Published on Nov 17, 2004
According to
an interview with Fear Factory lead vocalist
Burton C. Bell, “basically all the songs on
Archetype describe trying to get off a label [Roadrunner
Records] and my feelings toward that.” With that in mind, consider
the following lyrics from this release:
Track 01 “Slave Labor” – “I need to drown in flames to be free/
help me pour this gas on me” Track 02 “Cyberwaste: – “Nothing you
say matters to us! . . . spit your worthless point of view, a cog
in the machine” Track 03: “Act of God” – “And now your life amounts
to nothing . . .”
I could go on. Instead, you should form your own opinion.
Fear Factory have been around since August 25, 1992, when
Soul Of A New Machine was released on the public. Perhaps it
wasn’t until 1999, when Fear Factory was on the 1999 Ozzfest Tour,
along with Static-X and Slipnkot that more mainstream fans caught
on to the band’s style of relentless speed and precise music.
Precise is the correct adjective for “Drones” which begins with a
tight guitar/double-bass pattern with haunting keyboards in the
background. Bell’s vocal range is put to good use when he hits the
higher notes on this track.
The biggest change with the band is that former bassist
Christian Olde Wolbers is now the band’s guitarist. His riffs are
equally brutal as the guitarist he replaced and the band has
welcomed bassist Byron Stroud into the group as the low frequency
man. This change to the band is nearly transparent. As a longtime
member of the band, Wolbers’ riffs don’t differ a lot in structure
from previous Fear Factory efforts.
A review of this CD cannot be complete without referring to the
machine gun efforts of drummer Raymond Herrera. Quick double-bass
riffs that mimic the guitar parts are just one of the highlights of
this drummer’s style.
The final track “School” is the least dense musically and
lyrically on the CD and serves as a final crushing blow. The lyrics
are simple (complete lyrics are: “Won’t you believe it / It’s just
my luck [x4] / No recess [x3] / Won’t you believe it / It’s just my
luck [x4] / No recess [x3] / You’re in high school again [x7] /
You’re nothing again! / No recess [x7]”) and the guitar riff is
simple. After the earlier tracks of precise double bass and guitar
interaction, this song sounds . . . well . . . human. Like they set
up their instruments and started jamming.
Overall, Fear Factory is still and probably always will be a
force to be reckoned with in the modern age of heavy metal. There’s
no power ballads, there’s no “radio-friendly” material, just
aggressiveness that I found very appealing. This is one of the
metal CDs that will find its way to many “best of” lists for
2004.