Candlelight

The drama surrounding Fear Factory is seemingly neverending. Dino Cazares is back in and Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera are now out (though technically still band members; lawsuit pending). It has been a while since Fear Factory released anything (the last was 2005's mediocre Transgression), so the band wanted to hit hard with Mechanize.

Mechanize is exactly what longtime Fear Factory fans want from this band. They've always had a sterile, mechanical feel to their songs, as if they were constructed piece by piece on an assembly line. This would be a negative to most bands, but Fear Factory embraces this attribute and makes it a cornerstone of their music. Replacing Herrera with Gene Hoglan was probably the wisest choice, as neither can really be called "organic" in their drumming style. The return of Dino Cazares is also a plus, though Christian Olde Wolbers, who took over the guitar duties in his absence, got his cues from Cazares anyway and it seemed like he never left in the first place.
The songs on Mechanize are brutal and heavy in their execution. Don't look for too much in the way of dynamics. Songs like the title track, Industrial Discipline, Powershifter and Oxidizer aim for destruction via heavy artillery. Lots of double bass and blast beating from Hoglan, intense low-end from Bryan Stroud and of course Cazares trademark riffing. Towards the end the band goes down in a slightly different direction. Designing The Enemy and Final Exit are both seeping in atmosphere and put Burton C. Bell's versatile vocals into good use.

Fear Factory has never been much of a subtle band and they sure ain't starting on Mechanize.


01. Mechanize
02. Industrial Discipline
03. Fear Campaign
04. Powershifter
05. Christploitation
06. Oxidizer
07. Controlled Demolition
08. Designing The Enemy
09. Metallic Division
10. Final Exit

Score: 7/10