Fear Factory: Transgression

After the widely successful comeback of 2004’s “Archetype”, Fear Factory immediately began working on material for a follow up album. With “Archetype” in the books and “Digimortal” in the rearview mirror, fans were eager to hear what would follow after such a strong showing. As information began to circulate about the ideas and concepts on this, at the time, untitled album, fans began to note the word experiment being used more often than not, which left them unsure of what to expect. Experimentation can be a double-edged sword in the music industry. On one hand, it can open sounds and ideas for a band to create a successful change of sound and experience. On the other hand, it can lead to a mash up of ill-gotten and mismanaged components that can leave a bad taste in the mouth of critics and fans alike. Given that Fear Factory had just reformed and had begun touring, one couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy about an experimental album dropping after having reformed a year or so prior. In August of 2005, 16 months after “Archetype”, “Transgression” hit the shelves.

Now, much like “Digimortal”, I’m going to review this album from both a guy who listens to metal and a fan boy of Fear Factory.

So, where do we begin? Well, for starters, “Transgression” is what I would call experimental in that, it plays more to the tune of a heavier hard rock album with touches of industrial rock, and just a splash of heavy metal. For fans expecting the cyber metal assault they had just experienced on “Archetype” would be nowhere to be found. In fact, other than perhaps elements of “Digimortal”, this album hardly resembles much of any of their previous works other than the underlying industrial atmosphere and a few songs that retain their cyber metal roots. 

As I said, the sound on “Transgression” is more or less a very tamed sounding industrial rock. Right from the get go, the opening track “540,000° Fahrenheit” begins with a very simplified guitar lead, that builds into the chorus giving off an almost progressive vibe, but the payoff lacks usual lasting power Fear Factory general delivers in such situations. The same formula carries over into the next track “Transgression” and pretty much follows suit until the final song (on the non-enhanced album) “Movement of impact’. This is the only song I would say is a true, industrial heavy metal song in vain of the sound of Fear Factory had been playing up to this point.

On “Archetype” Dino had left the band and Christian Olde Wolbers assumed the role of guitar duties. He exceeded many expectations and left people satisfied that he was more than capable of continuing onward as the band began their second stint. I remember having some serious doubts when I learned Wolbers was taking over for Dino. My biggest concern was that the guitars would become stale, dumbed down and lose their impact they normally had on the band’s music, but I was pleasantly happy to be wrong. That being said, those concerns would ultimately and unfortunately become a reality, only on the follow up to “Archetype”. The guitars here do not resemble any of the impactful, power or crunchy riffs heard previously and in fact, they lack much depth for even a simple industrial rock sound. The guitars are honestly barely noticeable and rarely leave an imprint on the songs if any at all.

I will say that, the drums are, as always, on point with Raymond Herrera playing. They may not be as bombastic and soul crushing as they usually are, but they provide the majority of rhythms and beats while offering some of the few metal moments on the album. The bass, which is now handled by Strapping Young Lad’s, Byron Stroud, actually has much more of an impact that the guitars. The sound is thick and groovy and is generally in the foreground of the songs, which provides some additional rhythm with the drums. They are featured more so because the guitars were left out, so some form of guitar had to step up to the plate and handle something in the way of leads. Burton C. Bell’s vocals have always been a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, his trademark style of harsh and clean vocals is for the most part absent from “Transgression” and instead we receive a heavy dosage of soft, mellow tones. We are treated with an occasional shout and hoarse passage that tries to convey some hostility, but generally comes up short. That lack of his aggressive style combined with his high choruses were sorely missed on the album.

All in all, this album failed to meet the expectations that not only Fear Factory fans had hoped, but left a sour taste in metal enthusiast alike. Experimentation is one thing, especially if you want to throw in a few songs with that mindset, but an entire album, especially so soon after reforming, was not the best of ideas. Aside from a few passable tracks, there’s not much of Fear Factory’s DNA to be found.

Okay. Devil’s advocate is finished, Now it’s time for fan boy.

I’ll admit, after my first listen of “Transgression” I was a little disappointed. I mean, with “Archetype” having just been released a year prior, I figured at worse, this would be essentially “Archetype” 2.0. Being a Fear Factory fanatic, I was expecting the groovy and crunching guitars, machine gun drums and Burton’s blend of harsh and clean vocals to inspire visions of industrialist robotic warfare, but, that was obvious not the case and I was left wondering just what kind of album “Transgression” really was? I remember my initial disappointment, as I would image most fans had experienced, but there was a part of me that couldn’t give up on the band and had to try and unravel the mystery of this out of place album.

Now, as most know, my love for Burton’s vocals are unwavering. I enjoy everything he’s a part of including Ascension of the Watchers and City of Fire (side bands), so as long as he is singing, I’m going to find some enjoyment on that album. Knowing this the second time around, I dove back into the album and began to focus on the one element I knew I could find the most positive out of and that’s exactly how I began to digest the album. Granted that Bell’s harsh vocals are used sparingly, he does employ more midrange and mellow sound in their place. “540,000° Fahrenheit” shows off this midrange lead, which builds into a beautiful and soaring chorus of his high cleans. On the titular track, we do hear him use a slightly harsher tone of voice that once again, leads to a clean chorus. This pretty much continues for the majority of the record, but there is one particularly song that stands out. “Echo of My Scream” might be considered a ballad of sorts as it shows Bell singing in an almost acapella format, that drips with emotion and is beautifully executed. Also, I enjoyed their rendition of U2’s “I will Follow” and Killing Joke’s “Millennium”, both bands who are influences on Fear Factory.

To this day, the guitars of “Transgression” are in my opinion the worst showing Fear Factory has put forth. I’ve always defended them by pointing out that they do not use the guitars to create as much atmosphere as most bands, but rather use them to enhance the mechanical vibe of the albums, provide a steady and catchy lead, while harmonize with the other instruments. Those characteristics are simply not found on “Transgression” and while still disappointed, I eventually began to overlook the lack of guitars and focus more on Bell’s vocals. I mean, the guitars are still present, and provide a simple Nu metal riff for most songs, but I can’t give them too much praise other than their production is at least crisp and audible.

So my question remained: “What kind of album is “Transgression”? Well, I’d have to say that yes, this was an attempt to experiment with sounds of industrial rock, Nu metal, radio rock, with just a hint of heavy metal. At first it was hard to digest, but once I began to follow the lines that went outside of the box, I found much to enjoy. I find that for one to enjoy this experiment, you’ll need to keep an open mind. If you love Bells’ clean vocals over a backdrop of dark, and brooding atmospheres with a twinge of electronic edge (thank you Rhys Fulber), I think you’ll be able to appreciate this album for the curveball it is. It’s simplistic nature in both vocals and instrumentation may be looked upon as weak, but I view it as deceptively simple. The deception lies in the notion that, there are many elements to be enjoyed on “Transgression”, but like a good riddle, one will first need to unravel its mystery before they can begin to do so.  Also, there are bonus tracks available (“Empire” & “My Grave”) both which are pretty solid tracks that fit the sound of this album nicely.

Much like “Digimortal” I would give this a higher rating simply due to my fanybosim, but I cannot overlook the flaws to which the album contains so my score will reflect a middle of the road agreement of my two overviews.

Highlights: “540,000° Fahrenheit” “Echo of My Scream” “Spinal Compression”

Rating: 3.5