Review Summary: A great example of when a band strips down everything that made them great in the first place.
It comes as no surprise that Fear Factory’s 2005 album
Transgression ended up being the biggest misfire for the band. Dealing with inside disputes, the loss of their main guitarist, Dino Cazares, in 2001, and the less than sub-par reception of both
Archetype and
Digimortal, Fear Factory’s reputation was walking on a tightrope. While
Digimortal wasn’t awful by any means and
Archetype assured that Fear Factory was still kicking, they still weren’t able to deliver the same amount of energy and aggression that their sophomore record
Demanufacture had (an album that Fear Factory has yet to overcome). It's just sad considering the fact that Fear Factory have become one of the great names in industrial metal since
Defmanufacture was just such a landmark release that it's hard to imagine that a band like this would stoop so low. However, in some way they managed to make an album that even they aren't impressed with.
The most obvious issue with this album is the production, as
Transgression seems completely rushed and unfinished. While
Digimortal was accused of being too clean, this album feels rusty and unpolished to a point where almost all of the energy is sucked completely dry. The instrumentation in the album feels lifeless and bland that curbs much of the aggression, something that the band practically relies on when recording music. So when that element is ripped out, that one thing that Fear Factory have practically mastered since the start of their careers, it spells for a complete d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r. Burt’s vocals have this awkward, cringe-worthy deliverance whenever he’s trying to set the tone; and the inspiration is drowned out and dead leaving for a completely boring and uninteresting experience. Simply put, the album literally has no substance. At all. Right from the start of the opener “540,000° Fahrenheit” (which is arguably the worst opener in Fear Factory’s discography) to the very last second of the album, (depending on which version you listened to) there’s very little that this album has to show - or, perhaps worse, to hide.
However, Fear Factory is not entirely to blame for this mess of a record. According to Christian Olde Wolbers, the record label was held accountable. The recording process was rushed and Wolbers was kept completely out of the writing process (thus why the U2 and Killing Joke covers exist). Even so,
Transgression still manages to contain great guitar riffs despite the awful production and “Spinal Compression” and “Moment of Impact” contain traces of vigour. While it doesn’t make up for the lack of inspiration that most of the record contains, it does manage deliver something enjoyable, at least. Not to mention that this is the first Fear Factory album to feature guitar solos, despite the piss-poor production eking through, so it shows that the band attempted
something.
However, despite at least trying to come out with something great,
Transgreassion still ends up Fear Factory’s biggest flop in their careers, and of course almost no one is content with the results. While it may be true that Fear Factory might never be album to top
Demanufacture, they are still able to deliver some great albums, as Archetype and Obsolete can attest to. Yet, what
Transgression offered was nothing more than a band poised to deliver their careers a fatal blow. It’s bland, uninspired, and just downright useless. Fans of Fear Factory, take note - just as if they were beaten, bloody, and on the cusp of complete organ failure, trust me when I say: you really don't want to see them like this.
