Byzantine -- 'Oblivion Beckons' [review]

Byzantine - Oblivion Beckons
Prosthetic Records (01/22/08)
Metal

In a bittersweet turn of events, up-and-coming potential metal legends Byzantine greeted 2008 with probably the best album of their short career, and then abruptly broke up before the thing even hit the shelves.

North America's response to European prog-metal masters Opeth, the band just seemed to be gaining momentum. With Oblivion Beckons, every aspect of Byzantine's sound has been ratcheted up a notch (or ten)—the riffs are thicker and more complex, the drumming more frenetic, the bass meatier and the vocals either grittier, more horrific or melodically haunting.

Opening with "Absolute Horizon", the band just tears into fifth gear from the get-go. Starting off with some Morse code, the beeps build like a sense of paranoia before a couple of guitar chords break the hypnotic tone. And then a guttural howl from OJ Ojeda explodes the track into a metallic juggernaut, with machine-gun drumming and breakneck riffs.

Fear Factory -- 'Obsolete' [classic review]

Fear Factory
"Obsolete"
(Roadrunner Records)


"The concept of this record is that man is obsolete. The idea is still man versus machine. Demanufacture told a story, Remanufacture was another chapter in the story and Obsolete is another part of the Fear Factory concept. We're up to the point in the story where man is obsolete. Man has created these machines to make his life easier but in the long run it made him obsolete. The machines he created are now destroying him. Man is not the primary citizen on Earth."

-- Burton Bell on "Obsolete"

If you ever asked me to point out a killer concept album, my list would be pretty short. and I'm pretty sure this album would be right on top. A continuation of a theme that Fear Factory had been working on practically its whole career, "Obsolete" tells the story of a world of the future, where man has let machines take over the world and has, in turn, become obsolete. It's pretty much "Terminator 4" set to music.

From the opening bombast of "Shock," Fear Factory grabs you by the throat and rams the metal down your throat. The drumming is frantic, the bass is HUGE, the riffs are unforgiving and Bell's vocals are as attacking and haunting as ever. Think of Pantera's one-two punch opening on "Vulgar Display of Power" -- Fear Factory does the same thing here with "Shock" and "Edgecrusher," only, to be honest with you, I think it's done better here. The two tracks build into one another and almost act as a two part opener for the album, paving the way for what's to come, whereas, Pantera almost seemed to front-load "Vulgar" with two killer tracks. (Of course, the flip side there is that every song on "Vulgar" was an absolute killer.)

Throughout the album, Fear Factory melds its vision of metal mixed with industrial mixed with thrash and tempered with melody and ambience to perfection. For every gut-wrentching, balls-to-the-walls metal anthem, there's a break with melody or ambient transition that heightens the experience (like adding just the right amount of salt to a cooking recipe to intensify the flavor).

Given the direction the band was headed toward, it had honed the technological metal aspect of its sound to a T. But, on top of that, never before had Bell's melodies soared so high. These two aspects, along with the perfect production value (and here I'm talking the addition of a string section, the ambient effects and overall mood of the album) combine to form a nearly perfect album.

"Obsolete" is a perfect concept album, probably the best when you're pulling from the metal genre (edging out Queensryche's "Operation: Mindcrime"). When Roadrunner double-dipped to make some money, the "concept" was essentially ruined. While a huge hit for the band, I was never really impressed with Fear Factory's cover of "Cars" which was tacked on to the end. The other additions were solid tracks, especially "O-O," but these were songs perfectly fit for a "Hatefiles" collection of rarities or b-sides.

From the thunderous opening of "Shock," to the spine-tingling closer of "Timelessness" (with special mention to the final proper track, "Resurrection") Fear Factory really created a masterpiece. While "Demanufacture" is a metal classic, hands down, "Obsolete" is a true Fear Factory classic. The group has created a sound uniquely its own. The band has influenced countless emulators (most notably Spineshank which trashed an entire "sound" to follow in Fear Factory's footsteps), but none have come close to the originators.

Today, the band seems to be moving in a more melodic, experimental direction (a la Slipknot). However, even if the group called it a day (again) tomorrow, there's no denying it left one hell of a legacy in its wake.

Fear Factory -- 'Archtype' [review]

Fear Factory
"Archetype"
Liquid 8 Records


Since its debut album, "Soul of a New Machine," on Roadrunner Records in 1992, Fear Factory has been one of the mainstays in the metal scene, influencing countless bands and fans around the world. With each subsequent release, the band refined and polished its machine-like technology-infused metal; each album built upon the foundation of the last.

In 1995 the band released what some consider is one of the best metal albums of the '90s, "Demanufacture"; the band's most commercially viable release, "Obsolete," saw the light of day in '98. Along the way Fear Factory experimented with remixing to varying degrees of success. (The hard-hitting "Fear is the Mindkiller" EP featuring tracks off the band's debut, and the hit-or-miss "Remanufature" which featured remixes of tracks off "Demanufacture.")

Following the success of "Obsolete," the band struggled to craft a follow-up, due in part to inner band turmoil that wasn't apparent at the time. The band's last "new" album for Roadrunner, 2001's "Digimortal," was a stumble of sorts. While not a bad album by any means, it seemed fans were used to holding the band up to a higher standard. "Digimortal" wasn't as "heavy" as fans were used to, and incorporated more melody and simpler riffs -- while not its best effort, the release turned into a unfortunately overlooked disc.

At the same time, things behind the scenes were reaching a boiling point. Vocalist Burton Bell talked about a hiatus and side-projects, and then up and left the band in 2002, causing the remaining members to disband. Roadrunner released two posthumous albums, "Concrete" (the band's original demo that got it signed) and "Hatefiles" (a collection of remixes, b-sides and unreleased tracks).

And then a few months later the band reconnected, sans original guitarist Dino Cazares. Bass player Christian Olde Wolbers shifted to guitar and Bell once again took up singing duties. The band offered a song for 2003's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" soundtrack, signed with Liquid 8, and released "Archetype" in 2004.

While Wolbers handled bass and guitar duties for a majority of the recording, the band brought in former Strapping Young Lad bassist Byron Stroud into the fold to round out the line up which also includes drummer Raymond Herrera.

The band wastes little time opening up with the hard-hitting "Slave Labor." Herrera's double-bass work is immediately evident, and Wolbers sounds more than comfortable in his new position on the axe. And while "Slave Labor" seems a little like a palate cleanser from the band's previous efforts (the track plays out like a faster-tempoed "Edgecrusher"), the next song, "Cyberwaste," is a full-out assault. Wolbers is absolutely obliterating on the guitar, and the drumming is insane, thick and full. Bell's vocals on here seem more angry than anything off "Digimortal."

The band goes a little more melodic on "Bite the Hand That Bleeds." Bell's vocals are melodic throughout the tracks that harks back to a FF classic like "Resurrection" (off "Obsolete"). But as always, the beauty with FF is that the band is able to offer up something melodic like "Bite ..." and still maintain an edge through the intense-yet-subtle drumming or through maintaining an almost-frantic pace throughout the song, like it's almost about to explode but never quiet does. That sort of tool is especially effective when followed by something like "Undercurrent" that also features melody, but is more of a return to solid metal with thick riffing and explosive drums.

"Default Judgment" is a page right out of "Obsolete." The trademark drum/bass guitar play is in full-effect here, and Bell growls through the verses before unleashing the melodic chorus of "Your final judgment stands. Fate, by your will. I never had a chance, I never will."

The disc's title track is one of the stronger songs on the album and plays out like a mission statement from the band. Sonically, this track is probably the most "mainstream" sounding song on the disc. Immediately opening with a strong double-bass kick and thunderous riffing with Bell's melodic droning in the background, the track feels like something that a band just starting out would try to make in order to "blow up." As Bell kicks off the song singing "You must never forget the essence of your spark," the band sounds tight and the listener can tell this is coming from a group re-invigorated. There's also a little jab at the group's former bandmate during the bridge before the chorus: "The infection has been removed, the soul of this machine has improved." On an album full or great tracks, "Archetype" stands up as the strongest.

The band offers up an interesting little cover of Nirvana's "School" to close the album. It's a jarring way to end the album and may have played better as a hidden track, but is a solid cover nonetheless. It appears that "Ascension" is the disc's "true" closer anyway, a seven-plus minute ethereal trip across an endless musical landscape (think "Obsolete's" closer "Timelessness," only longer and more "out there"). The cover track pays homage to its original, but expands upon the punk-sounding roots, instead flourishing into a full-blown metal anthem.

Fear Factory have never sounded better. While the past few years were filled with their share of problems, Fear Factory seems to have risen to the task, borrowing and building on past efforts to craft a masterful album.