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Band Name: Fear Factory
Genre: Metal
Release Date: Summer 2005
Label: Roadrunner Records

 
Introduction

A band that needs little introduction, Fear Factory has had a loyal growing fanbase since Demanufacture in the Netherlands which has since then only grown bigger and better. Though the band has made some changes, guitarist Dino Cazares left the band after Digimortal. But soon after former bass player Christian Olde Wolbers took up guitars, leaving a bass player opening which was filled with Byron Stroud. Which a lot of people might recognise from other heavy bands like Strapping Young Lad and Zimmershole. With Archetype the band proved they still had the "Fear Factory" spirit in their music, though not the same as with Dino, it still was well received among fans.


Line up

Burton C. Bell - Vocals
Raymond Herrera - Drums
Christian Olde Wolbers - Guitar
Byron Stroud - Bass


Review


01. 540,000 Degrees Fahrenheit - 4:28
A song that carries the typical energy that made Fear Factory great. With the opening track of a cd, you´re usually out to make an impact. And once again they have truly done this. But this is little suprise from the band with opening tracks such as Demanufacture (Demanufacture) and Shock (Obsolete). Its a constant pace they take, leaving little time for breathers or melodic moments. Though when you have a guy like Burton, you still have plenty of melody in songs, the whole song is still just more raw energy. The way we know Fear Factory to open, the way we want them to open.

02. Transgression - 4:50
The title-track of the cd, unlike the opening track, this song builds up, another good example of the typical Fear Factory combination of the guitars and drums. Really enforcing one another. Though its not brought together the same way as before, its still very powerfull. This song does have its "lighter" moments from time to time. But as always focused on the vocals. It doesn´t have the same energy as the first song. Though 540,000 Degrees Fahrenheit is a tough song to follow, this song doesn´t follow it up all that well. It does show the newer style of Fear Factory very well, I would have placed Spinal Compression after the opening track instead of Transgression.

03. Spinal Compression - 4:12
As I said, a better song to follow up the heavy opening track. Starts out in a nice pace, some old school Fear Factory mixed up with the newer sound. I can´t recall a lot of times Raymond Herrera has truly started blastbeating, but here it seems to start coming. It really brings me back to Soul of a New Machine but at the same time you sense the newer style which the change in the line-up has brought forth.

04. Contagion - 4:38
One of the best songs of this album to me. Though at first I raised an eyebrow as to wondering if I was listening to Fear Factory, after 30 seconds Burton confirmed this perfectly with one of his lower twisted voices, my favorite thing about the song Concreto (Obsolete). And once again they came up with an amazingly chorus. Just as with Archetype (Archetype) its the harmonies that just make it stick in your head.
But its also because the rest does get a bit boring after hearing it a lot in the song.
It lacks some variation which would be needed in a song over 4 minutes.
But what a great chorus and everytime I hear it, I love it ! For like 3 minutes......

05. Empty Vision - 4:54
At first I thought I was hearing Dark Bodies (Digimortal), but I was truly mistaken.
This song plunges back into the heavy riffing which every Fear Factory fan always aches for on the new albums. The cool thing to me is the laid back singing during the verses over this really heavy rhythm. Though sometimes I wouldn´t have minded the vocals a bit less dominant. At a certain point Christian starts squeeling in some high notes, it does add some variation, but it doesn´t really make it more interesting to me. Still a great song, a song that I just need to see live as well.

06. Echoes Of My Scream - 6:58
With a title like this, you don´t expect heavy fast paced riffing. And they don´t, it starts of slow, with some slow clean vocals. After a while it just adds up with some harmonies and I´m really loving it. I never expected this kind of song on the new record. Though at around 7 minutes long, I still love it. This time I even enjoy the squeeling high notes by Christian as well.

07. Supernova - 4:32
Well with this track I thought of something energetic, and once again, I was right.
Though not typical heavy Fear Factory, they seem to enjoy a more mellow pace in their songs from time to time as well. When you hear it, you think of another song, and probably like me can´t place it right away. Also took me back to the Cars (Obsolete) track with Gary Numan a bit. But a nice song, in everyway of the word.

08. New Promise - 5:14
Again a relaxed intro to the song, but they come back hard. I don´t really enjoy the vocals as much as on songs like Contagion, but they have their moments. Its still a lot of heavy riffing in a steady pace for perfect headbanging. But the choruses just don´t do it for me. Nice to hear Christian performing a solo, sort of. Nice lead guitar sound, and it does add something extra.

09. I Will Follow - 3:42
When I first heard it, I didn´t realize it was a U2 cover. Though the shock was over quite soon after I heard it, it wasn´t cool to hear the song and not know it.
It is a nice cover, maybe they could have added a bit more Fear Factory to it. I´m not very familiar with the original, this sounds like they just play the original with a different sound.

10. Millenium - 5:25
I do not know the band Killing Joke, and after this cover, it didn´t increase my interest in getting to know the band Killing Joke. Its just another thrash metal song to me, nothing new, nothing fancy.

11. Moment of Impact - 6:33
The last track of the album (except for the Best Buy bonus track) and its heavier then the past couple of songs, not that hard though. I like it, it has some Fear Factory explosions in the songs, something I´ve loved since the Demanufacture album. It tends to sound more like a song that Dino could have been a part of, which is a good thing to me. Just a constant double bass drum with heavy guitars and and good vocals. Here Burton really fits the song again with the right kind of volume and agression. They picked a good song to end the cd with.

12. Bonus Track
The Best Buy bonus track only. Well if you don´t have it, you´re missing out on something. Like Moment of Impact, this song is also filled with heavy riffing combined with the loved double bass drum backing it all up. Its just a fast paced song with enough energy to make a song that could end the cd as well as the previous song. And it might not be very professional, but at 2:35 I laughed my ass of, imagine Burton sounding like Max Cavalera when he starts ranting in Brazilian in some of his Soulfly songs. But I still like this song a lot, plenty of energy and good vocals most of the time.


Cover Picture




Technical Summary

Playing time: 56:42
Total tracks: 11 or 12


Conclusion

With playing time little under an hour and 11 or 12 songs, almost every song is over 4 minutes long. To me thats a good thing, I enjoyed most of the songs on the record a lot, and didn´t get bored after 2 minutes after each song. So there´s plenty of variation. Though for me they have taken quite a different path then what I was used to, I still enjoyed it. When Archetype came out I wasn´t too thrilled, I loved the title track and a few others from time to time, but it didn´t keep listening to it.
This album is definatly different, I truly love some of the songs on here, and I enjoy variation. There´s some really good heavy songs, but then there´s also a song like Echoes of my Scream, which is a beautifull ballad like song, and then there´s two coversongs to expand the style of the cd even more. I don´think this cd is for everyone, but personally really like it. Fear Factory definatly got my interest back with this album.


Rating

Music: 7.5
Sound:9.0
Extra´s: n/a
Total: 8.25

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