A near classic. All songs here (barring the godawful title track) are perfectly crafted and very representative of the band's sound. Burton's mix between screaming and clean vocals is the obvious stand out here. The only problem with the record is the title track, which is one of the worst Fear Factory tracks ever.
Obsolete doesn't offer a lot that wasn't heard on Demanufacture. The band have merely refined their industrial-infused alternative metal formula. The production is much clearer and fuller, replacing a touch of the harshness of Demanufacture with a more wide-screen sensibility. This complements the album's concept, which in short, is about a man's struggle for freedom in a bleak future; where machines control everything and humanity has essentially become surplus to requirements (Interesting, in 2006 Bell stated that he believed that this epoch had arrived in the real world). Bell's clean vocals show significant development with excellent performances on the two closing tracks which were at this point, two of the most melodic and accessible tracks the band had ever done. While not as historically significant as Demanufacture, it's certainly a worthy successor.
