Ghost Cult caught up with Producer and Industrial Metal legend Rhys Fulber to discuss the Wax Trax! Records 30th-Anniversary reissue of Front Line Assembly’s groundbreaking studio LP Tactical Neural Implant. Discussing the album and remix, Fulber shared a lot of insights into the album and his career. Rhys also went deep on details about his producing career, working with Dino Cazares of Fear Factory, and more!
Many times in music journalism, we writers are given to hyperbole, often because it is the low hanging fruit of the field to gush about the classics with a torrent of compliments. You often read words like genre-defying, and frankly, a lot of the time they don’t land as they are meant to. However, in the case of the entire career of Fear Factory and certainty of the album Demanufacture (Roadrunner Records), the words can never do proper justice to the music. Simply stated, Deamnfacture is one of the most important, unique, and unapologetically brutal albums in heavy metal history. Continue reading
Reviewing a new Fear Factory album in 2015 is like purchasing the Blu-Ray edition of a film you already own on DVD. It’s a good movie and it’s all shiny and high-definition like, but overall there’s no substantial surprises. A new commentary track and special features (or in this analogy, lyrics) are nice perks.
Long story short, there’s not a whole lot of deviation. In that regard Fear Factory’s Genexus (Nuclear Blast) is similar enough to the last review I penned, Kataklysm’s Of Ghosts and Gods. Sure, they’re both new albums, but do you really expect (or want) a dramatic stylistic change from these extreme metal institutions?
All the core Fear Factory components that made 2010s Mechanize and 2012s The Industrialist memorable are back. Vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist/bassist Dino Cazares are still playing nice while under the guidance of longtime collaborator and producer Rhys Fulber. Two of the songs feature Blade Runner samples so yeah, the man grappling against artificial intelligence theme is present again. Really, the biggest or only variations to be found here are a return to live drumming (a strong performance from Mike Heller) and the record label.
If you’ve had the pleasure of listening to Demanufacture or Obsolete you’re gonna hit the ground running on this outing. Seriously, like those two landmarks we open with some industrial samples/noises that lead into a jack hammer of a song and 40 minutes or so later the album is bookended by a sweeping and melodic closer (this time in the form of the excellent ‘Expiration Date’).
And that’s a good thing. Very good if you’re into this sort of metallic business. But wait, there’s more. In between the covers you also get slabs of brutal groove like ‘Anodized’ and ‘Soul Hacker.’ It’s all the downtuned 7-string chug coupled with machine-gun fire kick drums your little mechanical heart desires. And despite being in this racket for 25+ years, Bell still can do the bark and croon thing better than most.
Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada
Although if they’re going to keep moving forward with the “cybermetal” sound (or whatever Fear Factory refer to themselves these days) I’d like to see it with the full classic lineup. That means bringing bassist Christian Olde Wolbers and skinsman Raymond Herrera out of exile. They were there for the Demanufacture and Obsolete days, they should be here for the resurgence.
8.0/10
HANSEL LOPEZ
Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada
Fear Factory, who have previously announced new album Genexus is releasing from Nuclear Blast Entertainment on August 7th, have released an album trailer today. The trailer includes a snippet of a new single, ‘Protomech’. Watch it at this link or below:
Genexus track listing
1. Autonomous Combat System
2. Anodized
3. Dielectric
4. Soul Hacker
5. Protomech
6. Genexus
7. Church Of Execution
8. Regenerate
9. Battle For Utopia
10. Expiration Date
Limited Digipak Bonus Tracks:
11. Mandatory Sacrifice (Genexus Remix)
12, Enhanced Reality
Pre-order Genexus digitally or in various bundles from http://nblast.de/FFGenexus.
Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada
Los Angeles industrial tinged extreme metallers Fear Factory will be issuing their ninth studio release Genexus on August 7, 2015 worldwide via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The The record was co-produced by long-time collaborator Rhys Fulber, along with founding guitarist Dino Cazares and vocalist Burton Bell and mixed by Andy Sneap (Arch Enemy, Testament, Exodus, Machine Head).
Commented founding guitarist Dino Cazares:
“The sensation of finalizing our newest album is one of relief and joy, wrapped within a massive whirlwind of excitement, We really feel this is a very special Fear Factory album. While being careful not to replicate ourselves, this album still has a very classic Fear Factory vibe that we feel will appease both old and new fans. The aggressive, melodic and industrial elements are all intact and shine more than ever.
“Burt and I produced the album with Rhys Fulber co-producing. Damien Rainuad and Giuseppe Bassi handled most of the keys and pre-production. We also enlisted the masterful metallic skills of Andy Sneap for an amazing mixing job!
“We would like to thank everyone who has been a big part in the making of this record. We can’t wait for everybody to hear it.”
The band will be hitting the road with Coal Chamber in support of the record.
COAL CHAMBER, FEAR FACTORY, JASTA, DEVIL YOU KNOW, SAINT RIDLEY, MADLIFE
Jul 24: Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ (with Devil You Know)
Jul 25: Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM (with Devil You Know)
Jul 26: Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX (with Devil You Know)
Jul 28: Alamo City Music Hall – San Antonio, TX (with Jasta)
Jul 29: Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX (with Jasta)
Jul 30: Granada – Lawrence, KS (with Jasta)
Jul 31: Pop’s – Sauget, IL (with Jasta)
Aug 01: Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH (with Jasta)
Aug 02: Track 29 – Chattanooga, TN (with Jasta)
Aug 03: The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC (with Jasta)
Aug 04: Music Farm – Columbia, SC (with Jasta)
Aug 06: Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL (with Jasta)
Aug 08: Water Street Music Hall – Rochester, NY (with Jasta)
Aug 10: London Music Hall – London, ON (with Jasta)
Aug 11: Irving Plaza – New York, NY (with Jasta)
Aug 12: The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY (with Jasta)
Aug 15: Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA (with Devil You Know)
Aug 16: Agora – Cleveland, OH (with Devil You Know)
Aug 18: Bourbon Theatre – Lincoln, NE (with Devil You Know)
Aug 19: The Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO (with Devil You Know)
Aug 20: The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT (with Devil You Know)
Aug 21: Brooklyn Bowl – Las Vegas, NV (with Devil You Know)
Aug 22: The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA (with Devil You Know)