1992 Soul Of A New Machine: Industrial tinged death metal. I would go as far as to say that Soul Of A New Machine is a groundbreaking metal effort. Much heavier in the traditional sense than their future releases and does not contain a lot of the bands soon to be signature sound and electronics. 7/10
1993 Fear Is The Mindkiller: Remixes of some tracks from Soul Of A New Machine...I'll pass... 4/10
1995 Demanufacture: Easily their most popular and well known album. Demanufacture brought the Fear Factory sound full circle and brought in a whole new fan base. Everything Fear Factory did from here on out would be directly influenced by Demanufacture. Heavy, progressive, well produced and catchy, Demanufacture remains in a tie for my favorite Fear Factory album. 8.5/10
1997 Remanufacture: Remixes of tracks off the Demanufacture album. Again, I'll pass...4/10
1998 Obsolete: Take the basic sound from Demanufacture, fatten up the mix, add more electronics, a bit more melody and a concept story and viola!, Obsolete is born! I can't decide whether I like this or Demanufacture better because they both kick your ass so hard. I would say that Obsolete is the bands all around most balanced release if not their best. 8.5/10
2001 Digimortal: Definite Nu Metal influence on this album divided a lot of fans. The album is instantly recognizable as Fear Factory but it seems that the band traded some brutality and technicality for a more simple and radio friendly approach. There are some scorchers on here such as Acres Of Skin but, tracks like Back The Fuck Up and Invisible Wounds are a definite stray from the sound. I applaud any band for breaking the norm and pushing musical boundaries but it just doesn't work here. Despite all the negatives, Digimortal is an album that I will stand behind and I consider it a merit to the bands career. 6.5/10
2002 Concrete: Recorded back in 1990 but ultimately shelved and then released by roadrunner in 2002. From what I understand, Fear Factory did not want this album released but the record company did it anyway and why not, it sold 34,000 copies! N/A
2003 Hatefiles: Same scenario as above. Only for die hards or completists. N/A
2004 Archetype: All hail Fear Factory for they have returned! Archetype is easily their heaviest album since Demanufacture. Bassist Christian took over guitar duties and Byron from SYL stepped in for bass duties. What Archetype lacks in innovation it makes up for with downright bludgeoning power. I was literally cheering the first time I heard Archetype as it showed great things to come for the reborn Fear Factory.
Drummer Ray Herrera is a stand out on Archetype as he lays the backdrop for arguably the most ferocious Fear Factory album to date. 7/10
2005 Transgression: Hot on the heels of Archetype, Fear Factory release Transgression. In a nutshell, The first half of the album is pretty kick ass and the second not so much. The production lacks as compared to prior FF releases and it seems rushed (admittedly, by the band, it was rushed). All the ground the band may have won back with Archetype they seemed to have lost with Transgression. By no means a bad album, it was just a disappointment after releasing an album as heavy and listenable as Archetype. 6/10
The Good: Innovation, excellent production (FF sounds awesome on a high end stereo), experimentation, top notch musicians, signature sound.
The Bad: Filler tracks, too many remixes/cover songs, losing Dino. Christian is an absolutely respectable replacement for Dino but he just doesn't quite nail it in the same way.
Buy Fear Factory Releases:
Webmaster Recommendation: Demanufacture, Obsolete, Archetype
A Short Review Of The Fear Factory Discography
Heaven Shall Burn-Iconoclast Album Review
In the beginning when Metalcore was a new thing I really did enjoy the genre. At The Gates, Caliban, Killswitch Engage and the like were innovative. Bands like these took the heaviness and technicality of death/thrash metal, hardcore style breakdowns and combined it with melody and some cleaner singing parts. It seemed like a good formula but boy oh boy have I grown tired of this genre. Heaven Shall Burn was indeed a pioneer of the Metalcore genre but on their latest album Iconoclast, I don’t hear much growth. Iconoclast definitely is much heavier than your typical Metalcore release but not much about the album stands out. The musicianship is top notch and the band displays pretty much non stop heaviness throughout the album but, these days with so many bands, it takes a special element to stand out which I believe Iconoclast lacks.
Oh and another thing, guys please stop with the 90 second piano/electronic intro to the album. It’s been done far too many times and it only makes me want to skip the track. And I’m not just talking to Heaven Shall Burn (you know who you are). That is admittedly a minor nitpick so lets move on to some good points of Iconoclast shall we?
As noted before, the musicianship is excellent. These guys are fairly technical while staying heavy and some what catchy. In my opinion, the drummer is excellent and his work definitely stands out on Iconoclast. The production is clear and chunky and not the muddied mess that you get with a lot of the heavier bands these days. You’ll get the usual fare of blistering twin guitars, tons of double bass and, heavy, sinister sounding vocals. Overall it is a good metal album but what does it lack…?
Iconoclast lacks an identity of its own. There is nothing particularly bad about the album except for the fact that it doesn’t possess that element, whatever it may be that grabs the listener’s attention. Fans of Heaven Shall Burn will no doubt embrace this album as it is a lot more of what they appreciate about the band but, casual listeners or first timers may dismiss it as yet another Metalcore/Deathcore album. I’ve always thought the band has put out solid releases but this one just seems to miss the mark with me. I actually prefer their 2004 release Antigone. Don’t consider this review a bashing of Heaven Shall Burn because it’s not, it is merely one mans opinion that a band of this caliber that’s been together for almost 10 years now would release a more memorable and listenable album. Not by any means is it bad but it is far from excellent. 6/10
Webmaster Recommendation: Heaven Shall Burn-Antigone
Devin Townsend To Produce New Misery Signals Album
Heavy Metal madman and mainman of Strapping Young Lad will produce the bands as of yet untitled next album. Townsend produced the bands first full length offering titled Of Malice And The Magnum Heart. The band had this to say:
"We headed down to our rehearsal space bright and early and began doing some pre production demos to send to Devin. We recorded ten brand spanking new songs, most of which should make the album. The band will be splitting ways over the holidays for a couple weeks, then we will reunite in early January to write a few more songs, get some more demos together and once again send them to Dev.
"Once again, it's hard to express in words just how excited we are to be back working with Dev, and how excited we are about our material. I said it before and I will say it again, I think if you are fan of MS, you will really enjoy what we have come up with this time around."
You can hear some of their songs and get more information on Misery Signals HERE
Buy Misery Signals albums here:
Devildriver Napalm Death 36 Crazyfists Walls Of Jericho And Invitro To Hit The Road Early 2008
The "Bound By The Road" tour will kick off on Feb. 27 in California and conclude Apr. 18 in Arizona. Devildriver will be headlining but no other information is given on the order that the bands will play. I would assume the order would go as follows: Invitro, Walls Of Jericho, 36 Crazyfists, Napalm Death, Devildriver. Line ups sometimes change city to city but that's my best guess. The dates are as follows:
Feb. 27 - The Fat Cat - Modesto, CA
Feb. 28 - The Boardwalk - Orangevale, CA
Feb. 29 - House Of Blues - West Hollywood, CA
Mar. 02 - The Rock - Tucson, AZ
Mar. 04 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
Mar. 06 - Cain’s Ballroom - Tulsa, OK
Mar. 07 - Ridglea Theater - Fort Worth, TX
Mar. 08 - Scout Bar - San Antonio, TX
Mar. 09 - House Of Rock - Corpus Christi, TX
Mar. 14 - Boomerz - Seminole, FL
Mar. 15 - Mojo Room - Port St. Lucie, FL
Mar. 17 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
Mar. 18 - Jesters - Fayetteville, NC
Mar. 19 - Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC
Mar. 20 - House Of Blues - North Myrtle Beach, SC
Mar. 21 - Hooligans - Jacksonville, NC
Mar. 22 - Jaxx - Springfield, VA
Mar. 24 - BB Kings - New York City, NY
Mar. 25 - Crocodile Rock - Allentown, PA
Mar. 26 - Webster Theater - Hartford, CT
Mar. 27 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
Mar. 28 - Mark’s Showplace - Bedford, NH
Mar. 29 - Northern Lights - Clifton, NY
Mar. 31 - Mr. Smalls - Millvale, PA
Apr. 01 - Headliners - Louisville, KY
Apr. 02 - Peabodys - Cleveland, OH
Apr. 03 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI
Apr. 04 - Harpos - Detroit, MI
Apr. 05 - Machine Shop - Flint, MI
Apr. 06 - Pearl Room - Mokena, IL
Apr. 08 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
Apr. 09 - The Rock - Maplewood, MN
Apr. 11 - Pop’s - Sauget, IL
Apr. 12 - The Beaumont - Kansas City, MO
Apr. 13 - The Blue Goat - Salina, KS
Apr. 16 - The Black Sheep - Colorado Springs, CO
Apr. 17 - Gator’s - Famington, NM
Apr. 18 - Marquee Theater - Tempe, AZ
I'll be honest, I have no idea who Invitro is but if they're not half bad then this should be an all around kick ass tour.
You can get albums from any of the bands on this tour by clicking on the links below.
Webmaster Recommendation: 36 Crazyfists-A Snow Capped Romance
Dave Mustaine To Auction His Custom ESP DV8 Guitar
The guitar is custom painted and from Dave's personal collection. It was used on the Blackmail The Universe tour. The guitar is reportedly in excellent condition and includes a case. You can view the auction located in the official Megadeth Ebay Store HERE.
You can buy their latest album United Abominations here.
Machine Head Now I Lay Thee Down Video Available For Viewing
Mike Sloat directed Machine Head's latest video for the song Now I Lay Thee Down. As for the plot, the band's label says, "the video is a play about a past time in which a strange and grotesque man, who is shunned by society and outcast, decides that he wants to know what it's like to die. He asks his lover, the only person who cares for him, to take his life. Reluctantly, she does. But then she becomes so distraught and miserable about losing her only love that she decides she must take her own life as well to be with him forever. The play ends with the two lovers together again, at last in the afterlife. The curtain drops and the entire cast bows to the audience." The song is from Machine Head's critically acclaimed album The Blackening. You can view the video below:
Buy the album here:
The Autumn Offering Another New Song Posted Online
The Autumn Offering have posted another song from their upcoming album "Fear Will Cast No Shadow" titled From Atrophy to Obsession. You can hear it HERE. The album is due out on 10-30-07 via Victory Records and is a follow up to their 2006 release "Embrace The Gutter". Ok guys, I am a huge fan of your music but please bring back Dennis (ex vocalist). There is no doubt that he is the superior vocalist and as far as I can tell so far, Fear Will Cast No Shadow is inferior to Embrace The Gutter.
If you like what you hear, pre order Fear Will Cast No Shadow here:
Webmaster recommendation: Embrace The Gutter
Embrace The Gutter Video:
