Customer Reviews

Soul of a New Machine (Bonus CD)

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Fear Factory, needless to say, have been one of the heavyweights in the metal scene for the past few years. They mixed death metal, thrash metal, grindcore, techno, industrial, hip-hop, electronica, orchestral music, and a ... stage show together to entertain fans and listeners alike for close to ten years. With the release of Concrete, now anyone can watch the transformation and growth of this phenomenal band over time. However, Soul Of A New Machine is an album that should be mentioned in its own right as a landmark album. Here's why:

In 1992, death metal was still relatively new and unexplored. Bands such as Obituary(yikes), Deicide(ummm...), Cannibal Corpse(cough, cough), Death(sure), Morbid Angel(oh dear), and Napalm Death, were key players in this brutal form of underground music. Not much innovation had talen place. People were still trying to be faster and heavier than the next band, and it all kept getting elevated to the point of noise. Industrial was also being developed by Ministry and Nine Inch Nails. The idea of fusing the two was both crazy and ingenius. Fear Factory pulled it off.

This album has demon growls, insane double bass, technical guitar, and a gutter production--all trademark of death metal in 1992. What set this apart was the abundance of dance beats, samples, lack of solos, and clean singing. Plus, the fact that it was accomplished with ONe guitar, ONE bass, and little to no vocal distortion was very odd. It was revolutionary. It scared people. Death metal fans were eager to see what this band would do...if only they knew...

Many reviews here mention that the tracks are redundant. Duh, it's death metal! It is slightly better than Obsolete, but Digimortal beats it by a long shot. Eardrum-piercing mayhem does grow tiresome, but never boring. ... Speaking of Dino, on this album, his guitar is a lot crunchier than on others. I have yet to find an equally crunchy album. Not to mention that Raymond is also awesome here. His blastbeats are great, and he never overuses the double-kick. Bell is awesome as usual. He loses the growl soon, and that's good, but I really like the way he sings on this album. It beats Obsolete and Digimortal's wailing by a mile.

Key tracks are "Scapegoat," "Big God/Raped Souls," "Crash Test," "Self-Immolation," "Crisis," "Scumgrief," "Desecrate," "Martyr," and "Manipulation". "Natividad" is a minute-long industrial tribute to Dino Cazares's late father, and provides a nice intro to track 10. Many signs here point to what was to come on Demanufacture. That album is a classic. This is a major-label debut. A salute to a great band. ..

It's hard to believe that this is a debut album... The band is so cool!!! I have been a FF fan since this album, and this album remains one of my all time favorite album!!! First of all, this album is a mostly death metal album, so people who are used to what FF is doing now might not like this album so much. But for death metal fans, I'm sure you'll like this album. Burton has a large range in his vocals, Dino's guitar and bass riffs are excellent, Raymond's drummings are insane!!! The songs are tight and fast, and most of all...very heavy

Here is a good example of a Remaster. When 'Fear Factory' first came around in 91/92, they hadn't yet mastered the craft of production values. I'll admit maybe due to lack of funding by their new home Roadrunner Records. However, this changed when "Demanufacture" came out in 1995. They now had top notch production, and I always wished that "SOANM" would sound similar. In 2002, Roadrunner released "Concrete". This was indeed the bands first true album produced with Ross Robinson. It shared several songs with "SOANM", and the production was very raw. So still I was not content with what I had. Well earlier this year I caught wind of the Remastered version of "SOANM". I have to say with the product in hand, I'm very happy. I loved how they added "Fear Is A Mind Killer", even though it hardly had any input by 'Fear Factory'. It was mainly a remix album helmed by 'Front Line Assembly' members, and released in 1993. I love the way the package looks. "SOANM" is a white on white disc, where "FIAMK" is a black on black disc. They contrast a lot better than the originals. The sound quality is a lot more sharp, and clear. So in my eyes it deserves the 5 out of 5 I've given to it. However if your not a die hard fan of 'Fear Factory' or jumped on the "Archetype" bandwagon stay away. It will not be worth your money. Let us real fans buy it...

Fear Factory's debut may not have stood as well as its follow-up Demanufacture, but I will be damned if you could find an album like this in 1992.

At this time, you could have easily considered Fear Factory to be a death metal band. What makes this so unique is that the band managed to capture the industrial atmosphere from the likes of Godflesh and Ministry, add some Napalm Death/Terrorizer style grind, and you have an unholy monstrosity that people weren't prepared for. Apocalyptic? Yes, as the industrial tones could craft quite the dystopian atmosphere. A thick double bass sound from Ray Herrera serves as an effective backbone for Dino Cazares' most advanced riffs (and bass lines), and the vocals provided by Burton C. Bell only make it better. Bell's style involves low end growls and powerful clean vocals, harmonizing well and not feeling out of place.

This signals the early days of this band quite well, when they were more mechanical and gritty. While they would truly find themselves with Demanfacture three years later, I still highly recommend this for those that love harsh and abrasive music, whether your favorite bands are Godflesh, Suffocation, Ministry or Front Line Assembly.

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. 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. 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.

In 1992, Roadrunner Records released the major label debut of a little known quartet called Fear Factory was released. Produced by famed death metal producer Colin Richardson (who produced Machine Head's classic debut "Burn My Eyes"), "Soul of a New Machine" not only introduced Fear Factory to the world, but helped usher in a new era in the metal genre, for better or worse. Combining the low end assault of death metal, some industrial rhythms, and some grindcore elements to boot, "Soul of a New Machine" isn't Fear Factory's finest hour (that belongs to "Demanufacture"), but songs like "Martyr", "Scapegoat", and "Scumgrief" were only a taste of things to come from the band. Arguably one of the best debut metal albums to come out of Los Angeles, "Soul of a New Machine" is here, repackaged with the "Fear is the Mindkiller" EP as a bonus disc, and if your getting into the band and don't already own "Soul of a New Machine", then you should definitely pick this up.

When I first gave this record a listen I couldnt listen to anything but the first 3 tracks (the 3rd still being my current favorite). After the 3rd track everything just seemed to sound the same to me; repeating guitar riffs, grumbling vocals, uneven drums, etc. I was about to give up on the record but decided to give it a second chance, that is where my opinion changed.
FF's debut record is more a deathmetal record then anything else, it's not like Obsolete (which sounds more hardcore alternative) and nothing like Digimortal (less impacting and musically talented then Obsolete).
If you happen to own this record and don't like it, maybe you're simply not into the deathmetal sound or you just aren't listening enough. A lot of people discard deathmetal or all metal as just being mindless guitars and grunting uncomprehensible lyrics, but this is and isn't what deathmetal is. So do yourself a favor, don't listen to this disc in the car on your way to work, listen to it in your home, uninterrupted with lyrics in hand (this way you can follow along and understand the structures of the songs a lot better). You'll find that indeed not every song sounds the same and there are actually rhythmic melodies throughout you didn't know you've heard the first time.
The record starts strong and doesnt let up until about track 10. Every song until then is good. Now either you like deathmetal or you don't. What I mean is, a lot of these songs have deathmetal style, a good example would be a part of the song that seems uneven. Like, there would be a guitar and bass playing a repeated riff lightning fast, the drums would be pumping repeatedly w/ it, and the vocals wouldn't "fit" into this rhythem but instead just seem to climb over them unstructured to what the instruments are doing behind them, they would almost be talking over these instruments quickly. It sounds wierd but strangly good, a lot of deathmetal does this, this record in particular does that a lot. You really have to understand that Metal style to really appreciate this record, if you don't, you won't like it at all.
Well anyway, after about track 10 is where the songs start to seem somewhat recycled. There are a couple of guitar riffs that are pretty much the same as used in earlier songs, just played on a different scale. This is where I take away 1 star.
Aside from that, everything else I really enjoyed. And with an album of 16 tracks, about 11 good songs you'll like is something I'd definitely say is worth your money. FF made a good debut, and to me thier style definitely became more structured during the later albums. So in closing I'd like to say, if you got into FF late with Digimortal, this probably won't be the record for you, but I'd suggest you give it a try with an open mind.
Non metal/deathmetal heads need not apply.

I had never seen nor heard of Fear factory until i saw them playing a four-band bill (with Sepultura, Clutch and Fudge Tunnel), and when they took the stage I was like huh? Then they unleasehd one of the best live sets I've ever heard. The next moring with a stiff neck and an abundance of moshpit bruises, i hustled over to tower Records and bought this album...wow..."Martyr" remains one of my favorite songs today...That whole "Got to get away" growl sticks in my head for weeks after listening to it...Buy this album then buy all of the FF albums..then check out their killer website.

Fear Factory is one of the best metal bands around, and this album is one best I've ever heard. When everyone else was playing grunge, they were playing metal. What I especially liked about it was the exstensive use of double bass. It reminded of early Metallica. I highly recommend this one.

I hate most death metal with a passion, but this album is something else. I already had Obsolete and Digimortal before I got this, and I wasn't so sure about getting this because most people on this site say they're so different and you "might not be able to handle it". DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! Although this is a different style, and it's more death metalish, this is much better quality than any of the aforementioned FF albums. Unlike usual death metal, this has singing vocals as well as the usual low growling, some dance beats, and movie samples. It doesn't have as much industrial influence as others say, but there still is some. The double drums also actually stop during some portions of the album.

Note- These songs are a lot better if you look at the lyrics while you listen.

Here's what I think of the tracks-

THE FIRST HALF OF THE ALBUM (THE GOOD HALF)

1) Martyr (10/10) Very good opener. The spoken verse at the start is creepy and cool. There's a section about halfway through where the music stops and he sings "Suffer, bastard" repeatedly and I love it.

2) Leechmaster (9/10) Good song, but overrated. About a relationship. There's some awesome singing in the background of the "I loved you once, now go away" is you listen closely.

3) Scapegoat (10/10) The riff to this purely nu-metal. It uses the same 3 chords, and it could have been one of the things that influenced Korn. This song is totally awesome, I love everything about it, especially the awesome singing in the bridge.

4) Crisis (11/10) My favorite death metal track ever recorded, and that includes all of Opeth. An anti-war song with movie samples. The chorus is one of the highlights of the album "Not my war, soldiers marching on".

5) Crash Test (8/10) Not quite as cool as the first 4, has some decent riffage and lyrics. No singing. About scientific experiments done on animals.

6) Flesh Hold (9/10) I don't particularly like most of this song "Wasted life, TASTED!", but the "I want more life, f--ker" sample is AWESOME!

7) Lifeblind (11/10) One of my favorites on the album. Kind of sounds like trashy death metal chaos (with a happier mood) until the chorus, but once the chorus hits, the crowded riffage and drumming ends and they mix screams and singing together, which is another highlight of the album "ALL! (scream) is lost (singing), PAIN! (scream) is lost (singing)" Cool lyrics, very technical.

8) Scumgrief (10/10) The song that convinced me that death metal could be good. More singing than the rest, a dance-ish beat, and a melancholy, depressing mood that is just plain awesome. One of the ones with industrial influence.

9) Natividad (?/10) Don't know what to say, it's kind of just industrial noise.

THE SECOND HALF OF THE ALBUM (THE INCONSISTENT BUT STILL HAS SOME GOOD SONGS HALF)

10) Big God/Raped Souls (10/10) Fantastic. Screamed intro by Burton about the sad state America is in. Blasting riffage with singing in the background "Into the eyes of death...". Slower section where "Ah-ah" is mournfully sung. The end is just chaos.

11) Arise Above Oppresion (5/10) I like the lyrics, but this kind of song is I don't like death metal. The first really bad song on the CD. Screaming over a blast beat and bad tempo changes. The singing at the start is cool, however, and I do think the 1st verse had potential.

12) Self Immolation (11/10) Hell yeah! Death metal over a dance beat. Awesome all the way through. Scary mood "Self Immolation, crying out!". The guitar in the chorus is ingenious.

13) Sufferage (7/10) Awesome creepy intro, but then explodes into another death metal thrash fest like "Arise Above Oppression". Lyrics aren't so great, same kind of trying-to-be-scary garbage death metal lyrics usually are.

14) W.O.E (Weight of Existence) (8/10) Good Lyrics, not really a thrash fest song, just not really memorable. I'm listening to it right now, and I guess the riff is cool and the "Drowning..." part is quite good.

15) Desecrate (8/10) I suppose they suceeded in being menacing with their anti-religious ranting... Not too memorable either, except the "Fill the abyss, with your hatred, slaughter my child, before your eyes".

16) Escape Confusion (9/10) Nice creepy intro again. Some singing. This half's equivalent of Leechmaster. The "Terror, terror..." part is cool. I like it.

17) Manipulation (6/10) See "Arise Above Oppression" and "Sufferage". They could have chosen a much better closer.

Overall, this album is great and was very innovative at the time of its release. Get it as soon as possible, even if you don't like death metal. If you're already an FF fan, don't stay away from it just because it's different from their other albums.