Fear Factory
Mechanize
Mechanize
"...These are the words of a reality that once seemed distant, that are now apparently, and evidently real. These are the words of the world in which we live; for what once seemed like a story of another time, has come to be our reality today. Welcome to the world of 'Mechanize'." - Burton C. Bell
Fear Factory is definitely back in full-metal action with this latest offering. The overall result of the album makes it seem as if the band discarded everything past Obsolete, which has been argued to be their best product to date; the band embraces the old, and shows us even more of the new. And this is all a good thing, because Mechanize is a promising look at the direction the band may be taking. With Rhys Fulber, the band's industrial essence creator back in the producer position for the band, everything seems green-lit for what turns out to be the best Fear Factory album of the 21st century so far. That's a stunning feat to pull off, so read on.
Of course, the industrial aspect immediately prepares you for what is to come in the title track. It's effective, and shows that Fear Factory has definitely re-embraced their Demanufacture/Obsolete style. A nu-metal rhythm kicks in, followed by Gene Hoglan's stunning abuse of percussion, all within milliseconds of each other. Burton's singing follows suit after a short delay in sound, and his vocals are throatier than they've been in perhaps a decade. Fear Factory is a groove-oriented band, and like a machine, the song follows through in such a fashion.
"Industrial Discipline" follows in a similar fashion, but with less emphasis on the vocals from Burton. The chorus parts are solid, however, reminiscent of Demanufacture-era chorus arrangements. The structure of the song is consistent throughout the song, slowing down a bit just after the middle of the song, then back to the catchy groove established at the beginning. The song closes with a sound-scape that may very well remind you of the slower, more atmospheric tracks on their best record, previously mentioned almost ad nauseum by now.
Perhaps my favourite track, "Fear Campaign" opens with spoken-word dark ambient/industrial spookery, which leads to Burton huffing, then roaring into the microphone. Hoglan compliments him with blazing fast drum delivery. The song sticks to a groove metal structure, but then just after the middle of the song, a musical element that was never used in Fear Factory history makes its mark; a guitar solo! Thankfully, it doesn't detract from the song style at all, rather enhancing it. Kudos to Dino for the effort, which worked out well. This track features some of the best instrument work from all of the band members, so it's definitely a highlight.
The next song will remind of you "Shock" from Obsolete, almost completely. It's the first single from the album, but doesn't quite stand up to the previous two tracks.
Christploitation, a strangely titled tune, builds up to the metal fury with some eerie industrial work thanks to producer Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly). This is, so far, the most electronic-infused track to take place on the album. This doesn't detract from the sonic assault heard on previous tracks.
Some more "Obsolete" influence comes through in the following track. Distortion effects on Burton's vocals gives the song a sinister tone. Dino provides catchy thrash riffs in the chorus. Not quite up there with the previous tracks, but that isn't a falling point for the album.
Yet another Obsolete-esque introduction kicks in for Controlled Demolition, but with some solid riffing from Dino. Burton's singing structure comes off as a bit repetitive at this point in the album, heard in just about every track so far on Mechanize. Here's to hoping that Burton considers a new approach, but he still remains as my favourite vocalist for a band. Machine-gun musicianship does kick in at mid-point, but it's to be expected by Fear Factory.
The album slows down considerably, which is not a negative factor by any means, in Designing the Enemy. Some of Burton's best melodic vocals are featured in this song's introduction and choruses, with Dino providing killer riffs in the background. There are also some odd time signatures here and there. Burton growls at mid-point, which is very cool to listen to, hopefully setting the stage for more of them to come in later endeavors. This is one of the better songs on the album, recovering after a slight fall in quality from the last few tracks.
Instrumentals are not common when it comes to Fear Factory. Plus, the time signatures seem a bit strange. No matter, it's a good setup for the official closer of the album.
Final Exit is one of the better closing tracks the band has executed in quite some time, being somewhat reminiscent of A Therapy For Pain from Demanufacture. It's a very melodic track, with great musicianship all around. The song also has some of the best verses and choruses uttered by Burton in the entire album, especially in the parts where he bellows, "Goodbye..." Some nu-metal style vocals are thrown in, but that's not a bad thing, as it doesn't distract from the overall package of this closer. At the halfway point of the song's duration, the rest of the song continues in an industrial/ambient fashion. I have only one qualm with that; the heavy metal portion of the song could have been elongated to better accommodate this song's duration, since it would have kept any listeners' attention seated longer, which would definitely help.
But since I have the Deluxe edition of the album, I'll move onto the bonus track; Crash Test! This is a slight remake of the original, and the most noticeable changes are in the vocals (obviously), and in the sounds heard in the beginning. Even though the original featured some tortured screaming, setting up the mood of the lyrics in the song, this features none of that. Despite losing some of the song's power from the original introduction alone, the rest of the track follows almost spot-on.
The rest of the tracks consist of their 1991 demo! The songs are radically different from the products of both "Concrete" and of "Soul Of A New Machine", but that's understandable, because the demo tracks were recorded in an amateur fashion in comparison. I especially like the demo of Big God, a somewhat longer take on the first segment of their legendary Big God/Raped Souls track, heard originally on Soul... and Concrete. Burton has some very throaty death metal growls in those tracks, which of course do not stand up to the sheer ferocity heard on their true debut, and even that of Soul...
This was an enjoyable release from my favourite band. It's a step back in the right direction, and is a huge recovery from the last couple of releases, although "Archetype" is considered to be among their best albums to date by some. With Dino back in the fold, Gene Hoglan replacing the disgruntled Raymond Herrera as the drummer (and what a machine Gene has turned out to be!), and Burton torturing his larynx even more, Fear Factory has done little wrong with "Mechanize." Let's hope that they work with what was present here in the next album, and possibly even take it to another level. "A" for effort. Even though it's too bad that Burton & Dino are entangled in a legal case against Christian & Raymond over the Fear Factory name, indeed, the former duo has done something right.
8.9/10
Breakdown:
- Reinvigorates the band's sound into something refreshing.
- Seems to ignore all that happened after Dino left.
- The "Man vs. Machine" theme has not returned.
- Solid drumming from Gene Hoglan. He's a great choice as a replacement drummer.
- The inclusion of a guitar solo is somewhat out of place, but nonetheless, no complaints here.
- The Deluxe Edition content, which features the band's 1991 Demo, gives added reason to buy the album. Considering that they're demo content, they are actually competent enough to be part of an actual LP release.
- Standout tracks, such as "Industrial Discipline", "Fear Campaign", "Designing The Enemy", and the magnificent closer "Final Exit" are a showcase of what we can all expect from the band's future works.
- Burton's vocal ability is more flexed than ever.
- Decent songwriting, but somewhat repetitive song structures (with what seems to be the same beat in at least half of the songs).
- Reinvigorates the band's sound into something refreshing.
- Seems to ignore all that happened after Dino left.
- The "Man vs. Machine" theme has not returned.
- Solid drumming from Gene Hoglan. He's a great choice as a replacement drummer.
- The inclusion of a guitar solo is somewhat out of place, but nonetheless, no complaints here.
- The Deluxe Edition content, which features the band's 1991 Demo, gives added reason to buy the album. Considering that they're demo content, they are actually competent enough to be part of an actual LP release.
- Standout tracks, such as "Industrial Discipline", "Fear Campaign", "Designing The Enemy", and the magnificent closer "Final Exit" are a showcase of what we can all expect from the band's future works.
- Burton's vocal ability is more flexed than ever.
- Decent songwriting, but somewhat repetitive song structures (with what seems to be the same beat in at least half of the songs).
G
