Fear Factory-The Industrialist

Candlelight
2012

"The Industrialist" (due out June 5th in American and set to be released in three formats – standard CD, a limited edition deluxe digi-book with two additional songs and 180-gram double vinyl) is the second release to be written by vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares since reuniting in 2009 after a seven year split. It also finds the band once again working with producer Rhys Fulber who also brought his keyboard skills to the record.It was mixed by Greg Reely (Paradise Lost/Skinny Puppy/Machine Head), with additional tracking done by Logan Mader (Gojira/Divine Heresy) and is a conceptual record based around a story written by vocalist Burton C. Bell. Formed back in 1989, and originally going by both the names Ulceration and Fear the Factory before it was decided to stay with the shorter Fear Factory, this L.A. band started out with more of a grindcore/death metal sound before transforming themselves into the Ministry/Godflesh industrial metal vibe that they would become known for. On their new album Fear Factory follow the blueprints fairly closely as set by 2010's "Mechanize". The only difference between releases seems to be John Sankey who replaces Gene Hogan. Obviously no one can really "replace" Gene Hogan so the best you can hope for is a suitable replacement. Sankey does a decent enough job, but Hogan is missed. Otherwise Fear Factory sounds like Fear Factory here and listening to this album offers no real complaints. If your into the band you know what is in store by this time so this new album should hold no surprises. If your new to the band then I would probably start with their landmark album, "Soul Of A New Machine", and work your way up. Other then some disappointing years in between that album ("Digimortal" is still a head scratcher to many including me) and this release the band has managed to release more good albums then bad. "The Industrialist" isn't a groundbreaking release by any stretch of the imagination, but it knows what it wants to be and it pushes itself as much to the limit as Cazares and Bell can muster after all these years.