|1-Fear Factory - "Demanufacture"



                       A CD-review by DF0: of NFA

  After  hearing the first two Fear Factory releases ( Even though "Fear
is  the  Mindkiller"  was  really  a mini-album ) I decided to get their
latest  offering,'Demanufacture'.  Nothing I had heard on 'Soul of a New
Machine'  could  prepare me for the quantum leap they have made in their
proficiency  and  sound,though!   If  you have heard any of the songs on
'Soul.....'  you  will  have realised that while being very talented and
brutal,  most  of  the  songs  got  really boring after a while, and you
couldn't  listen  for  the  whole  album  at  a time.  I was expecting a
similar approach on 'Demanufacture', but I was in for a few surprises.

  Firstly, their image has totally changed.  The album cover is probably
on of the coolest I have seen this year, with a human spine turning into
a  bar-code.  The whole album artwork is very computery, with static and
computer  imagery  all  over it.  If you liked the stuff in "Aliens" and
"Bladerunner",  you  would love this stuff, very dark and cyber-punky in
feel.   Any  way, lets get to the main part - the music.  I slapped this
CD  on,  and  was greeted with the title track.  This starts off with an
impossibly  low  bass  rumble, and the noise of some machine clanking in
the  background.   Next  a  looped  sample  comes roaring out of another
machine.   This  is  followed  by  an incredible bit of double-bass-drum
work,it  almost  made  me think it was a drum machine, no human could go
that  fast?   The  guitar  then  kicks in with a riff very unlike any of
their   other  material.   Instead  of  concentrating  on  being  brutal
grindcore,  these  actually  have a hell of a lot of melody in them, and
they are ( Dare I say it ?  ) - Catchy.  Then the synthesizers wash over
the  whole  thing  and  I'm hooked.  The vocal lines too have progressed
remarkably.   The  first  few  lines  sound  like  Burton is singing (!)
through  a distortion box / sampler.  Okay, so then the Death growl sets
in, but even this is more controlled than before.  Sure,his voice sounds
like  he  has gargled with battery acid, but it is much more defined and
ultimately  tuneful  than  before.  All of the other tunes on this album
are   killer   as  well.   "Body  Hammer",  "Self  Bias  Resistor",  and
"Pisschrist"  are  my favourites.  They even have piano parts in them as
well.   Instead  of  lashing  out  all over the place as with their last
album,  they now are much more focused, which makes the whole experience
a lot more intense.

  They include a Head of David cover as well, "Dog Day Sunrise", which I
much  prefer  to  the original.  This, and "A therapy for pain" actually
prove  that  Burton  C.Bell can actually sing!!  'A Therapy for Pain' is
probably the most mellow song Fear Factory have ever done, it has such a
low  bottom-end  that  it  made  all  the glass in my house shake when I
cranked  it  up  full-unbelievable.   Layered  over  this  is  a load of
whispering  voices,  strange  chantings,  and very ambient synth noises.
This is partly due to Rhys Fulber ( The man behind "Front Line Assembly"
), who has used his skills behind the sampler racks on this album.

  Ultimately, you could listen to this album over and over again without
ever  getting bored of it.  Due to the Sysnthesizer element and the very
complex  structure of the songs, you constantly hear new elements to it.
One  word  of  warning  though  -  Don't  even  think about tripping and
listening to " A therapy for pain " - It would really fuck you up BAD!

          Rating    -  95 %

          As  near  as  perfect  an  album  you  can get.  Let down VERY
          slightly  by  the inclusion of a couple of cheesy riffs during
          "Self  Bias  Resistor",  but  dammit,  I'm  nit-picking here!!
          Look, just buy the damn thing, OK ?

          . ..oOO aNoTHeR FiNe aRTiCLe BRouGHT To You By DF0: OOo.. .

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