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Rhys Fulber Biography

rhys-fulber
  • Born:
  • Member of: Fauxliage
  • Genre: Rock & Alternative

Trent Reznor and Al Jourgensen usually get all the credit for popularizing industrial rock with a hard edge, but there were others who contributed to the genre while it was still taking shape in the late ‘80s, such as Frontline Assembly's Rhys Fulber. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Fulber's appreciation of music began at an early age, thanks in large part to his musician father, who had various instruments strewn throughout the house. By the age of six, Fulber was playing the drums, and five years later, he was already visiting recording studios and discovering punk rock and new wave artists (namely the Dead Kennedys and Pete Shelley's 1981 release Homosapien). It was Shelley's work in particular that led to Fulber's father purchasing his young son a drum machine and synthesizer. Shortly thereafter, Fulber met another likeminded musician, Austrian Bill Leeb, which would result in a long and fruitful musical union. The duo initially worked under the alias of Wilhelm Schroeder on the 1984 Skinny Puppy EP Remission, before launching their own industrial outfit, Frontline Assembly. The group would go on to issue countless releases on a steady basis (including such standouts as 1989's Gashed Senses and Crossfire, 1992's Tactical Neural Implant, and 1999's Implode, among others), but Fulber would find time for other projects as well. Tops on the list was a new age-like ambient side project that Fulber collaborated on with Leeb, Delerium (a group that has nearly matched Frontline Assembly's staggering amount of releases), who are best known for their 1997 global hit "Silence," which featured vocals by Sarah McLachlan and rocketed to the top of the charts throughout Europe. The ‘90s saw Fulber collaborate further with Leeb on a pair of short-lived projects, Intermix and Synaesthesia, the former existing from 1992-1995, and the latter from 1995-1997. Additionally, Fulber has been closely linked with industrial metallists Fear Factory (supplying production, programming, keyboards, and arrangements to such popular albums as 1995's Demanufacture and 1998's Obsolete, among others), and has worked with such varied artists as Josh Groban, Megadeth, P.O.D., Mudvayne, the Tea Party, and even prog rock veterans Yes. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi

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