Soul of a New Machine [Import]

Fear Factory | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 8, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Roadrunner UK
• ASIN: B000000H78
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,420 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Is What Death Metal Should Have Been..., November 3, 2002

By 

Nicholas Alla Koholick "anonymousnick2001" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul of a New Machine (Audio CD)

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. ..

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!!, October 15, 2000

By 

Arachnotron (I don't know...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul of a New Machine (Audio CD)

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

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What "Soul Of A New Machine" (1992) should have been!, October 8, 2004

By 

J. Bean (Wentzville, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soul of a New Machine (Bonus CD) (Audio CD)

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...