[1]
Genre	Industrial, EBM, electro-industrial
Length	48:40 (original release) 62:46 (1997 release)
Label	KK, ROIR, Third Mind, Cleopatra, Zoth Ommog
Producer	Bill Leeb, Michael Balch
Front Line Assembly chronology
Total Terror (1986) The Initial Command (1987) State of Mind (1988)
Alternative cover
Re-release (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Rear Garde	Favorable[2]

The music was created mostly by Bill Leeb with some help from Michael Balch. Since the 1987 release of The Initial Command, the album has been re-issued twice. The first release, in 1992, contained no changes. The second release, in 1997, contained two new tracks and new cover art.

The 1997 re-release incorrectly listed the second track "Core" as "Intelligence Dream" while the liner notes have the correct title.[3] "Complexity" and "Core" appear to be new songs at the time of release.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bill Leeb, except where noted.

1987 Release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The State"	Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber	6:16
2.	"Insanity Lurks Nearby"		6:10
3.	"Casualties"	Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber	4:46
4.	"Ausgang Zum Himmel"	Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber	7:14
5.	"Nine Times"		6:27
6.	"Black March"		5:59
7.	"No Control"		6:37
8.	"Slaughterhouse"		5:11

1997 Re-release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Complexity"		7:48
2.	"Core"		6:12
3.	"The State"	Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber	6:17
4.	"Insanity Lurks Nearby"		6:03
5.	"Casualties"	Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber	4:46
6.	"Ausgang Zum Himmel"	Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber	7:16
7.	"Nine Times"		6:30
8.	"Black March"		6:02
9.	"No Control"		6:40
10.	"Slaughterhouse"		5:12
Total length:			62:46

Personnel

Front Line Assembly

• Bill Leeb – production, engineering, vocals
• Michael Balch – production (1987 Release), mixing (1987 Release)
• Rhys Fulber (1987 Release 1, 3, 4)
• Chris Peterson – mixing (1997 Re-release 1, 2)

Technical personnel

• Carylann Loeppky – cover art (1987 Release)
• David Rosychuk – design (1987 Release), artwork (1987 Release)

References

1. Levermore, Gary (1997). Front Line Assembly - Reclamation (booklet). Front Line Assembly. New York: Roadrunner. pp. 2–3.
2. Miller, Greg (April 1988). "Front Line Assembly, The Initial Command". Rear Garde. No. 24. Montreal: Squishy Productins. p. 19. ISSN 1185-1937. OCLC 1081144492. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
3. "Front Line Assembly > The Initial Command". Mindphaser 3.0. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2010.