Longtime industrial metal veterans Fear Factory are finally back with new music after what seemed like a long time since their previous album “Genexus” was released back in 2015. Of course it’s well documented as to what the delay was and while we won’t get details here, it’s unfortunate that this album “Aggression Continuum” will be the final work to feature vocalist Burton C. Bell, at least for the forseeable future. Many questions were thrown around surrounding this album, the release, the vocals and the future of the band but as seen in our interview with guitarist Dino Cazares, there is a future albeit a slightly different one and given just how strong this new album is, we think it will be a bright future at that.
We get straight to business as it’s been 30 years since Fear Factory exploded onto the world with their unique brand of industrial tinged groove metal. Still to this day there is no band that comes close to sounding like them, putting them in a spot that forever cements them as a truly revolutionary band.
Opening track “Recode” warms things up with the words “The world we know has suffered from the system we once knew“, a very poignant look at not only the world today but even at the band themselves. Burton’s first line “Imagine your life taken from you” is almost revelatory in a manner of speaking, the cinematic intro and signature sounds of Fear Factory blasting through in an attempt to capture the true essence of the band. That signature is utilised well with the first verse heavy and mechanical and the chorus melodic in nature, giving a slight “Obsolete” feel.
“Disruptor” is one that is already familiar to people as it’s the first single released, again the trademark swinging grooves and catchy chorus lines a stark reminder of just how brilliant this band can be. We move to the title track “Aggression Continuum” for what could be one of the highlights of the album, it’s “Industrialist” feel and mechanical groove is solid and a real fun one to listen to. And like in “Genexus”, there’s little throwbacks to some of their earlier work that while probably not intentional, is nice to hear and gives that little extra authenticity about it to further cement their well known signature sound.
“Purity” feels like a potential live hit, it’s a melodic number but with a bit of that “Linchpin” vibe about it. Second single “Fuel Injected Suicide Machine” is another brilliant piece with the mid-section blowing right into a bit of the past for that vintage Fear Factory.
“Collapse” is perhaps one of the more different tracks on here although certainly not outside of the usual Fear Factory world. Lot’s of staccato induced structures and massive heavy breakdowns makes this another stand out track. “Manufactured Hope” brings some more vintage aspects again, the keyboards especially really accentuating certain parts of the verses to really elevate this song to a higher level.
We come towards the tail end of the album and looking through the album so far, there’s definitely an aggressive feel about this whole thing despite plenty of the melodic elements. The production is much the same as on “Genexus” so this subsequently sounds like a continuation of that album while also retaining much of the band’s earlier sounds for that extra muscle. A lot of focus will of course be on Burton’s vocals and here he sounds as raw and as vicious as ever. Boy will he be missed, especially after this album but if you’re going to leave a mark, this couldn’t have been a more fitting way to do it.
In our recent interview with Dino it was revealed that the drums were indeed recorded live by Mike Heller and it shows given the more fluid and organic nature of the drum tracks. Initially it was programmed much like “The Industrialist” but the result here shows just how important live drum tracking can still be.
“Cognitive Dissonance” brings us a step closer to the end with a dynamically charged track but one of the show stealers on this album comes in the form of “Monolith“. The name may sound familiar as there was rumors of the album title being this name but whatever the case may be in terms of the name, the song itself is a beast and stands as one of the strongest tracks on the album. Despite it’s somewhat more mellower nature and less of the aggressiveness of much of the previous songs, “Monolith” just has a brilliant groove among the melodic passages that just seems to really hold your attention that makes you truly appreciate the depth of Fear Factory. The bonus here is the guitar solo towards the end which is quite a rarity for this band, but one that actually fits quite well here.
The album ends with the fitting “End Of Line” and much like many of the band’s previous albums, traditionally rings out with an instrumentally dramatic end but not before giving it one last push of the heavy stuff. Say what you will about Fear Factory but they have made it this far and are still able to produce such brilliant music which cannot be said about a lot of bands that have been around for as long as they have. “Aggression Continuum” may very well be a landmark album in some respect with Burton C. Bell’s final vocal delivery but it also means a new beginning for the band as clearly there’s still much to come from Fear Factory.
10/10
TRACKLIST
Recode
Disruptor
Aggression Continuum
Purity
Fuel Injected Suicide Machine
Collapse
Manufactured Hope
Cognitive Dissonance
Monolith
End Of Line
