Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Fear Factory
Fear Factory tabs Fear Factory discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Fear Factory guitar tabs

CD reviews

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: 2004-10-05
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 Opression 12: Suffer Age 13: W.O.E. 14: Desecrate 15: Escape Confusion 16: Manipulation 17: Martyr [Suffer Bastard Mix] 18: Self Immolation [Vein Tap Mix] 19: Scapegoat [Pigf*cK Mix] 20: Scumgrief [Deep Dub Trauma Mix] 21: Self Immolation [Liquid Sky Mix]

Solid Death metal/industrial sound
It's not your standard fare Death metal, far more industrial influence. Though I'm not a fan of industrial metal, this is the only album I own by FF, and it's solid. .

Brutalful
It was a familiar feeling; albeit unexpected since I thought myself outside the circle. The band had just begun to play when I was hit pretty hard and sent to my direct left, as I tried to calculate what had just happened, I was trying also to not fall down, and began to jog with relief when it finally did occur to me that a spirited mosher had struck me and sent me sailing, a thin body can be moved quite a distance with such a force. . . . I didn't have to look back or even know who hit me, and after checking for missing parts my focus went directly to the band on the stage.

Ah, brutal death metal. . . . this must be Fear Factory, a band I knew very little about other than they seemed to be some type of DM band with industrial ties perhaps, sorta like Godflesh, Ministry perhaps? And just as my interest was about to go back to the moshing to my right, I heard the most amazing sound coming from the stage. . . . the guy was singing up into the microphone in front of all that pummeling drums, guitars, and bass, singing well too. . . and at that moment I knew this was something very special, but at the same time I still didn't feel like a part of it. Mabye it was the out of the loop moshpit thing and I felt outdated. . . . but at some point this moment would prove beneficial in my ever expanding muscial taste. I was at this early 90's show to see Clutch and Sepultura also, and for the most part don't remember much about either one, I'm pretty sure Clutch put on a great show, but not even sure I stayed for Sepultura, I guess I had had enough, and it was enough surprises and interesting things had happened for the evening.

Soul Of A New Machine is an interesting, amazing blend of death metal crunch that is not to technical for the most part, minimal industrial effects, and of course the all important clean vocals weave in and out of so many of the songs they do. It all works very well, and each song has a different feel, some are more industrial metal, some more Death Metal sounding, a few have no clean vocals, just the growl, and a couple if i'm not mistaken just hammer along like punk metal or something of that nature. All this seems fitting and the time was right in '92 for this to come out, alot of experimentation was going on all over the place. You had Godflesh, you had Cynic. . . . and those are just 2 I can think of right now.

Favs include "Scumgrief" (which is probably my fav FF song of all time, or at least in the top 5), "Martyr", "Scapegoat", "Crisis", "Suffer Age", "Self Immolation", and "Lifeblind". There are a couple I tend to skip over like "Natividad", and "Arise Above Oppression". "Leechmaster" is one I give a pass to sometimes also, but listen to it occasionally due to it's overall pummeling sound, but I do prefer the songs that combine the death metal growl with the clean vocals for the most part on my FF songs.

On the second disc there are some mixes of a few songs, and for FF I'm not a big fan of remix's for the most part but there are a few here that are not half bad. "Scumgrief" . . . what I call the (DDT Mix), and "Scapegoat" (Pig Mix) are enjoyable, and the Liquid Sky Mix of "Self Immolation" is tolerable also. I guess it can lend some balance to the set once you've heard the original CD in it's entirety to then hear a few alternative versions of the songs. These are the types of songs you might hear at a club I guess for the sorta mini-mosh on the dance floor. The ones I like are the ones you can at least recognize through the beats and effects and what not, and the few I mentioned don't seem to stray as far as some others they have done like on "Remanufacture". If I'm in the mood to listen to those types that really are techno/dancey stuff I will listen to it, but not very often after hearing the beautiful aggression of FF, will I then go in that direction let's put it that way.

A great 2 disc comp of the '92 Classic, get it and listen for yourself. . . . you really can't go wrong, unless you are just not into this type of music. FF influenced a legion of bands and their early stuff was just classic, whatever category or genre you want to put them in. .

A Must-Have Album!
The production is raw and the songs are closer to death metal than later Fear Factory releases, but it's all here - the bone crushing guitars, the clockwork drumming, the beastly then angelic vocals. If you want to know how it all began with Fear Factory's industrial metal angst, this is a good place to start. Right from the get-go the Factory melds man and machine to make a new wrinkle on your daddy's metal core.

Random samples from Full Metal Jacket and local media clips sprinkle and add flavor to these straight ahead sonic attacks. I'm still taking this record all in thanks to the thoughful inclusion of 'Fear is the Mindkiller. ' This was a remix record before industrial remix wars became popular in the mid 90s. You get a lot of cool music for your buck with this record, and if you ever wondered where Fear Factory got their start or ideas from, it will all make more sense after you pick this record up.

Glad Roadrunner Remastered this album
It's not FF's best in my opinion but I was blown away this first time I heard it. Title basically said it all, this album deserved it. I actually saw them live with Sepultura and Fudge Tunnel before I heard the album and I was hooked because I haven't heard anything like it at the time. This was one of the many albums that are on my list that should be remastered with today's production abilities. Definately worth picking up even if you already own the originals. .

Very glad I bought the remaster
This is one of the metal classics of the 90's and I absolutely love what Roadrunner has done with it, even if they just want money. This album simply sounds heavier and more clear than before. The drumming is more clear than before, the clean vocals in the background section of "Leechmaster" are more audible, the instruments are more distinguishable from each other.

I also bought it for the "Fear is the Mindkiller" EP which I had been wanting for a long time. It's satisfying and the remixes of "Scumgrief" and "Scapegoat" KICK ASS.

All in all I'd say it's worth your money if you lack either of the CDs contained herein. I'd probably give the package 4 stars, as it's not worth it if you have both already, but I love SoaNM too much to give it less than 5.

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.