Archetype [PA] - Fear Factory > Reviews > Original Architects

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	A real return to form
Disadvantages:	The cover of 'School' is a bit out of place, and it doesn't really offer much new on previous albums

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Fear Factory were respected as pioneers of industrial-metal crossover but after three consecutive top 30 albums (Demanufacture, Obsolete and Digimortal) it appeared they’d never achieve the commercial success of imitators like Spineshank and Static-X, and they sadly disbanded. A couple of years down the line, however, it’s become apparent they didn’t really have much better to do, and the core of the band has reformed - only with Christian Olde Wolbers moving over to guitar to replace the absent Dino, and new ex-Strapping Young Lad bassist Byron Stroud rounding out the band.

The question we’re all asking is, of course, was it worth it? The band’s second album proper Demanufacture was (and is) widely regarded as a classic blueprint for the genre, while to my mind the more commercial Obsolete was actually an improvement. By Digimortal, however, the formula was starting to sound a touch tired.

Archetype, appropriately enough, sticks close to the traditional Fear Factory sound - heavy, crunching industrial moments, but with atmospheric interludes and Burton C. Bell’s soaring singing and screams of anger. ‘Slave Labor’ and ‘Cyberwaste’ kick things off at a furious pace, being some of the heavier tracks and setting the tone for what follows. It’s amazing how rejuvenated the band sound. Maybe it’s the lack of in-band tension, but there’s not a hint of staleness as the bad recover pretty near top form.

The loud/quiet dynamic that was part of the band’s best is retained. Almost every song combines softer moments (as used so effectively on what I consider their best moment to date, ‘Resurrection’). Whereas before contrast often came between songs (as that just mentioned was juxtaposed with ‘Edgecrusher’ on Obsolete) here each song has it’s own variation, as is probably best demonstrated on ‘Bite The Hand That Bleeds’.

Whereas some artists settle for releasing ‘concept albums’, Fear Factory have always been a ‘concept band’ really, charting the futuristic battle of man against machine. Archetype doesn’t particularly progress the story, but it dwells on much the same themes - which match their sound quite well (Burton’s vocals representing the human heart of the band, struggling against the machinery-produced backing). There’s a lot of thought in the lyrics too, from the memorable “I blame myself” chorus of the opening track to the “The infection has been removed/ The soul of this machine has been improved” of the title. A dig at ex-band mate Dino?

Burton’s distinctive vocals are, well, the same as ever really. I can’t say they’re particularly better or worse than normal, but they’re one of the stronger elements of the Fear Factory sound, and he’s one of the few metal singers who can effortlessly shift from melodic singing to a thunderous roar (Machine Head’s Robb Flynn is the best other example I can think of). The backing is the typical industrial/metal crossover, with pounding guitars that really give the band their energy and heaviness.

There’s some let up, in pace if not quality, as the album ends with the drawn out and relatively mellow ‘Ascension’, the traditional epic closer, that highlights another side to Fear Factory. It’s a lengthy and surprisingly calm piece, with a significant influence of long-time producer Rhys Fulber (Frontline Assembly, Delerium, Conjure One)’s keyboards. It’s not in the Prodigy/Junkie XL style of their remix album Remanufacture, but it’s a change from the normal Fear Factory mould - more like some experimental post-rock indulgency, but certainly something that rounds off the album well for me.

Unfortunately while that seemed the perfect way to end, the culmination of the album is let down slightly by a cover of Nirvana’s ‘School’ being tacked on the end. It doesn’t say it’s a bonus track, but has that afterthought feel, disrupting the album’s flow somewhat. Not a bad song in itself, but would probably have been better left to a b-side or at least shunted further up the tracklisting. That’s only a very minor blip though. Fear Factory are definitely back and in full working order.

Recommended purchases: Controversially I’d buy Obsolete first for an introduction to the band, then the classic Demanufacture because it’s classic. This should probably be third on your list of ‘to buy’ FF records, and is definitely an improvement on the last record for any longer term fans who thought they’d lost their edge. So I guess that’s recommended then.
 

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