Fear Factory-Demanufacture
There I was in my local CD shop. I needed a new CD really, really badly, but I wasn’t sure what to buy. To make matters worse, my brother was hurrying me up, and pushing me toward a Dark Tranquillity album. Five minutes later, the band name Fear Factory caught my eye. I had heard many good things about them from assorted sources, so I decided to pick up the remastered version. But enough about how I got the disk. It’s time to get started on the review.
Fear Factory is widely known for their crazily fast double bass, stuttering guitar riffs, and singer Burton C. Bell’s throaty roars. Before I picked
Demanufacture off the shelves, I had only heard the “new” Fear Factory, which involved the band showing off a poppier and more mainstream sound than that displayed on this work. Upon placing this in my car stereo, I was immediately treated to what sounded like a soundtrack to a science fiction movie. Dino Cazares’ guitar riffs were simple, but they went great with the double-bass rolls that were played often. Although Bell’s clean voice leaves something to be desired, his growl (I don’t know how else to describe it) is really cool and robotic-sounding.
It’s obvious that the band members were very close at the time of this release. All of the instruments meld perfectly and have their time in the spotlight. “Body Hammer” has a crushing intro guitar riff; whereas the title track has a brief bass fill. The drums are ever-present in all tracks, and it is clear that Raymond Hererra is the most talented member of the band.
Remember, this album was released over ten years ago, when recording technology was not as advanced as it is today. One of the greatest aspects of
Demanufacture is the fact that even if it is old, it still sounds like a new, ground-breaking album. It was the first album
ever to mix extreme metal and industrial metal, and it does so extraordinarily.
Alas, every piece of music has its flaws. Admittedly, there are a few boring tracks and riffs on here. “New Breed” is a track that I loved at first, but now I skip it every time. “Dog Day Sunrise” is a cover of a Hanna & McEuen tune, but it, also is repetitive and boring. Most of the bad things are made up for by extraordinary tracks such as “Replica” or “Zero Signal.”
Demanufacture greatly surpasses all of Fear Factory’s later works. It sounds the most advanced, the heaviest, and just the overall best of all of the band's records. If the only Fear Factory tracks you have heard are off
Archetype or
Transgression, and you hated them, you still owe it to yourself to check this out one way or another. It is a different style than anything I have ever heard before, and I love it. It’s a pity that no other bands pushed the boundaries like this, or else modern metal as we know it today might be a better place.
Recommended Downloads:
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Body Hammer
-
Replica
-
Demanufacture
-
Zero Signal
Recommended Listening:
Chimara-
Pass Out of Existence
Slipknot-
Vol.3
Pros:
(+)Powerful, stuttering guitar riffs
(+)Some great drumming
(+)The heavy vocals are great
(+)Earthshakingly heavy
Cons:
(-)The clean vocals are odd and sometimes off-key
(-)
Dog Day Sunrise
(-)
New Breed
(-)Can cause headaches
Overall:
Here’s the hardest part of reviewing: assigning a rating. Although the site ratings state that 5 stars is a classic record, I have always considered a 5 star album to be flawless as opposed to classic. This album is most definitely classic, but it’s not perfect, so:
4/5
87%
A
