FEAR FACTORY - Digimortal

Digimortal sees Fear Factory turn pretty much full circle. Beginning with progressive metal roots, the band evolved into an electro-industrial hybrid with Remanufacture in 1997, enlisting Rhys Fulber and Junkie XL on remix duties in a deliberate effort to widen their appeal. 1998's Obsolete enlisted Fulber as producer, no doubt influenced by Fulber's previous work on Front Line Assembly's 'Millennium' album which combined electronic wizzadry and industrial beats with much success. However, Obsolete was a hit and miss album which, whilst having its moments, possibly isolated fans who grew up with FF's original sound. This was probably not helped by the band further giving the thumbs up to electronica by covering Gary Numan's 'Cars' last year, however, by and large, it was received well and Fear Factory have certainly developed a knack for pulling off risks. There are no such risks on Digimortal however, as Fear Factory backstep to cement their position as the leaders in the Metal arena. Digimortal should please everyone who has more than a passing interest in the band, and will dleight fans.

The album still has that contemporary modern feel, thanks again to producer Fulber, but puts it's break on the pedal to concentrate more on rock riffs and some strong songwriting. Burton C.Bell's powerful, stylised vocals are as strong as ever, but what really hits home is that this is definitely the strongest set of tunes Fear Factory have ever laid down. 'Damaged' is typical FF, and has a stamp of quality on it that should see the track consigned as one of their all time greats. 'No-One' and 'Linchpin' are also both excellently written high-tempo tracks, while 'Linchpin' continues an excellent period of strength with more quality songwriting that pretty much rubbishes thoughts of anyone stealing their crown as Metal masters. 'Back The Fuck Up' will go down a treat with fans too, with elements of Rap blended into the merciless guitar riffs and a memorable chorus, the underlying electronic element to this track is simply the icing on the cake. The only thing that prevents Digimortal from receiving top marks is that it does tend to tail off at bit towards the end. However, fans of Demanufacture may actually prefer the latter part of the album, as the tracks are almost a complete regression to the early days, when FF could just about afford a drum machine let alone a sampler.



	FEAR FACTORY - Digimortal
	7.5
	Roadrunner ~ RR 8561-5
	Digimortal sees Fear Factory turn pretty much full circle. Beginning with progressive metal roots, the band evolved into an electro-industrial hybrid with Remanufacture in 1997, enlisting Rhys Fulber and Junkie XL on remix duties in a deliberate effort to widen their appeal. 1998's Obsolete enlisted Fulber as producer, no doubt influenced by Fulber's previous work on Front Line Assembly's 'Millennium' album which combined electronic wizzadry and industrial beats with much success. However, Obsolete was a hit and miss album which, whilst having its moments, possibly isolated fans who grew up with FF's original sound. This was probably not helped by the band further giving the thumbs up to electronica by covering Gary Numan's 'Cars' last year, however, by and large, it was received well and Fear Factory have certainly developed a knack for pulling off risks. There are no such risks on Digimortal however, as Fear Factory backstep to cement their position as the leaders in the Metal arena. Digimortal should please everyone who has more than a passing interest in the band, and will dleight fans. The album still has that contemporary modern feel, thanks again to producer Fulber, but puts it's break on the pedal to concentrate more on rock riffs and some strong songwriting. Burton C.Bell's powerful, stylised vocals are as strong as ever, but what really hits home is that this is definitely the strongest set of tunes Fear Factory have ever laid down. 'Damaged' is typical FF, and has a stamp of quality on it that should see the track consigned as one of their all time greats. 'No-One' and 'Linchpin' are also both excellently written high-tempo tracks, while 'Linchpin' continues an excellent period of strength with more quality songwriting that pretty much rubbishes thoughts of anyone stealing their crown as Metal masters. 'Back The Fuck Up' will go down a treat with fans too, with elements of Rap blended into the merciless guitar riffs and a memorable chorus, the underlying electronic element to this track is simply the icing on the cake. The only thing that prevents Digimortal from receiving top marks is that it does tend to tail off at bit towards the end. However, fans of Demanufacture may actually prefer the latter part of the album, as the tracks are almost a complete regression to the early days, when FF could just about afford a drum machine let alone a sampler.