Digimortal

Fear Factory entered the world of metal from a very different angle, first with a very unique mix of groovy death-grind with occasional clean vocals on Soul of a New Machine, and then the absolute pinnacle of their creation - Demanufacture - a display of industrial thrash metal with an even more unique sound, kudos to Burton C. Bell's inimitable vocals, Dino Cazares' unmistakable riffing and Raymond Herrera's trademark hyper tight double kick patterns. Both albums are personal favorites, both of which I'm happy to spin regularly today.

Up until this point, it was meaningless to label Fear Factory's style, since their sound was absolutely original, love it or hate it. With Obsolete, they attempted something more epic, but fell short, mainly due to omitting speed on behalf of groove. It was a troubling development for a fan, since it moved into nu-metal territories, but the album still had a few highlights.

Digimortal saw the band go full nu-metal, and it really sucks... What you get here is basically the Fear Factory blueprint squeezed into a soulless trend aping format with no room for speed or gradually unfolding song structures. Thanks to their one-of-a-kind identity, it does unmistakably sound like Fear Factory, but the songwriting really lacks everything that once made them great. All the urgency, energy and imagination of their previous releases have been abandoned for formulaic and rather monotonous elevator metal, the biggest abomination being "Back the Fuck Up". Limp Bizkit much?

This could have been any of the crap pushed by the likes of Deftones, Coal Champer etc were it not for Fear Factory shamelessly copy-pasting from their earlier successes. "Damaged" takes the bridge from the numbingly beautiful "Pisschrist" (so we lie), "Digimortal" turns into a "Resurrection - part II" as were it the watered out sequel to a blockbuster, Linchpin puffs and trembles in a nook like a k-holed "Securitron (Police State 2000)". The list of atrocities goes on... At times, the album feels like a buffet of regurgitation, with the appearance of something digestible but bereft of any original flavor.

The well oiled musicianship could be commended, but on Digimortal the only true merit belongs to the incredibly slick production. Hiding behind the polished facade, the band sounds lazy and replete. They might as well have typed each drum pattern and mono-tonal chug into Ableton, quantize the hell out of it and it would have sounded about as inspired as this.

The only one appealing factor on Digimortal are the dashes of post-punk, already present on Obsolete, brightening up the experience on rare and brief occasions. It would have been an interesting way to follow up said Obsolete would they have chosen to go more in this direction. Fear Factory would after all release a cover of Killing Joke's "Millennium" four years later. Unfortunately, these brief movements of emotive innovation are lost behind the thick wall of... well, here I go again... nu-metal.

It is truly a pity that releases like this seem to be what most people associate with the once great Fear Factory today. The band truly shat all over their own legacy with this one.

Fear Factory made it clear straight away when they released their first record in the early 90s that they cared very little about conventions and being put in a box. What good is it sticking a pejorative label like "nu-metal" on an album when it immediately stigmatizes the record before even being experienced ? It doesn't matter what influences are incorporated into the sound of a band, if the record in question just sounds good.

In terms of production, the record is quite stellar. The guitars have a gorgeous digital feel to them and are as close to perfectly equalized as I can imagine for this sort of tone. On the groovy riffs they're fat though articulate, abrasive yet smooth, and in perfect balance with the meaty/punchy drum kicks, on the alternative open string stuff they've got a glorious combination of thick distortion and perceptible accuracy. The bass is present but contributes to the overall rhythm section rather than stand out too much and the drums are hard-hitting and their sound harnessed through great processing like never before. The vocals are perfectly mixed as they both sit right at the front of the songs but somehow don't dominate them either as all the other instruments are perfectly audible.

The very subtle and diverse samples and synths used in each corner of the songs add atmosphere and texture, but are never overdone and never smother the main instruments. To the point one might not notice those arrangements if they're not consciously listening for them. They just blend in the environment and fill in the tracks efficiently and take just the right amount of focus away from the central robot riffing.

In terms of song-writing, the album consists of only good songs; "good" going by if you like the style of one song, you should appreciate the rest as it is as tastefully put together and executed. No filler on the album. No song sounds the same and we're given quite the repertoire of FF music as the tracks can range from very industrial-feeling, to rappy, to pure groove, poppy, or a little on the extreme side and bleak sounding. But the common denominator is that core Digimortal sound; i.e. the specific sounds of the guitars, drums, vocals; and it doesn't matter which part of the spectrum is being explored as all songs were given real attention and one can tell have been worked then reworked, and reworked some more. Lots of detail went into each song although it is seamless on the surface.

Interestingly, one might argue the better tracks are on the second half of the record and among the lesser known ones.

Anyways this sort of album, a bit on the overproduced side with concise catchy song-writing, is a joy to listen to. The verses are heavy as hell, fresh; the choruses range from melancholic (Linchpin, Never End) to poppy and catchy (Digimortal), to giant-sounding (Acres of Skin, Byte Block, Hurt Conveyor). The record sounds deep and wide, yet tight and punchy at the same time. It's so easy to listen to and if one can drop their preconceived notions, and just take the music for what it is - great fun can be had.

By 2001, the Nu metal phenomenon was in full effect and had gained a strangle hold on the music world. Every radio station and music video show on television was dominated with their brand of pseudo metal that, whether you love it or hate it, had its effect on the metal community. Even the likes of the Big Four of thrash all had their hands in the Nu metal scene at one point or another. Now, for some bands, incorporating elements of the Nu metal sound was a complete 180 to their sound and as such, came as a shock to their fan base. Others, the transition was less of a hassle. One such band that also jumped on the bandwagon was Fear Factory with their release of “Digimortal” and although their entry into the Nu metal arena may not have been accepted with open arms, the final result was not a drastic change from many of the elements the band already played.

Now, I’m going to view “Digimortal” through the eyes of both a fan of the band and a guy reviewing an album. From the eyes of a non-biased fan, I will say that, the sound on “Digimortal” is very simplistic in both execution and talent. That was, essentially one of the staples of the Nu metal movement: focus less on music and more or attitude and emotion. It required a very monotonous and uncomplicated guitar sound, C-rate drumming and often dabbled into the realm of hip hop. All of which will be present on “Digimortal” To be fair, the basic industrial and electronic sounds that the band have always used were still present, but they come through more like a low fat version of Fear Factory.

As I said, musically, the sound is rather bland. The guitars riffs are even more simplified than their usual selves, the drumming is far from the powerful wall of sound it should be and the bass, although present, is not as harmonious as it was on “Obsolete”. The industrial elements that are on display don't add as much to the atmosphere as much as they did on the band’s previous works. Where then, they helped make up the DNA of the album, here they simply sound as though they were added just for the sake of adding them to keep their industrial tag. The use of turntables on "Edgecrusher" back on "Obsolete" was eye raising, but understanding Wolber's affinity to the sound and being a personal hobby of his, it was acceptable. The rap song "Back the Fuck Up", well, it may feature B-Real, a legendary figure in the hip-hop scene, but the song did not go over well with fans. All in all, a miss compared to the previous two releases, but by no means a complete bomb.

Okay, now that I gave the album the devils’ advocate treatment, it’s time to view the album as a fan. This album can instantly transport me back to 10th grade. Despite the flaws of the album, I loved this release. Songs like "What Will Become", "Damaged" and "Linchpin" would be repeated many times that summer. I loved the simplistic, yet familiar sound Fear Factory offered on "Digimortal" and of course falling in the era that was dominated by Nu-Metal and Metalcore, I was naturally a fan of both.

Burton’s vocals, although not as harsh and violent as normal, are still powerful in their delivery. Their sound, while rooted more in the mold of Nu metal, they are executed well and still offer his trademark harsh and clean vocal tandem, albeit with less aggression. Although solos and in melodic guitar rhythms may not have always been one Fear Factory’s priorities, they once again are absent from “Digimortal” That being said, generally Dino can offset the lack of rhythms and solos by producing memorable and hammering riffs to generate enough hooks and sustainability on most Fear Factory albums. This being Nu metal, he follows the template of the genre and instead of delivering crushing, groove laden riffs, we get a slimmer version of what we herd on “Demanufacture” and “Obsolete”. Are they crushing? Nah. Groovy? Sure. Do they sound like Ne metal? Yeah, which is what I feel they were going for and in the scope of their targeted sound, they nailed it. In a good way mind you. The guitars may not inspire as much imagery as their previous work, but they more than carry both the metal sound, industrial components and Fear Factory’s manta well enough.

As for Herrera’s drums, think of them in the same light as the guitars. They are still clear and crisp with plenty of double bass kicks, but that’s about as far as they go. They do not instill the same ferocity they normally bring to the table and instead play a slimmer version to compliment the Nu metal sound. Perhaps of all the instruments, the drumming would be the most comparable to their previous work as it takes command in the rhythm department for most of the album and drives the majority of the songs forward. Wolbers’ bass may not play as nicely with Dino’s guitars this time around, but they, much like the drums offer a distinctly notable sound on most of the album. It still carries the low sounding punch as before, but no longer blends with all the elements of the album and instead can be heard as more of an individual sound, which showcase’s its ability, but also fails to harmonize into the cohesive Fear Factory sound.

Of course, I can’t forget to mention Rhys Fulber’s work on programming and keys. His minor touches transform many of the songs in a big way. The industrial and technological sound heard throughout “Digimortal” still anchor the band to the industrial genre, which is most notably heard on songs such as “What Will Become” and “No One”.

From a diehard point of view, I'll always rate this album higher than it should be, but that's the beauty of one’s opinion. Nostalgia aside, I was a fan of many Nu metal bands during their time, do Fear Factory’s efforts in the Nu metal genre was always going to go over well with me, so I have no complaints. Sure, this is far from a masterpiece, but it’s still a solid effort and most important of all, it’s memorable. The digipak also offers a few excellent songs such as "Strain vs. Resistance", which I recommend getting if you're planning on giving this album a listen.

Highlights: "What Will Become", "Damaged", "No One," "Linchpin"

Into the Abyss of Oblivion

Like so many other bands at the time of the nu metal boom of the late 90s and early 2000s, Fear Factory switched their genre towards this new trendy sound in order to please record companies and get more exposure for themselves. They don't seem to be very pleased about this because Digimortal feels like much less effort was put into it than other Fear Factory albums. If there is a saving grace to this, it's that Digimortal still sounds like a Fear Factory album, a tepid and simple Fear Factory album, but at least one that holds onto their signature robotic identity.

There's such a dearth of energy on Digimortal that it feels like they treated it like a job rather than an actual artistic pursuit that they cared about. Everybody sounds like they're just half-assing their jobs. The guitar riffs on this album mostly just consist of mid-paced chugging without much in the way of variation. Keep in mind, Fear Factory already did chugging grooves on previous efforts, but they did them well, with a lot of energy, a lot of tempo shifts, and they change the notes around, forming jagged jackhammer-like riffs that strike hard. On Digimortal, these are mostly just jump-up bounce grooves that go at largely the same pace for the whole song. They lack the ferocity that made Demanufacture and Obsolete such heavyweights. They sound a little aggressive, but nowhere near as fired up as they used to be. The same can be said for Burton Bell's vocal performance. He shouts about a lot, but never pushes himself to the brink. It always sounds like he doesn't want to put his vocal cords at risk for this, and he's playing it safe. By contrast, his clean singing is probably as good as it's ever been. As for the other instruments, they fill the sound in well enough, but don't do much else. Digimortal just sounds like something the guys didn't care as much about, and it shows.

This feels like Fear Factory at its most basic. You've got your chunky, robotic riffs. You've got a guy alternating between barks and effect-drenched clean singing. And you've got a sci-fi setting with a lot of cool shit happening in it. But while this has all of that, it feels lacking. I already explained the instrumental deficiencies of this album, now let's look at composition. Most of the songs are the usual single-riff affairs with only the main riff and little else. The futuristic feeling of this album is much more subdued compared to earlier Fear Factory. Sure, on the clean-sung songs like "Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies)" Burton's voice adds a lot to it and gives it a very surreal and airy vibe that would fit the atmosphere of floating in blank white space. The rest of the album fails to hold much of an atmosphere and mostly relies on the weakened chugs. Yeah, a groove or two works for a bit, but doesn't last since most of these are basic verse/chorus songs with little to separate them. Few of the songs stand out, but only one of them is especially bad, that being "Back the Fuck Up". That song feels like a bad joke to me, and it only works as a comedy piece. I like Fear Factory and I like Cypress Hill, just never mix them. B Real sounds clownish and out of place while rapping and he screams "BACK UP OFFA MEEEEEEEE" like he got pushed off a building. The rest of the song is just hip-hop posturing with curse words and chugs. Aside from that, Digimortal is serviceable, but low-effort and basic.

Going nu metal and making an album just for the sake or money is a bad idea. Digimortal is what happens when you take otherwise passionate and talented metal performers and make them do the simplest take on their own sound. Digimortal feels like it was treated more as a job rather than a creative endeavor the band members were truly committed to. It isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but there was so much more that could've been done. This is Fear Factory with the fire sucked out of them.

Nu-metal, from 1996-2002 record labels such as Roadrunner encouraged their roaster to experiment with the worse music trend since hair metal. As a result we have Sepultura’s Roots (1996), Machine Head’s The Burning Red (1999) and Supercharger (2001), Soulfly’s debut (1998) and Primitive (2000), and Fear Factory’s Digimortal (2001).

Being a Fear Factory fan since Demanufacture (1995), I was surprised to hear Digimortal. Yes, Obsolete (1998) had some nu-metal moments but nothing significant. To be honest, the turntables on Edgecrusher really added to the song. Unlike Obsolete, Digimortal literally sounds like Fear Factory watered down.

Several problems plague Digimortal from being considered a classic. The first and most obvious is that Burton C. Bell’s vocals sound weak. During the time of its release I figured it was a result of abuse from years of touring, however, every album afterwards sounds much better.

Guitar on this album is quite possibly some of the laziest guitar playing in metal history. Hell, Korn and Limp Bizkit wrote better riffs. Any Fear Factory fan would admit that, Dino Cazares isn’t the best guitarist to begin with but his rapid-fire technique has been replaced with a few down tuned hammerons and mid pace rock riffs, for example Linchpin. This album actually feels like they’re guitar parts missing on the final mix. For example, songs like Linchpin, Digimortal, and Hurt Conveyer only feature guitars in the introduction and chorus riffs.

The majority of songs feature the same verse/chorus/verse structure. Basically, you have an intro riff followed by the verse which usually only features bass and drums along with Bell’s mediocre shouts. Then we get a big chorus with Cazares finally playing a riff or two, overtop Bell’s clean singing. If you have the digipack, you’ll have a few extra tracks that follow this exact pattern.

The saving grace of this album is Raymond Herrera’s drumming and Christian Olde Wolbers’ bass. Both instruments add some solid low end to the mix. Since Bell and Cazares half-assed this entire album, Herrera’s drumming really stands out. Herrera fans should check out the tracks No One, Digimortal the pre chorus on Linchpin and the chorus of Back the Fuck Up (which actually makes this song somewhat enjoyable.)

As bad as this album is, Digimortal still sounds like a Fear Factory album unlike Machine Head’s embarrassing nu-metal phase. Digimortal does feature a few hidden gems such as the two ballads Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies) and (Memory Imprints) Never End both being some of Fear Factory’s better ballads. The production is the best of Fear Factory’s career, minus the half-assed delivery of both Bell and Cazares. The tracks are crisp and full of futuristic ambience. Yes, Back the Fuck Up does feature B-Real of Cypress Hill as well as awkward rap vocals by Bell, but thankfully Digimortal doesn’t drag on too long.

Fear Factory has made a comeback of the rare kind this year, with their release of Archetype, back from the ashes and whatnot. But before they broke up, they managed to release an album which is classified by many as...well, crap. And of course, being who I am, I have to disagree. Digimortal is a great album, very different from Fear Factory's previous output, but nonetheless worthy. The songs revolve around a concept where man and machine merge together, forming a whole new society. In usual Burton C. Bell style, it's mostly very vague, and the songs can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, which is a good thing. While Digimortal is an aggressive record, it is also surprisingly melodic, and guitarist Dino Cazares seem very influenced by 80's dark wave music, departing from his usual all-out aggressive riffing, and infusing dark, melodic playing in most of the songs. Burton C. Bell uses a lot of harmonies, which enhances the mood of the music significantly. This is especially evident in songs like "Digimortal", "Linchpin", and "(Memory Imprints) Never End", where his haunting voice displays soothing emotions you'd be hard pressed to find in earlier Fear Factory works. The album is pretty diverse as well, ranging from the extreme catchiness and haunting feelings found in the ballad "Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies)" and the aformentioned tracks, to the cyborg-like hostility and aggressiveness found in song like "Hurt Conveyor", "Acres of Skin" and "Byte Block", to the mid-tempo tracks "What Will Become?" and "No One". There's something for most moods here.

Sadly, being influenced by the then strong rap-metal scene (cringe), they decided to collaborate with B-Real of Cypress Hill fame on the "Worst Fear Factory Song This Side Of Soul Of A New Machine", "Back the Fuck Up". It's a pretty useless song, and Fear Factory really shouldn't have done that, as it breaks up the flow of the album quite severely. Still, one turd among many great songs aren't enough to condemn an album. If you were so lucky as to buy the digi-pak version of Digimortal (hehe, digpack...Digimortal..hehe), there are four bonus tracks, where three of them rule immensely! "Dead Man Walking", "Strain Vs. Resistance" and "Repentance" could all be featured on the main album, as they have the same great quality as the rest. So it's a bit strange they didn't include them as normal songs. One reason could be that they didn't fit with the "story", so they decided to leave them out. Anyway, I'm glad I bought that version. The fourth bonus track, "Full Metal Contact", is from a video game (of the same name, I think), and is an intrumental, and in fact pretty useless, so the less said about it, the better. There is a little annoying detail I haven't mentioned. In many of the songs, between verse and chorus/bridge and chorus/whatever, Dino has chosen to fuck with the sound on his guitar, creating a bit of an anti-climax to the songs. It isn't a big problem, but I'm glad he wasn't in the band for Archetype, who knows what he would've done on that?

Overall, Digimortal is a very fine album, with strong songwriting, mostly nice instrumentation, and great production, with little to complain about. A warning though; it is not for metalheads who don't like experimentation or modern (as in somewhat hip) metal. Otherwise, you should take a listen. :)

Nice review title, I know. But you have to admit, all the guys in Fear Factory are fucking short. haha. Anyways...on to the actual album...

Yes, Digimortal has a nu-metalish sound to it, but its still fucking awesome. The music is impressive and catchy so I can easily get past that downside. Back The Fuck Up also has some rapping in it, which I do not like at all, but overall its an excellent song.

This album is just packed full of rage and energy. It sounds more like thrash than anything (other than the industrial sounding production). Most of the songs on here are worthy of some serious headbanging. The vocals are strong and clear, and they are always pushing the music forward. There's nothing too technical about this album, but when you put all the instruments together they make killer songs.

Best Tracks: What Will Become?, Damaged, Linchpin, Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies), and Strain Vs. Resistance.

Fear Factory's 4th release (but not last, they have a new one in April 2004) got mixed reviews. For some people they thought that they had gone nu-metal because of the crappy "back the fuck up" song (rap's not a music genre.) But there are some good songs on this album. I will review only the good songs. (Not in order)

Damaged: This is one of the better songs on the album. It reminds me of Demanufacture lite. It starts off with "I'm damaged for love" and then goes into a heavy-ended sounding guitar riff. at 0:17 Rhys Fulber's keyboards kick in and gives it the industrial feel that is the Fear Factory trademark. The vocals are pretty good but they are nothing compared to Soul of a new Machine and Demanufacture. By that I mean that the death growl has been lost. However there are some pretty good trademark clean vocals about 2 minutes iunto the song.

Linchpin: Holy shit this is a good song. In fact it is probably the best one on the record. It is catchy and a good song for moshing. Sure the drums sound like a drum machine (BUT THEY ARE NOT!) and the vocals may havbe been drenched in electronic keyboards, but they are still ok.

What Will Become: This is the intro track and for the first ten seconds there's a really really weird sounding guitar riff. Then Rhys's electronics kick in and gives the song it's own unique flavor. In fact, this song probably (at least out of all the songs I have heard from Fear Factory which is all but 5 or so) has the most evident electronics. Ah well, that's what industrial metal is all about. Plus the intro to the second verse has a really weird sounding riff as well. There are also some very very very weird sounding noises around 2:13 and last till 2:31.

Well I could go more into the songs but those are my three favorite from this album. Like I said this is my least favorite album by Fear Factory. Let's hope Archetype is better. But this isn't "nu-metal" like people keep saying except for the rap song. Another reason is that this was Dino's last album. He will be missed but we have Brujeria and Assenio for his other talents. He never was a good guitarist, but he was integral to the Fear Factory formula. Also this i Rhys Fulber's last album with Fear Factory. He has rejoined his old group "Front Line Assembly" which is an industrial group. Check them out if you like industrial in general like me. Try their millennium album, it has Devin Townsend on guitars! (shameless advertising)

Hmm, I’ve never really liked fear factory, and this album doesn’t really change that. The drumming is extremely samey; it just sounds like a drumming machine. The vocals, in my opinion, are just well, nothing spectacular being mainly a half-arsed death growl while sometimes alternating to a cleaner style. Yes, it is plenty brutal, offering many a blast beat, but isn’t very memorable. Everything is just recycled, putting in some random samples so not to sound EXACTLY the same. Oh, and the guitar tone is horrible! Total mallcore shit.

The title track is probably the best track on here. It kind of alternates between growls and clean vocals a lot, and the overall melodic feeling of the song sounds OK.

Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies) is a ballad in fear factory terms: no growling, no double bass, etc, etc. Back the F*** up is an extremely fucking shit ‘song’ its just kind of extreme-rap. Many of my friends dig this song, so yeah, it’s fucking shit; they like slipknot etc.

Hurt Conveyer is probably the most brutal song on here. The chorus is 100% full on. But those little samples or what ever the fuck they are really hurt my ears when listening to it on headphones. oh, this song would be cool if it was renamed 'Dust Collector'... or not.

Alright, not every song is reviewed, but they all sound the same.

Hmm, I think this album could have been better if they tried for something different, but hey, they didn’t and we got what we got. Its good for what its worth, but nothing memorable.

Ok, so I'm a fan of fear factory and i'm not afraid to admit it. Their releases before this are wicked awesome. And here lies the problem with this release. Its not wicked awesome.

The cd opens with What Will Become, which is a pretty decent song. Its has all the usual FF trademarks, except it is softer than anything on Obsolete. Damaged is next and again, we have all the usual FF tricks. It has a pretty catchy chorus and is a bit heavier than the opening track. Nothing all that memorable though. The title track is next and its quickly becoming obvious the band is somewhat softer now. Burton throws out his clean vocals, which are very good, but should be used to songs Ressurrection or Timelessness. No One is next and a good sign is we're back to the heavier songs, though there is some stupid keyboard thing in here. Its pretty cool though and has a good breakdown , "take one, take one shot, one more shot at me". Linch pin is up next and this is pretty bad. It has a stupid intro and it gets even worse. I can't even describe how much this song sucks. Invisible Wounds is next and the band seems to be trying to do ressurrection part 2. It works on some levels, but is somewhat of a hit & miss.

Acres of Skin is next and finally, there is some fucking aggression on here! This intro brings to mind the days of Demanufacture. If the whole cd was like this, I would be saying much more good things about it. The next song...nothing could prepare anyone for the absolute awfulness of this song. Back the Fuck Up is the title and its a straight up rap song. PUKE!

After this, the cd is just sort of akward after that stupid rap song. The songs are ok but don't really do much to grab the listener. The song Memory Imprints is another pretty good soft songs and ends the cd, for those without the digi pack. Now for those with the Digi version, these songs are actually pretty good. Dead Man Walking is the first of the bonus songs and starts like it could have been on Obsolete. Good song. The other bonus tracks are just as good and the last one is an instrument song.

In the end, this is a dissapointing cd, considering the previous cds the band put out, like the amazing Demanfucature and the also great Obsolete. Some of the tracks bring to mind these releases, others are just there, while some are plain out awful. I would have given this a lower rating, but I have the digi version, to the bonus tracks brought the rating back up.

best songs imo: no one, acres of skin, memory imprints, dead man walking.