Just in time for Front 242's first American tour in years, here's a live disc that provides an excellent retrospective of the works of this seminal industrial-techno outfit. Better than a "greatest hits" package, this collection -- culled from recent European performances -- offers a wide spectrum of 242's output, from older material like "No Shuffle" to the latter-era "Crapage", all performed in a modern context. Much of the music has been reworked, but while the benefits of a few years' worth of advances in keyboard and sampling technology are obvious, fans needn't worry that the guys who put Belgium on the map and gave the hi-hat street cred have gone techno. "No Shuffle", for instance, now takes its central keyboard line from what sounds distinctly like a Rebirth 303 emulator rather than whatever loud, twanky keyboard was originally used, but the relentless drive of the song remains the same. It looks like Daniel, Patrick and Jean-Luc are performing a surprising amount of their music live rather than relying on an array of DATs and sequencers -- there are definitely live drums in the mix, and quite possibly live guitars on "Headhunter". Speaking of which, the immortal classic gets a spirited retake -- perhaps not as crisp and clean as the recorded version, but far more alive and aware than their last two albums for Epic. If I hadn't heard Re:Boot, I probably would've checked out the live performance with low expectations; now, I can't wait.
Front 242 ReBoot (Live) Metropolis CD
			Review by 6eor9e 2ah0ra

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