Fear Factory: Demanufacture

In 1992, Fear Factory released their debut album, “Soul of a New Machine.” The sound was a blend of raw, old school death metal with industrial elements added to create a powerful and mechanical sound.  However, the sound “Soul of a New Machine”, albeit, effective and would be short lived as in the coming years, the band would tweak things to create the sound they ultimately thought fit their sound best. The result of said tweaks resulted in, “Demanufacture” and the brand of cyber-metal most associate when thinking about Fear Factory was born. Often considered Fear Factory’s magnum opus, “Demanufacture” would pave the way for the sound that many bands would emulate down the road.

When one thinks of industrial metal the likes of Godflesh, Ministry and even Killing Joke come to mind.  Now, while “Soul of a New Machine” was, indeed, industrial in nature, it seemed to be missing the industrial punch to join such noteworthy list of contributors of the genre. The industrial sound in question came off more as complimentary component rather than a major feature. On “Demanufactre” however, the industrial sound was no longer merely additional elements spliced into the music, but rather an equal part of the formula that makes up the base of the album.  As such, “Demanufacture” would better fit the mold of industrial metal.

The first change one will notice on “Demanufacture” would be Burton C. Bell’s vocals. His vocals on “Soul of a New Machine” were raw and primordial and tended to sound more borrowed from other death metal acts at the time. However, since that time, he has altered the delivery of his heavier vocals, which are no less crushing and furious as they were before, but they now have their own unique sound. They are harsh and hoarse, carrying an air of violence that helps set the tone of the futuristic and industrial nature of the album. That being said, Bell has also honed his clean vocals as well on “Demanufacture”. On the debut, his cleans were clear and added an almost, robotic like quality to the sound. Now, they are far more crisp and well-rounded both in quality and quantity. They are featured more often in “Demanufacture” than on “Soul of a New Machine” and help create a deeper atmosphere for the majority of the album. The cleans also add a nice ebb and flow between the harsh vocals and pounding instrumentation, which would become a staple for Fear Factory from this album forward.

Once again, Dino’s work on guitars flourish, as he creates numerous groovy and catchy leads that hook the listener from the get go. “Self- Bias Resistor” starts out with a bouncy and memorable lead and then dives right into a chugging, groove pound riff that carries the song. Many of the songs follow this pattern of opening hooks and simple, but crushing riffs and while they may not be the most mind boggling in the greater scope of riffs, they provide plenty of substance and power to enhance the mood of each song. Now, there are no solos on this album, which only reiterates my claim from before that the guitars are not meant to be the focal point of the album, but rather a musical utility knife that can hook the listen, keep them entertained with simple and catchy leads and offer a nice transition into one of the many memorable choruses on this album.

The drums are, once again, manned by the machine, Raymond Herrera. His display of power shows even more so on “Demanufacture” as he hammers away from song to song, creating a lasting impact on the entire album. Drums have always been a driving force for Fear Factory and once you hear their effect on this album, you’ll agree that their presence is irreplaceable. The drumming plays right along with the guitars for the most part, serving as a tandem rhythm section, creating section after section of memorable music. The bass, once again played by Dino, is not nearly as present as it was on “Soul of a New Machine”. Its absence is noticeable, but it really doesn’t take away from the overall industrial sound, but that being said, it would have been nice to hear it more often.

Rhys Fulber’s keyboards and mixing provide a spark to “Demanufacture” that was simply missing from “Soul of a New Machine”. Once he began working with the band on “Fear is the Mindkiller” his electronic and techno oriented background added an entirely new level to the sound of Fear Factory. Once might even say that, his industrial/techno touch may have helped the band formulate the cyber metal sound Fear Factory have mastered for 25 years.

Regardless of my fanboyism towards Fear Factory, “Demanufacture” is simply, a landmark album. It’s importance to various metal acts is widely regarded and there is a reason why it pops up on numerous top xx albums of all time lists. Whether you love them or hate them, there’s no denying the footprint “Demanufacture” left on the metal community.

Highlights: “Demanufacture” “Self-Bias Resistor” “Replica” “Zero Signal” (I really don’t’ want to list the entire album here, but you get my point)

Rating: 5