Customer Reviews

Fear Factory: Transgression

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Or is that the "Fear". No, it's really the industrial elements I'm missing most in Trangression. These are my impressions after listening to the album for 2 weeks regularly:

The first few songs sent me diving for the internet to see if they had replaced their drummer. Where is the double-kick?
The next few listens made me think they've replaced their guitarist - no rhythmic downstroke chugs in perfect time with the kick? Well that could just be because their IS no kick...

Then the second half of the album basically descends into what you might mistake for a compilation of all the "soft" songs off FF's previous albums. Ballads, etc.

And then comes "I will follow". Hang on, is this a Killers album? One thing that always p'd me off about FF is the way they modify their style each album to sound slightly like whatever's popular. They Kornified themselves in Obsolete; they nu-metalled themselves after that... This is NOT maturing - this is biting a style for reasons of pure commercialism.

So all in all... it's Fear Factory - they can't really do TOO much wrong. Even when they're bad they're pretty good. It's hard to live up to a genre birthing album like Demanufacture and, sorry people, that's IS what people are looking for when they get the urge to hear some Fear Factory.

On that note I'd like to say to all those people reviewing this album (or any album on Amazon). It annoys me that reviewers will violently slag off other reviewers for not "appreciating the maturing of the band", and to "get over it, they've changed". You're entitled to your opinion on the album, but equally valid is the opinion of the once-fan has been severely disappointed with the album. In fact maybe more valid because a large amount of people who come looking for a review on Amazon will be fans of a bands "original" style and expect more of the same. If Fear Factory put out an album vastly different from the sound that made them the pioneers of their genre then they've gotta expect a lot of disappointed fans. Yes, I came here looking for some more Cybermetal offerings in the vain of Demanufacture (coz EVERYONE I'm sure can agree - it is FF's definitive album). If I'd wanted a "matured" (read "lazily composed/throwaway") album like Trangression I'd have searched Amazon for any one of the thousands of nu-metal clones out there.

Obviously there is a little hypocrisy in my own review. If I hadn't felt the need to defend my "old school" views on FF then maybe I woulda spent more time giving an in-depth analysis of the album. Props to those reviewers who did just that; objectively sizing up the album's good and bad points and rating it in consideration with what the majority of fans expect form this band.

I have been a Fear Factory fan since the first album. I've seen them play in every crappy club and big arena that I could drive to. One thing I can say about Fear Factory is, they are consistantly good, live and on every album. They stick to their roots and at the same time are not afraid to grow as musicians and obviously people. To all the young fans out there looking for the same crappy sound that everyband is putting out nowadays: stfu. This album is very good. I even like the covers, because they did them their way. And their way is good. I reccomend this album to anyone that is a long time Fear Factory fan or anyone openminded enough to not want to hear the same damn song on every album by every artist forever. It is a solid effort and I like something about every single song on it.

For this, Fear Factory gets a big smooch from me, for continuing to provide me with a plethora of music that I can enjoy for the rest of my life without fear of ever being bored by them.

This album definitely is different and it could have been a lot better, but it also could have been "Digimortal." I don't say it could have been better because it was different, because I do like the experimentation on it, even if it doesnt exactly work at times.

For instance, the opener "540,000 Degrees Fahrenheit," on first listen the clean vocals really didn't do much for me the first time through. After I listened to it again, though, it grew on me; the mix of clean verse to rough chorus works really well once you get used to it. The following track "Transgression," really isn't that experimental, and I honestly could have possibly seen it on "Archetype," along with the closer, "Moment of Impact," hands down the heaviest song on the album.

In the middle, though, is really where the experimentation comes into play and, like I said, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. There is a lot more melody incorporated on this album, and to me at least, it seemed as though there was more of a noticeable electronic presence here than on "Archetype." Which, as I said, works at times, and at times it doesn't. Also, just the riffs here seem different. A lot of people are saying how Christian just rehashed some of Dino's riffs, and while they do all sound like Fear Factory, it's not like I feel like I am listening to an old Fear Factory album with different lyrics. The riffs just seem to have a different style to them and in all honesty you just have to listen to the album for yourself to understand what I'm saying. You might think differently after all.

Now, there are some things that I find very wrong with this album. First off, the production could have been better, but it is liveable. Before I heard it for myself you would have thought it was "St. Anger" or something from the way people talked about it. The one thing that really does bother me, though, is the track order. After "Supernova," the album kinda dies until "Moment of Impact." If "Echo of My Scream" and "Supernova" had been collectively placed one or two more positions toward the end (because it really is a great transition from one to the other) then I think they would have a better effect on the album as a whole. Though, to do this they really needed to have recorded some more top notch tracks to replace the OK filler tracks, which you'll read about shortly. The U2 cover does absolutely nothing for me, and I think that for me it is going to turn into another version of "Cars"; a song that is kinda neat at first, but as you listen to it more and more, you're just thinking to yourself, "Why, Burton, why?" "Millenium" is OK; not bad, but nothing really to get excited about (unless you're a Killing Joke fan, because I'm pretty sure it's a cover of their song by the same name). "New Promise" and "Empty Vision" are both OK songs in their own right, but not really up to Fear Factory standards.

The variable on this album, however, is "Supernova." Some people are going to absolutely hate this song. It is upbeat, all clean vocals, maybe 5 seconds of semi-heavy guitar, and that's it. I, however, love this song. It really is unlike anything they have done before, and, what the hell, why can't Fear Factory make an upbeat song? It's nothing you're going to hear being played on your local Top 40 station anytime soon, though I could see it going to radio if any track did, but I still think it is one of the best song they have ever done, and that is partially because it is so different.

This album is still growing on me, and yeah, it's not their best, but it's definitely not their worst. It's not their heaviest, which isn't at all to say it's not heavy, because it definitely is. With a few more months of work and some more time to fine tune some aspects and, well, to put it bluntly, record 2 or 3 better songs, this could have very well been one of Fear Factory's best. It's not though, but it is still a good album, and you shouldn't automatically knock just because it's not "Archetype" or "Demanufacture." It's something different, and it succeeds in keeping things interesting.

I have a been a FF fan since Demanufacture in 1995. Each album since then has its high and low points. Transgression is no different. The first 3 songs, if one is looking for "traditional" FF, will not disappoint. The fourth song, Contagion, in a small way, reminds me of Replica. The middle songs go into something long time fans may not expect or even like. They are slower,have a dark feel to them, almost moody. Before you say, my God they,ve become Staind, fear not. They still hold the base FF sound. While FF has done this before with songs like Dark Bodies and Timelessness. FF Fans are not used to 3-4 songs per album, just 1-2 songs. You need to listen to them a few times, but they will grow on you. Ill admit, I could have done without the U2 cover. I like U2 and I feel their style of music doesnt carry over well to heavier band like FF. They close the album in solid fashion with Moment of Impact, which I feel is the best song on the album. In short, FF does progress forward, musically,with this album and it well grow on you if you give it a chance.

In order to appreciate Fear Factory's seventh studio album, "Transgression," you have to have an open mind.

If you are someone who can't handle a band (especially a heavy metal band) taking chances and taking their music in a new, interesting direction, turn away.

Now then, here we are with "Transgression," Fear Factory's second album without original guitarist Dino Cazares, and the speedy follow-up to last year's comeback album, "Archetype." Instead of repeating or trying to "re-establish" themselves, this time around Fear Factory take a left turn and churn out their most diverse album to date. If you fell in love with the group when you heard "Soul Of A New Machine" or "Demanufacture," have no fear. There are plenty of songs here that will please you, most of which can be found within the first half of the album, which hits the ground running with the blistering opening track "540,000* Fahrenheit" and continues in form, until the unusually organic and beautiful "Echo Of My Scream" kicks in. The song is very reminiscent of the "Obsolete" era, but really shows Fear Factory thinking outside the box. Following it up, "Supernova" (which features Faith No More bassist Billy Gould) takes the group into more accessible, almost pop territory, sounding more like Foo Fighters than Fear Factory. The song is hit or miss, and really depends on personal taste. Regardless, it shows that the band is capable of so much more than they have already established, and that they are finally not afraid to take a real chance (which the band does again on their awesome cover of U2's "I Will Follow"). The rest of the album, however, should please the average metal-head. An especially interesting track is "New Promise," which was co-written by Mark Morton of Lamb Of God and is inspired by the Terri Schiavo controversy.

"Transgression" is the kind of album that when you finish your first listen, you can almost hear the grumblings of metal fans miles away. But even still, it's an amazing, unique album. And it's even more impressive that they put it out so quickly. It doesn't sound rushed at all, and it's actually, in turn, better than "Archetype," and succeeds in it's goal of experimenting, where 2001's "Digimortal" failed. If you have been following their career this far, you should be used to a band that changes things up and isn't afraid to break new ground. Fear Factory are here to stay, and "Transgression" is a testament to that.

As the title implies, "Transgression" is another stepping stone for Fear Factory. The band has long incorporated thrash into their sound, but "Transgression" takes this to another level, with more emphasis on guitars and less on the industrial touches they're famous for; this is evident with the blast-beats in "Spinal Compression" and a guitar solo in "New Promise." Fear Factory's penchant for cover songs is taken to another level here with not one, but two: U2's "I Will Follow" and Killing Joke's "Millennium." The U2 cover is especially noteworthy, as they convincingly make this normally light-treading song one of their own. Fear Factory have always boldly marched towards the unknown future of metal music, and with "Transgression," their quest continues.

Been a fan, and none of their cd's have really jumped out of me. Archetype was a new step, much heavier and more modern than the others, but like the others it only had a few good songs. Transgression breaks that barrier with solid music that is different and experimental. Each song is different so you cant get bored, and the melodies are much deeper in every song. This is a much more mature album, and i think its their best by far. This is a great example of what metal should be nowadays, and i even thought this was better than the new chimaira. Go buy this album ull be surprised

What a dissappointment, pretty much sums it up. They actually wrote a power ballad (Echo Of My Scream), how WEAK. There are 5 maybe 6 decent, "clasic", FF songs here, but even they aren't up to the level these guys have set for themselves. Archetype was a phenominal album, in my opinion they're absolute best. This album sounds rushed, no soul, like they just released an album to release an album. The lyrics are weak and lack substance, you can guess what Burton is going to say (death/breath | sky/why | fears/years | fire/wire)Come ON! - the songwriting is that bad at times. If you told me that Herrera would agree to doing POP beats throuhout an enitre song, I'd say you were crazy. The Guitars are at times brutal like you would expect, Christian is definitely on Par with Dino, no question about it, if you don't agree with me, you haven't 'heard' Archetype, but there isn't enough of what true Fear Factory fans love about this band (machine gun guitars/beats). Byron's bass really doesn't stand out at all and pretty much gets lost in the mix. Chalk that up to the Producer, Toby Wright, who in my opinion helped produce the worst record in the Fear Factory discology.

Transgression is a great album for them. Finally, a Fear Factory album that really shows off the vocal talents of Burton C. Bell. Has anyone heard the Roadrunner United album with the terrible song that DINO wrote? That's what Fear Factory would be sounding like now.
This album is extremely heavy in parts, and beautifully melodic in others. It's definitly an album that deserves a couple spins, if not more, to fully appreciate the entire spectrum.
If you do enjoy Bell's vocals on this albums, I suggest you pick up a copy of Ascension of the Watchers at http://www.ascensionofthewatchers.com

After their last release Archetype, Fear Factory's future looked a little better. Of course having losing a member in the band will obviously and inevitably impact the sound in which they will produce. For Fear Factory, Archetype was the beginning of their new sound, which still retained their cyber metal signature. It was no Obsolete or Demanufacture as the band took some more melodically deep turns than it ever has before. Their sound had evolved and it continues to show with their latest release Transgression.

Transgression shows signs of the remaining 3 members of the band growing and making headway in their musicianship but like Archetype, there is still more room for improvement. As a huge Fear Factory fan, the powerful riffs and relentless, dominating bass drums of the songs "Transgression", "Spinal Compression", and "Moment of Impact" made me giddy with joy. Not only that, the melodic overtones of "540,000 Degrees Fahrenheit" and "Contagion" really show that Burton, Christian, and Raymond are really coming into their own with this new sound of theirs. Which is really what the highlight of this album is, Fear Factory is far from dead.

However Transgression has its problems. Fear Factory's continual experimentation on their more mellow ballads proves to be less provoking and moody than previous attempts. The track "Echo of my Screams" sounds all but empty and lacks soul, also the upbeat and poppy tunes of "Supernova" coupled with the U2 cover "I Will Follow" feel strangely out of place on this album full of industrial influenced metal.

Another interesting mix Fear Factory introduces are Burton's vocals. Here he is probably the most balanced in his dynamically tuned voice as he gets. Sure there are great moments of aggression coming out of Burton, but we also find him a little more cut back as he soars his lyrics amazingly in the song "New Promise" with how hard and gut pounding the riffage is, it's probably the best mix of melodic and metal I have ever heard from the band. I was even impressed with the speedier and heavier packed track "Empty Vision", Burton brings in a great haunting overtone.

So here with the latest Fear Factory there is a lot that gets offered. Their techno-moody metal is still intact, but still less edgy, raw, and hardcore in which existed in the old FF. The resemblances still show back to Archetype that the band still wants to keep their heavy crunch filled guitars and mechanical anvil pounding drums, yet bring their sci-fi melody to new heights. With Transgression there exists more dynamic in their songs and more progression in their music. Fortunately they still have managed to dodge the pitfalls of Digimortal and come up with a mixed bag of tracks, most of which I enjoyed. Hopefully Fear Factory will continue to refine and advance their sound with albums to come because I think they have finally found their stride again.