LIVE REVIEW: Fear Factory roll back the years, but keep the passion

JESUS wept! 'Demanufacture' was released 20 years ago. Well, who would have thunk it, and why does that make us feel old?

Fear Factory seem 'young' to those us bred on the 1980s metal, but then again Fear Factory began life as Ulceration in 1989...

To tour with the entire 'Demanufacture' album as the hook could be seen as an attempt to rekindle past passions among the fans. If so, it was also a risk to have two support bands of top calibre on the bill.

Opening in Belfast on Friday 11th December was Dublin act Dead Label. This trio produces a noise that defies the tag of opener.

Dan, Danny and Claire are a potent force and use their limited slot to good effect. The likes of they're Bloodstock appearance in August has helped hone tracks such as 'Ominous' and 'Salvation in Sacrifice' to cut with savagery.

Surprise of the night for many was Once Human. Logan Mader, ex-of Machine Head and Soulfly, had been away from the live music scene for almost a decade when he assembled Once Human.

Mader's return went largely unheralded and for many the release of 'The Life I Remember' in September was low on the radar. With this tour there is no way Once Human will be overlooked.

On album they are good, but live they are sensational - a combination of classic thrash and groove as well as a contemporary 21st century metal feeling. Lauren Hunt is a talented front person for the band, providing a focal point with her range of vocals and goading the crowd yet further.

Of course, 'Davidian' gets the loudest response, but the tracks of the September release earn their stripes as 'You C*nt', 'Terminal' and 'The Life I Remember' each get a more than warm welcome.

Fear Factory have earned their stripes the hard way, touring, fall-outs, failed experimentation are all part of the history and histrionics that make up the Fear Factory mythos.

With new album 'Genexus' out, why the hell are they playing 'Demanufacture' in full? There may be a simple reason, once you sit down and contemplate for a while with 'Dog Day Sunrise' playing in the background.

'Genexus' sits well alongside 'Demanufacture' and the under-rated 'Digimortal'. And, to 'tour' Genexus on it's own would mean the band would have had to include much of Demanufacture anyway. Therefore, to boost interest in the tour the happy coincidence of the album's 20th birthday was the proverbial 'no-brainer'.

When Burton C. Bell and Dino Cazares take to the stage for the opening apocalyptic riffs of the album's title track no-one cares the rhyme or reasons as the surge of familiarity breeds furious joy not contempt.

There's no real need to list all the tracks but suffice to say the likes of 'New Breed' and 'Body Hammer' still feel fresh as they did 20 years ago.

Mike Heller and Tony Campos are more than bit part players on stage. Heller has been pounding the skins for three years now and Campos seems more than just a touring member on bass.

Bell seems to be enjoying himself, and Cazares was seen to break a smile a couple of times, but there is a conceit that Fear Factory can't get away from. While the metal is pure and powerful to capture the sound at times requires the effects and synth sounds.

Where they dispense with these the essence of the album tracks disappears and it becomes a straightforward metal track: not bad enough to be bad, but still.

Where they deploy the backing tracks and synth sounds some might think they are over-topping - yet they are not.

The dichotomy within this conundrum matters not a whit as this is a set that blasts through the Limelight. New tracks such as 'Dielectric' and 'Regenerate' could have seen some drift to the back, but the majority stayed put until the final strains of 'Martyr'.

Fear Factory have been one of the preeminent bands of  'industrial' metal, but have been plagued with inconsistency. However, when they played Belfast that faded into the background. They delivered everything that could be expected: sounds from glory days brought to old and new fans alike and delivered with aplomb.

Review by Jonny
Photos by Darren McVeigh

ALBUM REVIEW: Horrific future shock from Factory on Genexus but with hope somewhere within the musical mythos

SCIENTISTS at Harvard University have taken the first step towards a cyborg future after successfully injecting an electrical mesh around the brain of a mouse, enabling commands to be sent and received. 1


Before you switch off thinking you've accidentally stumbled upon a tech blog, fear not, because it is more than relevant when sitting down with the new Fear Factory release 'Genexus'.


Cyborgs are a theme that Fear Factory have been obsessed with for some time, and with the Harvard research combined with news that scientists have created a robotic system that evolves one has to wonder what the 'Terminator' future is for our children and grandchildren.


The band are not the most optimistic about that future...not so much as a dystopian future; something far more bleak with contradictions, robotic/human identity crisis all against a backdrop that makes Skynet's plans to destroy mankind seem a cheery little story.


However, on the first couple of spins it seemed a little 'samey' in places, as if the band had dialed in some of the songs. That was until on further spins it dawned that it was so much that the tracks were dialed in, but that the band have re-captured some of what could be said is a classic FF sound.


Opener 'Autonomous Combat System' sets the not-so-cheery tone with a full-on classic merging of Cazares' guitar and Bell's at times pained vocals, with choppy drum and bass lines. The template doesn't change much throughout, and that is not such a bad thing as with it there is a sense of a band emboldened within familiar territory.


'Protomech' and 'Regenerate' stand out amidst the bleakness, but the closing duo of tracks  - 'Battle for Utopia' and 'Expiration Date' tie up musical and lyrical themes.


'...Utopia' sets the climactic scene, with a pell mell assault on the senses, laying a path for the melancholy closer.


Yes, Fear Factory, revel in the sci-fi terror environment, but many miss the allegory within much of the content: that is the struggle for identity in out technologically obsessed present. 'Expiration Date' hits that point in a harrowing, slowed down poem to what death means, and a spoken word close that contains the haunting metaphor that our memories, upon death, will disappear "like tears in the rain".


And, with that closing dirge of despair lies the missing links that so many overlook when it comes to Fear Factory. Yes, the sound never varies too much, but it is a musical expression of intelligence that reaches back through the history of extreme metal and looks forward to the evolution of 'industrial metal' and the evolution of a human existence caught up in the technological seeking of solutions where no problems exist. 42 anyone?


1 - Source BBC Focus Magazine - August 2015

Genexus is out now on Nuclear Blast
Fear Factory play Belfast's Limelight1 on December 11th - be there!

Review by Jonny

NEWS: Fear Factory prepare for August release of Genexus

THOSE fearsome pioneers of industrial metal (with credibility) Fear Factory, have given us an update on their upcoming ninth studio release ‘Genexus’
"The sensation of finalising our newest album is one of relief and joy, wrapped within a massive whirlwind of excitement," said Dino Cazares. ‘We really feel this is a very special Fear Factory album.

 

"While being careful not to replicate ourselves, this album still has a very classic Fear Factory vibe that we feel will appease both old and new fans. The aggressive, melodic and industrial elements are all intact and shine more than ever.

"Burt and I produced the album with Rhys Fulber co-producing. Damien Rainuad and Giuseppe Bassi handled most of the keys and pre-production. We also enlisted the masterful metallic skills of Andy Sneap for an amazing mixing job!

Photo credit: Kevin Estrada

 "We would like to thank everyone who has been a big part in the making of this record. We can't wait for everybody to hear it.’

Genexus will be released on August 7^th worldwide via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The record was co-produced by long-time collaborator Rhys Fulber, along with Cazares and Bell and mixed by Andy Sneap (Arch Enemy, Testament, Exodus, Machine Head).

 

Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989, Fear Factory changed the world of metal and have become a huge influence on the genre ever since their inception. The band’s unique sound helped bridge the gap between death metal, grindcore, thrash, and industrial on landmark releases like ‘Soul Of A New Machine’, ‘Demanufacture’, and the gold-selling release, ‘Obsolete’.

Metal week

Recovered from the weekend?
Right, time to get started:

• Soulfly and Sinocence tonight
• Fear Factory and Gacy's Threads on Tuesday and
• Katatonia on Wednesday night...

There! Has that got August off to a good start or what?

Soulfly winner

Thanks to the many people who tortured my email inbox with entries to our Soulfly competition. The winner is Bill (he knows who he is).

For the others who entered in the hope of scoring a free pair of tickets now's the time to make your way to buy the ticket. And while you are there pick up a Fear Factory ticket (Gacy's Threads confirmed as FF support).

Seriously, this is a chance to see two epic acts, who have each, in their own way, shaped metal in recent years. But unlike a lot of acts they continue to do so...Soulfly's Omen is a contender for album of the year.

Soulfly play on Monday (with Sinocence) and Fear Factory the next night.

Be afraid - Fear comes to Belfast

FEAR Factory will be bringing their unique blend of metal and industrial cyber grooves to Belfast's Spring and Airbrake on August 3rd.

Nevermind the hyperbole and rantings of many an over-egged press release about so-called influential bands, Fear Factory carved a path that set the agenda for many of today's acts.

Whether it was Herrera's drums, Burton C. Bell's vocal dynamics or Cazares' guitar lines Fear Factory took what went before and re-moulded it. In turn others borrowed from the FF sound to build yet further on the metal musical mythos.

True, their recorded output was at times patchy, but live they always delivered; and while some have disparaged newer material it does stand  up well.

For me Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies) from Digimortal - not by any means the best FF release - sums up the band's depth: broody and atmospheric. There are better and heavier FF songs out there, many of which will be aired on August 3rd, but Invisible Wounds represents their essence. I am still hoping, however, that large chunks of Demanufacture is on the set list!

Fear Factory play the Spring and Airbrake on August 3rd. Tickets, priced fifiteen precious notes are available from the usual outlets.