Front Line Assembly @ MeetFactory, Prague, CZ

Posted: Wed, Nov 26, 2025

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the announcement for Front Line Assembly’s European tour scheduled for near the end of 2024. One of my favourite bands of all time that I thought I didn’t have a chance in hell of ever seeing. I was initially disheartened as there wasn’t billa single UK date - but perhaps this was a chance for a wee international adventure…

Of course, I’m writing this one up a year to the day that these guys played. FLA would announce a UK tour for spring 2025 - yes, I was there too - so I ended up seeing the boys on home turf as well!

MeetFactory was an interesting one to get to. From Lihovar tram stop, you would walk up and around alongside a dual carriageway-type road before taking a slip down Ke Sklárně. To the left of you: pure motorway. To the right: a mix of corrugated iron and brick fencing, mixed with abandoned factory-like buildings and scrapyards. Well, as much as you could tell when it’s 7pm in November. You eventually come across a big white building - the venue! - with railway tracks beside you on the right. Perhaps, this was the perfect spot for such a gig.

Once in, I grab a tour t-shirt (because of course) and a couple of bottles of cider to keep me right for the gig. £1.80 for a drink? It would be rude not to. They opened the doors fairly early for the bar and bogs, but it would be a minute before they let people in to the actual room the gig would be taking place in. This gave me some time to explore the building itself: a huge chunk of it was an art gallery with some really interesting shit going on.

I get a lovely spot at the very front. The bloke to my left pulled a bit of a face at me and used the little English he knew to ask if I was a boy or a girl - no further conversation, just pure curiosity I suppose. I wasn’t even wearing makeup! On the flip, a babka at the end of the show in a stunning leather catsuit told me I looked gorgeous. Very glad to see that the girl/gay solidarity exists worldwide.

Miss I Ya Toyah takes the stage first. What a powerhouse! Incredible voice, fab presence, wonderful outfit too. You can find her work at iyatoyah.com

After digging through her studio albums to identify the songs I nabbed clips from, I’m realising I don’t think the sound in the venue did her music a huge amount of justice. Don’t get me wrong - her set was mint. There are just so many extra layers that really shine through in her recorded music that I wish had their chance to be heard onstage.

We drop the tempo just a little for the second support act, The Halo Trees. Beautiful, big, complex melodies from the guys. Their set was based on their then-just-released album Electric Mirror (available on Bandcamp) – an electronic remake, reimagined by themselves, of their previous album Where The Deep Ends.

A gentle easing in with Anthrocross before the opening beats to Final Impact and I am struggling to fully reconcile with the fact that Bill Leeb is swaying about half a metre from my face, and I’ve flown across the continent just for this very moment. I could scream, cry, and shit myself. Bill and Rhys were joined by Eli Van Vegas and Blush Response (Mr Blush who I do hope to see live some time soon!)

Bill’s outfit was excellent. This man was 58 years old, shaggy blond back-combed skullet wearing a distressed mesh tank top, O-ring leather collar, and sporting a tasteful wallet chain. A style icon.

It’s dawning on me that this is just a real old-school set we’re being treated to. Just banger after banger, with a couple of the more recent scorchers like Killing Grounds and Deadened sprinkled in.

The set ends what felt like too quick, but in reality an hour had passed before I’d known it, ending with 2 classics from the mighty fine Tactical Neural Implant. You’ll get some fab shots of a bloke beside me with his phone held horizontally at an honestly, very respectable height. This fella recorded the entire show. Non-stop. I imagine that’s floating around on YouTube somewhere, for the curious.

The boys come back for the encore with IED and Body Count. What a finisher!

I had the immense pleasure of catching Eli for a brief moment of the show. Absolute sweetheart. I was extremely cheeky and asked about any potential plans to come to the UK, and the (very understandable) issue with visas and general cost came up. FLA would end up popping over in the end just 4 months later! Oh well, looks like I’ll just have to go and see them again! (Spoiler: they played the same setlist… and it was still fucking great.)

(Continued spoiler: Sheffield would miss out IED!)

What a night. What a trip!! I only had the the day to explore Prague before the gig, so had to really cram that shit in if I wanted to see anything. I’d arrived the evening before and needed to be up for the airport at 7am the next day. I saw some of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen in my life and explored cemeteries with such stunning statues and carvings. The hostel was super comfortable, clean, and just lush. You had blackout curtains surrounding each bed! I paid £9 per night. I hope one day to go for a little longer, just to really attempt to take as much of the city in as I can, and the surrounding… (Sedlec Ossuary – I’ll make it one day!)

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