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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MAN IS OBSOLETE, November 10, 2003
However, fear factory is not. Obsolete is, simply put, a great album. What many people don't realize, however, is that's it's not all about the music with Obsolete, it's about the music in relation to the story in the booklet. The album's lyrics follow the story in the booklet, and if one or two songs simply blast and have no melody and just blast, it's because of the story (If you have this album, think track 8). I own the digipak version of this album. It comes with 5 bonus tracks as well as the original ten, and I would say they are worth your extra money. I can't really say whether this is Fear Factory's best or not, considering the only other FF album I own is Digimortal, but it is definitely worth your time. Here is my track by track review.1) Shock (8/10) A somewhat good opener. Not as good as "What Will Become?" on Digimortal, but still good. Insanely heavy, and the only melody comes in the form of Burton holding notes.
Meaning- About putting a "shock to the system". 2) Edgecrusher (10/10) Kind of rappish, but that's OK 'cuz rap-metal isn't bad for the most part. Nice bassline during the chorus. An FF classic.
Meaning- "Edgecrusher" is the (good) terrorist from the story in the booklet. 3) Smasher/Devourer (10/10) One of those FF songs that mixes melody and screaming rather well. The low singing (I am the way) during the chorus is reminiscient of what I've heard from Soul of a New Machine (Major-laber debut) and Concrete (Independent first release). Nice singing after the chorus.
Meaning- The "Smasher/Devourer" is, in effect, a futuristic police robot in the story. It tracks criminals down. 4) Securitron (Police State 2000) (9/10) At the start of this song, it sounds like a police raid, and someone says "There is a Fear Factory in this division". Other than that, this song isn't really that memorable. Chorus has singing, but really doesn't convey any sort of tune to the listener. Creepy melody during the bridge. I like when he says "no place to hide".
Meaning- Securitron is the security organization of future. They cameras placed all over the place, apparently. 5) Descent (15/10) This is total change from the first 4 tracks, and that may be because it is discussing things human rather than machine related things. I LOVE the guitar riff and drumbeat. This is one their "all singing" tracks. Oh, I bought the CD because of this song also. My favorite track on the album.
Meaning- Edgecrusher is comtemplating whether his life is worth it. Is he just descending further into oblivion? 6) Hi-Tech Hate (8/10) A lot like Securtron. There is nothing really special about this song except the cool special FX. A good headbanging track. I like when Burton screams "Cowards to all!".
Meaning- This song's words are supposed the speech of a rebellious man to group of anti-society activists. They speak of man's war against the machines they created. 7) Freedom or Fire (10/10) My favorite of the heavier tracks. The intro is so awesome, I love the guitar! Dino is one my favorite guitarists of all time. Screams most the way through, but when he starts singing it sounds so evil (in the coold kind of way). My 3rd favorite.
Meaning- Relates to the man speaking in Hi-Tech Hate. A bunch of Securitron officers discover the activists and start causing chaos and destoying things. The man speaking lights himself on fire rather than being captured by the Securitron, hence the name "Freedom or Fire". 8) Obsolete (7/10) Kind of just here to get the lyrics across and go with the story. Everyone says it so terrible, but I like the guitar riffs.
Meaning- A robotic Secutitron officer picks up the megaphone the now flaming man was using. The words of this song are what the officer yells through the megaphone. It contrasts the words of Hi-Tech Hate. The booklet says something like "The intrument that was the once the voice of reason has now been transformed into a melted, mutated version of disorder." 9) Ressurection (10/10) Hugely different from the track before it, once again because it speaks of Edgecrusher and his whereabouts. Has a lot of singing and almost seems positive rather than scary and mechanical like the rest of the album. AMAZING, Love the strings. They could have made this the last track on the album. My 2nd favorite. If you havent yet, you must hear this before you judge Fear Factory. Meaning- The meaning isn't as clear here as in the other songs. I think it refers to the resurrection of the memories that have been forgotten since the world became so technology oriented. During this part of the story, Edgecrusher finds a statue of a long dead man, and thinks he remembers it from somewhere. I'm pretty sure the statue is supposed to of Jesus Christ. 10) Timelessness (10/10) In this track, the meaning and the music seem to coincide with each other. Just Burton singing over some beautifully done strings. Seems to be mourning the loss of everything that was lost during the course of the album. The story in the booklet may seem a little far fetched to you at this point, but if you read it you will be able to tell that if things keep going the way they are, it could easily be this way by 2067 (when the story is set). BONUS TRACKS- These don't follow the story. 11) Cars (8/10) A Gary Numan cover featuring Gary Numan. This was a big single. Like the orginal with added guitars and Burton singing. The second or third best bonus track. 12) 0-0 (Where evil dwells) (9/10) EVIL. Another cover. Pure death metal. Kind of creepy (as death metal should be). About a serial killer in Northport, Long Island. 13) Soulwound (11/10) This is so awesome! By far the best bonus track. Worth your extra money alone. Originally recorded for their now re-released first album "Concrete". Havent heard the Concrete version, just this one. Death metal, like 0-0. I love it when he sings "Soulwound, soulwound, deep cuts cut deeper".
I like this better than some of the normal tracks. 14) Messiah (9/10) Some really cool intrumentals with Burton screaming "Messiah!" over the top. I don't remember if it has any other lyrics or not. 15) Concreto (9/10) Sounds like a comic super-villain. More death metal stuff. Blasting bass drums and low singing. I used to hate this. I like it now. GO BUY THIS ALBUM (The digi-pak version)
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by Fear Factory 
