Well, I'm back. And I'll get straight to the point. I'm going to review an album by a similar band, who are inspired to a certain degree by Fear Factory, in that the lyrical content is vaguely science fiction inspired, the drumming is laser precise, if not quite as furious, and a great deal of electronic backing is used. The album reviewed, as with Mechanize, has not seen a US release as yet. So, without further delay, I give you:
Sybreed
The Pulse of Awakening-2009
Sybreed's newest release sticks to the general formula established by their first two releases. Prominent synthesizers, filtered clean vocals, off-kilter drumming in the style of Meshuggah, and a massive guitar sound (provided by seven-strings) give the album the characteristic Sybreed sound. The lyrics are quite good, although the songs have individual concepts rather than the pseudo concept that united the previous album, Antares. This makes the album more accessible to casual listening. The album is solid from start to finish, although some tracks are definitely stronger than others, and the ten minutes of ambient noise tacked onto the end of From Zero to Nothing, the album's closer, feels unnecessary.
Curiously, the songs I enjoyed most, Nomenklatura, Doomsday Party, Lucifer Effect and From Zero to Nothing, were among the album's less aggressive offerings, and the harsher tracks, such as the blast fest I Am Ultraviolence or the Meshuggah-aping Meridian A.D., felt more generic. I was disappointed by the absence of an ambient instrumental track along the lines of Ex-Infernis from Antares, but In the Cold Light almost makes up for it. There's even a cover song, Love Like Blood, originally performed by Killing Joke.
If you live outside the US, in a country where this record is actually being sold, I highly recommend this release to fans of Fear Factory, Mnemic, or the band's previous albums. As to fans in the US, cross your fingers, or send a few hundred emails (each) to Listenable Records. This is a consistent and enjoyable release from one of Switzerland's brightest acts.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
A New Beginning
Well, it appears that I haven't touched this blog since I created it, and I created it last May. No more! Hopefully, I will be able to update this blog as frequently as I acquire new music, but I've been wrong before. Anyway, here's an example of what is to (hopefully) come.
Fear Factory
Mechanize-2010
This. Is. Perfection. No, seriously, I can't really say anything bad about this album. Regardless of what you think personally about Fear Factory's revamped lineup, the music really should speak for itself. This is what the Fear Factory of my dreams sounds like. It's quite honestly the most impressive material I've heard from any band in a while, and while a track or two from Archetype may stand above the average cut from this album, in terms of sheer consistency and overall atmosphere, this is the best material the band has created since Demanufacture and Obsolete, with a ton of material standing even above those landmarks.
All of the band-members are at the absolute top of their games, with Burton sounding like he never stepped away from the mike, and Dino sounding, well, like Dino. Stroud and Hoglan are excellent additions to the cast, providing an unbelievably tight rhythm section.
In all honestly, what makes this record stand above perhaps all previous efforts by the band is the songwriting. The lyrics bite like razors, reminding us all too well what our current world has become. But even more than that, everything fits perfectly. Nothing seems forced, rushed, or sloppy. It just sounds right. Even the guitar solo (horrors!) that Dino plays during Fear Campaign fits the song and the moment exactly. It feels like an integral part of the song, not just a bit that was tacked on at the end of the writing process because the band thought it would sound cool. This album sounds and feels like a surprise attack gone exactly to plan.
To close this, I will urge you to buy this album immediately upon release. I know I will. But not the toolbox edition. That thing is just weird.
Fear Factory
Mechanize-2010
This. Is. Perfection. No, seriously, I can't really say anything bad about this album. Regardless of what you think personally about Fear Factory's revamped lineup, the music really should speak for itself. This is what the Fear Factory of my dreams sounds like. It's quite honestly the most impressive material I've heard from any band in a while, and while a track or two from Archetype may stand above the average cut from this album, in terms of sheer consistency and overall atmosphere, this is the best material the band has created since Demanufacture and Obsolete, with a ton of material standing even above those landmarks.
All of the band-members are at the absolute top of their games, with Burton sounding like he never stepped away from the mike, and Dino sounding, well, like Dino. Stroud and Hoglan are excellent additions to the cast, providing an unbelievably tight rhythm section.
In all honestly, what makes this record stand above perhaps all previous efforts by the band is the songwriting. The lyrics bite like razors, reminding us all too well what our current world has become. But even more than that, everything fits perfectly. Nothing seems forced, rushed, or sloppy. It just sounds right. Even the guitar solo (horrors!) that Dino plays during Fear Campaign fits the song and the moment exactly. It feels like an integral part of the song, not just a bit that was tacked on at the end of the writing process because the band thought it would sound cool. This album sounds and feels like a surprise attack gone exactly to plan.
To close this, I will urge you to buy this album immediately upon release. I know I will. But not the toolbox edition. That thing is just weird.
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