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Soul of a New Machine

Fear Factory - Soul of a New Machine Audio CD

A fair review of the Fear Factory "Soul of a New Machine" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Fear Factory reviews here, or go back to the Fear Factory tabs.

Band: Fear Factory
Title: Soul of a New Machine
Rating:

Release Date: 1992-09-08
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Martyr 2: Leechmaster 3: Scapegoat 4: Crisis 5: Crash Test 6: Flesh Hold 7: Lifeblind 8: Scumgrief 9: Natividad 10: Big God/Raped Souls 11: Arise Above Oppression 12: Self Immolation 13: Suffer Age 14: Woe 15: Desecrate 16: Escape Confusion 17: Manipulation

What A Surprising Start!
They cannot be pigeon-holed into a genre and can blend many styles of music into perfection. Fear Factory has always been a band in my book of respect. "Soul Of A New Machine" is an album that has the band back in their more raw death metal oriented days. "Martyr", the beginning track, is a great choice to kick this CD off, with a crushing death groove to it along with Burton C. Bell's amazing vocals. Also, the band incorporates industrial in their music as well, especially in tracks like "Self Immolation" and "Crisis". There really isn't much more to say about this great album, other than that it is diverse, worth the listen, and a standout to most music out there today. Recommended. .

Apex
My personal favorite, this disc has consistently brutal dirges of heavy vocals and equally intense assaults on the instrumental front. This, FF's first official release, showcases a very different sound from the subsequent ones. But the shining moments arise with the sparing use of clean sounds:
Martyr - The quiet chords behind the verses and the childlike vocal droning in the bridge are the fundamental components of the song.
Scapegoat - Riff and vocals harmonize beautifully.
Scumgrief - Chorus composed of bone-chilling guitar and vocal lines.
Suffer Age, Escape Confusion - Intros of both songs build huge suspense and tension.
Dino Cazares truly shows his skill at making memorable riffs from only a few dissonant power chords, something that became somewhat drowned in the flood of electronic experimentality that followed. Also, Bell's vocals are very intense and straightforward, unlike the retarded sounds found in later tunes like "Shock" and "Contagion". This album fails to age, and if this type of music is within your frequency, it is a disc that you will find to be listenable at any time.

Darker and heavier than "Demanufacture"
The song's lyrics are depressing and the music was dark,but very awesome. This cd's Fear Factory death-indust metal side. The synthesizer sounds are gloomy,and sometimes scary,but impressive. Guitar riffs are good,drums not bad,in a few songs too simple,but it isn't a big dissapointing thing. The vocals are heavy. . . Burton's not a Corpsegrinder (Cannibal Corpse) but he's voices are good,and the singing is very clean. My 3 favourite songs int this cd : Crisis,Big God-raped souls,and Self Immolation . "Soul of a New Machine" isn't an other "Demanufacture",but talented and original album.

My Favorite Fear Factory Album
This is FF as a death metal/industrial beast. NOTE!: This isn't the radio friendly rapping Fear Factory. The album starts off with the kick a$$ 'Martyr' and things pick up. It's followed by the ok 'Leechmaster' but the follow up to 'Leechmaster', 'Scape Goat', could very well be the heaviest song on the album. Then it's followed by my favorite song on the album, 'Crisis'. In the middle of the song we hear samples of 'Full Metal Jacket', over bass. The results are pretty chiling. Next, 'Crashtest', starts off with some weird sampling. It ends with the sound of a guy screaming directly into a microphone or something. The next few song that kicka$$ on the album are 'Lifeblind', 'Scumgrief', 'Big God Raped Souls', and 'Escape Confusion'. 'Confusion', the begining is very chiling. It begins with Dino's guitar giving the riff and Burton growling lowly "Escape. . . . . . . . Con. . . . . fusion. . ".

In short, get this album. It was released on Roadrunner Records in the early 90's, the same label that offered Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes", Sepultura's "Chaos A. D. ", Biohazard's "Urban Disicpline", and for something different, Type O Negative's "Bloody Kisses". If you enjoyed those albums, then check this out. BTW: I'M REALLY 14.

If you thought "Demanufacture" was heavy...
Maybe Fear Factory were struggling to find a sound of their own, or maybe they wanted to make their first album a death metal album so they could show their evolution as a band. The follow up to this album, 1995's "Demanufacture," was very heavy, but it wasn't an unabashed, full speed ahead death metal album, like this one. Whatever the case, those who are new to Fear Factory will probably find it hard to believe that the same band that made a C. D. like "Digimortal" also made "Soul of a New Machine" (and "Concrete"). Yes, they actually were (at one time) this heavy! This C. D. has nothing but pounding riffs, blinding drums, and very mean (almost monstrous) vocals.

Some songs (i. e. the multi-speed "Scapegoat" and "Scumgrief") feature clean, backing vocals, but most of this album is skull crushing. "Martyr" builds from whispering/growling to bellowing; tracks like "Crash Test" and "Lifeblind" have fast, pounding riffs and heavy, thumping drums, whereas "Flesh Hold" is so thrashy, it could pass for an old-school Sepultura song. "Big God/Raped Souls" and "Arise Above Oppression" are short, explosive blasts, "Leechmaster" and "Suffer Age" show case Raymond's great drum work with lightning fast blast beats, and, finally, "Manipulation" has buzzsaw guitars and drums.

Their debut may not be a good place to start if you're new to Fear Factory (because it's not a good representation of the band), but it shows they have really come a long ways in just over a decade. And if you don't enjoy Fear Factory's later works, like "Digimortal" and "Transgression," (or if you think "Demanufacture" is their best album,) you should definitely check into "Soul of a New Machine. "Also recommended to fans '80's Sepultura, Deicide, and the like.

You can see a complete list of all Fear Factory discography, or go back to the Fear Factory tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.