Fear Factory Mechanize
by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer
It’s always a bit difficult to review a new album by a band that has not only been around for a long time, but also has been extremely influential and highly regarded. Why is this so difficult? Well, because inevitably, unless the reviewer has avoided the band altogether, they will have no choice but to compare the current work to everything in the band’s past, oftentimes creating an impossible standard for the new album to live up to. Fear Factory are certainly a band with an impressive past, credited with more or less bringing industrial metal to the masses, and paving the way for a slew of other bands—from Strapping Young Lad to Static-X. Unfortunately, with their brand new album, Mechanize, the current incarnation of Fear Factory not only fails to live up to their past, but also to their (often less impressive) peers.
On the surface, Mechanize has all of the components necessary to create an amazing album. Along with recently reunited core members Burton C. Bell and Dino Cazares, FF 2010 also features Zimmer’s Hole/Strapping Young Lad bassist Byron Stroud (who joined in ’03) and drum God Gene Hoglan (if you don’t know his work, you cannot call yourself a metal head.) Therefore, the musicianship is top-notch, and as would be expected, so are the performances. Add to that Rhys Fulber’s excellent production, and it seems impossible for the album to be anything short of awesome. But alas, Mechanize is so full of monotonous, uninspired songs, and so short on anything memorable, that one is left questioning if Obsolete was used as the title for the wrong album.
The biggest problem with Mechanize is certainly the song writing. The songs don’t have unique identities, and instead blend together into a gelatinous metal sludge. It feels very much like everything was written to sound like Fear Factory, but somehow the tracks seem to be missing the elements that would make that a desirable goal. Much like Mudvayne’s recent self-titled release, it is as if everything Fear Factory did to make themselves original and influential has been tossed aside, leaving only the most basic, unoriginal bits, and thus dumping them into the category of generic groove metal.
As stated before, the musicianship present here wants for nothing. Gene Hoglan’s drum performance is as sick and tight as it’s ever been (age clearly hasn’t had any affect on him). As well, the guitar and bass tracks are insanely precise, and Burton’s vocals are endlessly strong, whether he’s growling through a verse or cleanly singing a melodic refrain. But without creative riffs and memorable melodies, musicians even of this high caliber can do little more than go through the motions.
It should be notes that closing track, “Final Exit,” is a shining beacon of hope at the end of the album. The verses, melodic guitars, catchy chorus, and general originality of the track let everyone know that the Fear Factory of old is still present, albeit somewhat buried. Not to say that the guys should consider abandoning their trademark sound for more mellow waters, but they should definitely attempt to rediscover the creativity they seem to have left behind.
Who knows, the hordes of Fear Factory fans will surely disagree with all of this and find plenty to enjoy on Mechanize, and that’s just fine. But in order to retain their status as metal lords and avoid becoming yet another band that “used to be amazing,” (Sepultura, anyone?) it’s going to take something better than this.
Label: Candlelight
Web: www.fearfactorymusic.com ; www.myspace.com/fearfactory
Band Lineup:
Burton C. Bell (vocals)
Dino Cazares (guitar)
Byron Stroud (bass)
Gene Hoglan (drums)
Rhys Fulber (samples, keyboards, programming)
Tracks:
1. Mechanize
2. Industrial Discipline
3. Fear Campaign
4. Powershifter
5. Christploitation
6. Oxidizer
7. Controlled Demolition
8. Designing the Enemy
9. Metallic Division
10. Final Exit
Hardrock Haven rating: 5.2/10