Fear Factory -Demanufacture

Mon 8th May, 2006 in Music Reviews

For the last 14 years, I have experienced many “great moments in metal”. From my very first moshpit to my band supporting American super heavyweights Machine Head. Fear Factory’s album Demanufacture is singlehandedly to blame for all of this!

I can vividly remember hearing the songs on this album for the first time and needing to know immediately who the hell it was! From that moment Fear Factory defined heavy metal for me.
From the opening song which shares its name with the album, Demanufacture grinds in to the centre of your head, where it stays for days. Atmospheric keyboards and driving kick drums, met by a barrage of low tuned guitars and bass. Wow, these guys really know how to get a pulse racing.

Burton C. Bell’s vocals are harsh, course, dry lunged and brutal, occasionally straying from this into lofty clean vocals. ‘Self Bias Resistor’, is probably my favourite song on the album, and were the track’s topic not so angst ridden, it would be a quite uplifting song. Burton really shows his vocal chops with this track, clean vocals shining like a beacon. ‘Zero Signal’ is the next track, once again enveloping the listener into the world of Fear Factory. There is so much depth to this song, you feel like you’re sinking. Again from brutal verses and changes, to melodic choruses, your head is set to be banging all the way through. Also at this point you really can appreciate the tightness and drumming prowess of Raymond Herrera, long time backbone of the band. ‘Replica’ is the next track, the film clip for this song is fantastic. Finally Fear Factory has written a song that all punters can sing along to during the choruses, and they do. ‘Replica’ is catchy and makes you wanna create a mosh in your bedroom. Dino Cazares’s guitar distortion is enough to rip your face off. the following track, ‘New Breed’ delivers an industrial sound, pounding bass and  distorted guitars, an ode to Ministry of sorts.Track six, ‘Dog Day Sunrise’ is a cover song, originally written by Head of David, an experimental industrial/stoner band of the late 1980s that featured ex-Napalm Death member Justin Broadrick.
‘Screaming Along’, ‘Body Hammer’, ‘Flashpoint’, the amazing ‘H-K’ (Hunter Killer), ‘Pisschrist’ and ’A Therapy for Pain’ follow, capping off this landmark record from the L.A. Metallers.This is an album that is a MUST HAVE for any metal fans that like their metal, fast, bouncy, brutal with a lot of depth. Absolutely Brilliant.