Demanufacture [Explicit Lyrics]

But there's more. A lot more. Burton could sing, and he did so quite often here. He had a very cool, haunting singing voice that provided a nice contrast with the aggression that characterizes much of the album. On the title track, he sings the first few lines, making it that much more effective when he turns on the growl. "Dog Day Sunrise," a cover of a song by a band called Head of David, features entirely clean vocals, and it's downright mesmerizing. What's more, the band also added an industrial element that helped to differentiate them from other metal bands, especially at the time. Although the industrial samples are used conservatively, they add an extra dimension to the already heavy songs.

If one song here deserves special mention, it's the closer "A Therapy for Pain." It's a slow, melodic, nine-plus-minute epic with an indescribably eerie sound. Burton's foreboding, almost angelic vocals combine with heavy doses of industrial samples to make a song that's truly chilling. For some reason, it strongly reminds of the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse's theme music from the movie "Raising Arizona." But anyway, it's a great song, and a brilliant way to end an album. In conclusion: this album is a masterpiece. If you don't have it, you should. End of story.

Fear Factory style is different from what other icons of the genre like Ministry or Nine Inch Nails have to offer. After all, in the beginning Fear Factory played Napalm Death-style death-metal, and it shows. The music is built with incredibly catchy and rhythmically effective guitar riffs backed by similar sounding bass-lines. Think of the riff in Ministry's "Thieves" and you get the idea. Drumming is absolutely superb. The speed and precision of those double-bass kicks is incredible, I even thought it was a drum-machine. But it was not. To add even more industrial feel to the sound, various factory noises are played in the background. Burton C. Bell varies his vocal tone from angry death-style rasps to clean anthemic singing. The latter, being sound-processed with a little reverb, makes the record sound kinda epic at times. The album is a relentless sonic attack, that, being played at considerable volume settings, has all the power to knock you off your feet and shatter glass windows.

Conceptual lyrics add more depth to the album. They tell a story of a man who grew tired of government lies and started up a rebellion. In the end he turns into a killing machine, then surrenders to regret, but when death comes, it refuses to take him away, so he has yet another day to live. Not the finest story, but it mixes with aggressive industrial music perfectly.

This album is one of the landmarks of rock, and surely Fear Factory's finest hour. If you are even mildly interested in metal or industrial music, you must give a listen to "Demanufacture".

PS I found myself among those few people who actually liked the remix albums "Remanufacture" and "Remanufacture v2.001". I think it shows the diversity of this band excellently, because I can't think of anybody else who feel themselves perfectly at home as with death-metal and grindcore, as with industrial, breakbeat or digital hardcore. While the lyrical integrity is lost in remixing, yet the music is good. Underground dancefloor DJs might also take notice.