After a long road from 2005’s Transgression, Fear Factory have resurfaced once more to give us a new lethal dose of industrial discipline.
This mutated version of FF only had one thing in mind and that was to erase the last 8 years as if they never happened, Burton C. Bell at some point claiming he lost interest in heavy music pretty much signalled what could have been the end for the band but it was thanks to the newly reconciliation between him and long time co-founding guitarist Dino Cazares that restarted the machine that laid dormant for a long time. The aim of the game this time is to bring back some decent industrial music, a genre long defunct genre that died a very slow and painful death with them a long time ago and once more to signal what long time Fear Factory fans have been waiting for.
Mechanized opens the album with a very familiar Terminator-like landscape sound that was made Demanufacture famous and gallops its way into the verse and that’s when it becomes clear that Dino is using his 8-string Ibanez for this track.
Industrial discipline has a very Self Bias Resistor resonance to it and not just musically but lyrically too and boasts the best chorus of the album, bound to become a future classic and will be a live favourite no doubt.
Lead single Fear Campaign starts with a short intro until Burt and co. bursts into a deathly sound which is then pick up and leads you into what is a typical FF song which is great until you reach a very unwelcomed solo near the end, I think fans might agree that Fear Factory and solos just naturally don’t belong but glad to say that it’s the only one on the album that turns up which was a relief.
The first 30 seconds of Controlled Demolition is pure FF heaven in which where long time collaborator Rhys Fulber truly shines and helps the song by giving it this haunting and desolate sound using his trademark programming that he’s known for in Frontline Assembly, the ending is quite explosive and Burton really sounding monstrous.
The production of the album is almost perfect; I would say the feel of Obsolete along with the sharpness of Digimortal but in terms of the album itself, it steers towards the Demanufacture approach with the slightest touch of SYL… yes it does feels at times you’re gonna have a crazy bold man screaming along with Burt but never happens, the influence of SYL is present and quite noticeable too thanks to those blast beats and clean basslines courtesy of Drummer extraordinaire Gene Hoglan and current bassist Byron Stroud.
Metallic division is an instrumental track which has a march of the machines with its monotone and continuous rhythm until the end which gives way to the concluding track Final Exit which is a very heartfelt and emotional song about humanity and the state of affairs in our current world in how we deal with death and disease… epic.
Even though this album was put together in a short period of time (imo) it feels as though it took years to compile due to its complexity and energy, so which begs the question: Could this be the album that replaces Demanufacture as their best?
The answer to that is yes but it’s a shame that certain Arkaea members aren’t involved to be part this but would it have sounded the same if they were? Would it have been this great? I doubt it…
Fear Factory are officially back as a relevant band to take back what was taken from them and reign once more as a force to be reckoned with, it will by far the best album of 2010 regardless of other releases coming out… I seriously doubt that this will be topped… we are in for a very good year, the future is wide open and its on their side.
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