The Industrialist

Let me start by saying that Fear Factory has been my favourite band for years now. I absolutely love them and have supported this band on every release and always will.

The first Fear Factory album I ever heard was "Demanufacture" (1995) and ever since then I was on a mission to own everything I could by the band. I now own almost everything they ever did and love all of it. Now with that being said, I never thought they would top "Demanufacture", this album comes very close. The opening track entitled "The Industrialist" builds up and just fucking destroys you. I could not stop grinning the entire time I was listening to this album. I even shed a few tears of joy. Yeah, this album is that good.

When I reached the track "New Messiah" I knew this album was gonna be a masterpiece. The chorus on this track is one of the best I've heard from Fear Factory in a long time. Absolutely incredible. The track "Virus of Faith" also had the same effect on me, leaving me with a big ass grin on my face the entire time. I'm not going to go into every track, but none of them were at all bad, I even like the outro track.

The electronic and industrial elements are back and stronger than ever. I love electro, techno, and dance music, so it was pretty awesome to hear it very thick in the mix. The drums, as you may or may not know, are programmed. I personally wasn't all that upset with artificial drums. There are times on the album where the drums sound very robotic, But in all honesty I love the sound of artificial drums. For example, the song "Self Immolation" is a song that was recorded on quite a few releases such as "Demo '91" (1991), "Concrete" (1991), and "Soul of a New Machine" (1992). Personally I think the demo version is far superior than those on "Concrete" or "Soul...". A drum machine was used on "Demo '91" and I love how it sounds. It gives it an awesome industrial sound.

The story on the album is nothing to unique or new, but it is still pretty damn cool. The story follows the main character, "The Industrialist" (an automaton), seeking to destroy "The Creator" and humanity in general. I don't really want to spoil anything because I didn't want to know the story at all. I wanted to read it for myself, so I will leave that to you.

The packaging on the digibook is awesome. It feels strong and durable. There isn't a whole lot of artwork for this album, but that's not a big deal. The lyrics are great, the vocals are fantastic, and Dino is a monster on the guitar. The two bonus tracks, "Blush Response (Difference Engine Remix)" and "Landfill (Pitchshifter Cover)", were pretty cool as well. The remix was a lot better than I expected it to be, and it is pretty damn catchy. The Landfill cover is good overall, but it is just one of those covers that sounds too close to the original and just doesn't feel unique, but is still a bad ass track.

After listing to this album at least four times start to finish, I truly believe this is the best thing they have put out since 1998's "Obsolete". "THE FUTURE BEGINS NOW"! I constantly find myself walking around singing the chorus of "New Messiah". If you don't own this album, go and buy it right now. It is fantastic, a true return to form, and an improvement over "Mechanize" (2010). The entire album is flawless. I even like the final and very ambient track "Human Augmentation".

KILL EVERYONE, WHO DOES NOT SEE!
KILL EVERYONE, WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE!

Tracks to check out: New Messiah, God Eater, and Virus of Faith.