Review for:FLAvour of the Weak1997 Metropolis Records  Review by Jonathan RatcliffeThis album is a little more experimental and creative than some of their previous. There is some very interesting sound work done here, but it still shows signs of classic FLA: Synth melodies, vocal and sound samples, hard pulsing industrial dance beats. It's truly one of their best albums. I find the lyrics less than creative in this one, however, sometimes seeming a bit simplistic. Still, a very good album. Corruption (8:00) 
I'll have to say this instrumental track (no lyrics) is a nice way to start the album. After a minute or two of transforming beats be find our way to the main drum and synth melodies that make up a chorus of sorts. The song changes often, and the background synth work is excellent here. Creative. Not my favorite track, but still very good. Sado-Masochist (6:24)
After a short ghostly synth-like intro, the track gets a kind of breakbeat sound to it, with a couple of vocal samples. Then, the catchy part of the track starts. I absolutely love the drum and sound effect use here. The song is quite fast, noisy, but still very catchy, having a low buzz sort of sound every few seconds that continues throughout the track. The lyrics aren't very creative in for this track, especially the chorus, but it's still very rhythmic, as to be expected for FLA. Bill does something new: he uses his original voice, without any distortion. A very interesting track, and definitely one of my favorites. Auto Erotic (6:20)
The first thing I think of when hearing the lyrics in this track is that it sounds somewhat like a "rap". It's odd, however, because at the same time it doesn't sound like rap at all. It's difficult to explain, but hear it yourself and you'll understand. The changing beats, however, remove it from this sound often, especially during the chorus. A very powerful song, but also very pretty at times and melodic. Unlike the previous track, this one distorts Bill's voice quite a bit. Columbian Necktie (6:53)
The nearly two-minute instrumental intro (which isn't on the "Tongue Fed Edit" of the Columbian Necktie single) is very creative, and then the track starts in with a very aggressive electronic assault. It's very dancey, but still very cyber and dark at the same time. I especially like the chorus of this track: We rule with technology Set your world on fire Then you'll be free A very good chorus I feel, and it's quite melodic too. This slowly transforms into the next track, Evil Playground. Evil Playground (8:42)
This track begins with a lengthy three minute intro that could easily be found on a Delerium album. It's very pretty and ambient-like, but then before we know it, the track transforms into a fast sonic assault that you can almost dance to. With no lyrics, this track sounds almost like it could be Noise Unit (which is a compliment). A very good track. Truly excellent. Comatose (6:34)
This track starts out with an intro that's really nothing like the later parts of the track (as most FLA tracks do), but after it picks up, it really becomes an excellent track. Synth work and sound effects are very creative here, and the chorus is great (both in melody and lyrics). Perfection! Seeing as though this will be the next single, it must be popular among the FLA fans. One of my favorites on this album. Life=Leben (6:39)
This track begins with a one minute military-like drum beat intro, using a snare drum of sorts. After a few samples, the aggressive synths begins. This track is very powerful and fast, but the chorus is quite a bit slower (which isn't a bad thing at all). Bill sings the chorus using his real voice, but the remainder of the lyrics are distorted to some extent. As for the title of this track, I've heard that "Leben" is German for "Life". An excellent track, and one of my favorites (every track is my favorite, isn't it?). Predator (7:35)
This is my least favorite track on this album. It's somewhat slow and mellow, but also powerful and "large", if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, this track is very creative and experimental, but it's just not very catchy to me. It's decent, but in my opinion, not nearly as great as the other tracks on this album. Like nothing FLA has ever done before, that's for sure. The hidden song This one begins forty seconds after the end of "Predator". It isn't something that I would want to listen to more than a couple of times. It consists of only a looping drum along with a vibrating sound that could almost sound like some kind of noisy machine. A scrambled whispering sound shows up in the background, but you'll find no synths melodies here. This can cause a headache. Like nothing I would expect from Bill. Surprising. 
 
 
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