Yeah I've been wanting to check out Fear Factory for a very long time now, I'm glad I've finally taken the jump into their music. Great band, I love their sound and look forward to hearing more of their albums :)
Both the harsh and the clean vocals are done by the one incredible front man, Burton C. Bell. Legend has it, in the early days of the band (back when their genre was full blown brutal death metal with industrial elements), the other band members heard Burton singing in the shower one day, and were very intrigued by how haunting his voice was. They then suggested to him that they try incorporating those vocals into their sound. A very revolutionary and brave decision in the early 90's for a death metal band! Great reaction, Molly! 🙂
@konowd You may be right. The fact that there's a cover of I Will Follow on Transgression seems to add weight to that possibility. Awesome cover, by the way.
Fear Factory had more range than a lot of heavy stuff at the time, they listened to a wide variety of music and it made a good stew when it all came together
We did some tracking for this album at our studio in London (Whitfield Street Recording). We didn't get too many metal bands coming in so I was a happy boy. WOOOAAARGH!
@@mollyesanborn Personally I recommend to listen to the normal album version of "Obsolete", I mean without the bonus tracks, "Obsolete" has 10 tracks and its good that way.
Thank you so much, I appreciate the kind words! These bands that I've been discovering are amazing and they definitely deserve all the exposure that they can get.
@@adventurethis same. As a 7 year old hearing this song I was in the hunt for the heaviest shit possible. When my classmates were into kid rock I was going into machine head , slayer, napalm death
Fear Factory were one of the most unique metal bands of their time. On their first album Soul of a New Machine they managed to combine death metal/grindcore with heavily influenced by Godflesh and Ministry industrial sound. And even so they had their own unique thing with this amazing clean vocals. At the time of 1992 it was absolutely mind-blowing to hear clean vocals in death metal along with the usual screams/growls. Many orthodox metal fans were simply baffled by this. And then Demanufacture comes out next, where the band just takes a leap into the stratosphere, creating a true industrial metal masterpiece. After Demanufacture they also released remix album called Remanufacture where the band's going full-on with industrial and electronic stuff. Again, at the time releasing a remix album being a metal band was such a badass move which once again proves the Fear Factory greatness to experiment and develop their music.
I'd LOVE to check out Soul of a New Machine at some point too and hear their really early stuff. And thanks for letting me know about Remanufacture, I wasn't aware there was a remix version of this album. That'd be fun to hear!
When I was a in my late teens in the late 90's I listened both Demanufacture and the remix album Remanufacture and because I liked the latter more I realized something new about my musical preferences. Remanufacture was the album that made me to delve into much more electronic music (although dark and heavy sounding), such as Front Line Assembly. And Rhys Fulber, one of the members of Front Line Assembly was involved with Remanufacture. Which is insane album if you think it was released by Roadrunner Records and it has even a rave remix of H-K!
I have suggest. Don`t listen what people say. Go Your own way, path. Digimortal era was their best. What was after.... 😥Concrete was first before SOANM. There are some bands like SybreeD, Mechina, Digimortal maybe all have influences. Industrial metal music is weird and heavy. Vocalist of SybreeD band left too.
If you like the remixes, their Keyboardist/Producer that did most of the remixes is Rhys Fulber that has been half of the Industrial pioneers Front Line Assembly since 1986, and also made music under the names: Delirium, Noise Unit, Intermix, Synasthaesia, and Conjure One.
Masterpiece. It came out in the summer of '95, it was a completely new influence, bands like White Zombie, Ministry, NIN didn't sound like that either, we listened to it day and night. The funny thing is that nothing in its league has surpassed this record, which is almost 30 years old.
YES! One of my all time favourite albums. When I bought the CD in 1995 it literally felt like it came from the future. And it's easy to see why; the production sounds so modern and fresh still after almost 30 years.
Haven’t clicked on a video this quick in ages, just seeing the album cover in the thumbnail, thank you! Love how despite being made in ‘95 it still feels like a futuristic terminator-esque apocalyptic world. The band in general is like a nice bridge between Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth & Ministry/Front Line Assembly/Godflesh/KMFDM - if you want a madder version of this try “City” by Strapping Young Lad (like if Dillinger & Fear Factory had a baby) :)
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you were looking forward to some Fear Factory on the channel, I'm so glad I finally got to this album. I can definitely hear that classic metal/industrial crossover you mentioned, they bridge the two styles so well. I'll definitely have to get to Strapping Young Lad in the future too, I'd love to hear them. Fear Factory + Dillinger sounds like the perfect combination!
Oh god, Front Line Assembly and KMFDM mentioned! Caustic Grip from 1990 is my favourite album of FLA, I wish Molly will listen it too! And when it comes to KMFDM, I like all of their early albums, such great "ultra heavy beat" of the 90's!
@@discasting the best KMFDM albums for me are NÄIVE, NIHIL & XTORT. The 90s stuff in general is some of the most fun & addictive stuff in industrial Caustic Grip is flippin’ great as well, also partial to Hard-Wired & Implode :)
This album pioneered the blending of clean melodic choruses with harsh verses singing style. Heavily influential on basically every band that came after it.
Fear Factory emerged from L.A. in the late 80's just as death metal began trending in the indie scene... Dino Cazares (guitar) enlisted his then-roommate Burton C. Bell (vocals) and Raymond Herrera (drums) ... They worked w/ producer Ross Robinson to record the 'Concrete' album in 1990 but it wasn't released until 2002 because of a contract dispute. Most of the songs on 'Concrete' were used for what became Fear Factory's 1992 debut album 'Soul of a new machine'... Dino and Burton wanted to add more electronic elements for an industrial rock feel w/ their brutal delivery ... Burton added melodic singing to his brutal vocals and the album became a moderate success... Dino Cazares played bass on the record and he would do the same on their 2nd album. For 2nd album 'Demanufacture' in 1995, Fear Factory enlisted industrial producer Rhys Fulber to enhance the album's futuristic sound and it was a huge improvement from 'Soul of a new machine'... Burton C. Bell wrote the album as a sequel about A.I. machines taking over the human race... Fear Factory's entire lyrical concept was 'man v. machine'... 'organism v. technology'... Dino also refrained from playing guitar solos because of the 90's trends. Christian Olde Wolbers (bass) did the tour and joined Fear Factory as 'Demanufacture' sold close to a half million copies in the US alone. Fear Factory concluded the trilogy concept w/ their 3rd album 'Obsolete' in 1998... the album sold gold (half million copies) in the US w/ a non-album single becoming an unexpected success - a cover of Gary Numan's "Cars" (which also featured Gary Numan) The album explored a world where even the humans have become mechanized and all that remains is the lone figure of resistance for humanity. Their 4th album 'Digimortal' in 2001 was a bit commercial, exploring the concept of downloading a living person's memories into technology and becoming immortal ... However, Burton C. Bell was starting to split w/ guitarist Dino Cazares and quit Fear Factory in 2002. That was the end of the classic Fear Factory of Bell/ Cazares/ Herrera/ Wolbers. In 2004, Burton C. Bell agreed to rejoin Fear Factory without Dino Cazares... Christian Olde Wolbers switched to guitar and Raymond Herrera (drums) and Byron Stroud (bass) recorded and released 'Archetype'... which was a return to the aggressive sound. But after the 2005 album 'Transgression'... which was a bit commercial once again, Burton C. Bell was frustrated w/ Christian Wolber's wife involved in the band's business... He walked out again and decided to reconcile w/ Dino Cazares. Burton and Dino joined forces for another Fear Factory album 'Mechanize' in 2010 w/ Gene Hoglan on drums and Byron Stroud on bass... However, the decision to record their 2012 album 'The Industrialist' w/ a drum machine led to the band splitting w/ Hoglan and Stroud. Fear Factory completed and released the album 'Genexus' in 2015 w/ Mike Heller (drums) and toured into 2016. Their last album recorded w/ vocalist Burton C. Bell was 'Aggression continuum' in 2017... However, a lawsuit filed by Raymond Herrera and Christian Wolbers regarding the rights to the name Fear Factory delayed the release & resulted in Dino Cazares (guitar) retaining sole ownership of band name. A bitter Burton C. Bell announced in 2020 that he had quit Fear Factory... He announced that he would tour again w/ a solo band, as well as his other project Ascension of the Watchers. Dino released Fear Factory's 'Aggression continuum' in 2021 and also re-released 'The Industrialist' album w/ new drum tracks by Mike Heller... In 2023, Fear Factory announced new vocalist Milo Silvestro from Italy would be joining the band and touring w/ Dino Cazares (guitar) and Static-X's Tony Campos (bass)... Pete Webber (drums) also joined Fear Factory for the tour. Dino announced recently that he had begun writing a new Fear Factory album - their first w/ vocalist Milo Silvestro.
Thank you for all of the info!! It is much appreciated, they seem like a very interesting band to dive into. I'm really intrigued now to hear Soul of a New Machine and Obsolete to hear the full trilogy concept they were going for.
I remember when this album came out. It blew me and my friends' minds. Between the period of this album and it's follow up "Obsolete" they were THE metal band to us. I remember a few short years later we found out they were performing at Ozzfest and we all went as a group. They were on the second stage, which was this smaller outside area with literally trees everywhere like we were out in the woods. We were in the front row literally inches away from them for the first few songs. Then we moved back a bit to go into the pit. One of my friends broke his hand when he fell and some dude couldn't stop himself and accidently stomped on it. His fingers were bent backwards. He saw a medic who straightened them, wrapped it up, put his arm in a sling, and gave him some painkillers. Then we went back to catch the end of their set, because that wasn't going to stop him. Good times.
Wow... that is a crazy story! I feel bad for your friend who got his hand hurt but that's so cool you got to see them live, and that close to the stage too! Must've been an amazing show.
@@mollyesanborn It was. I've seen them again a few times since as well. Saw them on the 20th anniversary of this album where they performed the whole thing from start to finish.
My bad for not being around for these vids lately. Been a bit down lately. But I do have a story about this band. August 20th 1995, I was 16 years old at the time. I was headed to see my favorite band Megadeth. Had no idea who was opening for them either. Meet Dave Mustang at the back of the club before the show. Got lucky there were only a few people around. He put his arm around me and said "I am a fan of the music just like you are. I am no different." He had a decent buzz already but I knew he was trying to convey that he wasnt a metal god like we thought he was. He was super humble. Anyway went in and within a few minutes a band I had never heard of called Fear Factory took the stage. This was only a few months after Demanufacture album released. My jaw was on the floor the whole time. Never heard anything like it. It was f@kin incredible! Then a band I had only heard 1 song from took to the stage. Korn. My life was changed on that day. What Fear Factory and Korn did for me on that stage made the rest of the show (remember Megadeth was my fav band at the time) almost boring. Flotsam and Jetsam were the 3rd band and then Megadeth was headlining. I bought the Korn album and Demanufacture by FF and all I wanted to do for the rest of the show was go home and listen to these on repeat. Was an incredible day for me at such a young age.
Finding this video was the algorithm being awesome! I was about 16/17 when I bought Demanufacture on cassette and it was such a game changer, it totally blew my mind. I was big into black metal, and I still am, but this album showed me that bands could summon forth a different kind of atmosphere to their music. Interesting fact for you, Pisschrist was actually a very early track, but the early demo era is nothing like the Demanufacture version. Anyway, absolutely top notch video and I love the way you do things and describe what you're hearing, you have a new subscriber! 😊 (Btw, I still have the cassette and it probably still plays fine)
Glad you reviewed this amazing album! Soul of a New Machine is heavier album. But yeah they found something unique combining heavy vocals with melodic vocals. Burton C. Bell does them both
Fear Factory have made some absolutely incredible albums. The whole run from Demanufacture to Digimortal is full of killer songs, and Mechanize is a brilliant album from front to back as well. It's such a shame that the band can't stay away from drama, to the point where Dino Cazares is the only original member left and even he hasn't played on every release.
Mid 90's metal was an exciting time cause there were only a few bands doing something unique while combining genres... Fear Factory - Demanufacture (1995) Type O Negative - October Rust (1995) Sepultura - Roots (1996) KMFDM - Nihil (1996)
very perfect description of her finding elements of Pantera, Type O’ Negative , Depeche Mode in this album. this album blew me away back in 94, this and Burn My Eyes.
I have always loved Fear Factory. So happy to see that you're checking them out. I agree with the other comments that you should listen to their album Obsolete. It was their first album I purchased.
This album, obsolete and digimortal were all produced by Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly, if you listen to them you will find a lot of the elements you noticed. Love your reactions.
@@mollyesanborn Front Line Assembly are far reaching as influential, specifically sought out by the band for the electronic elements (there’s no keyboardist in FF), & they’ve always been my favorite band. A good place to start with them would be Millennium.
@@mollyesanborn I think Millennium and Hard Wired are more accessible, but I think Gashed senses & Crossfire, and Caustic Grip are better albums. They are harder for people because its pure programming with no guitars.
On the Special Edition of Demanufacture, there are several remixed versions of album tracks added as well as 4 original songs that arent on other releases :] Those being "Concreto" "Your Mistake" "Resistancia!" & "Manic Cure"
I didn't take much notice of this album when it came out but in late 1995 a friend sent me a mix tape (for the younger people here it's a primitive version of sharing a playlist 😀) and the last song on it was 'Self Bias Resistor'. I had the tape playing in my room as I was on my bed studying for an upcoming Economics exam. I wasn't paying it much attention. Self Bias Resistor came on. Again, I wasn't paying it much attention. And then that clean chorus hit! Holy shit! I jumped off the bed and just played that song on repeat. I eventually got the Demanufacture album and saw them on that tour in 1996. To this day it remains one of my favourite albums.
Awesome review! 🤘🏻 Idk if anyone has mentioned this but I read that Terminator inspired this album, some songs actually use Terminator samples like in H-K (Hunter Killer) and Zero signal instrumental was used in the game carmageddon. I also like how you compared Burtons vocals to Type o negative cause that's how I actually thought of it when i heard them, the remaster version has a bit more songs. Anyways awesome review Molly! 🤘🏻
1st time watching this channel. Amazing reaction to such a great album. You really picked all those influences and you gave me a unique perspective of FF and this album.
Thanks for watching, and I'm glad you've discovered the channel! Yeah this album was an amazing listen, I love Fear Factory's musical style and I'll definitely plan on doing more reactions to them in the future.
Fear Factory has been one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time since first hearing their debut album in 1992. Ive also had the pleasure of meeting several of the band members over the years. The perfect blend of Man vs. Machine.
I am so jealous of you hearing this for the first time. This was everything to me being a teenager and a guitarist, later bassist struggling to follow THAT tone. You mentioned Static-X so I must suggest their cover of "Burning Inside" by Ministry featuring Burton C. Bell sharing vocals.
1995 was some crazy year for metal and hard rock albums. i remember so many concerts that year and colorful characters. met a dude who embroidered his jean jacket with squirrel skulls because he was so metal.
Fear factory was a great choice for a listen. Had a buddy who was obsessed with them as kid, and I completely understood once I heard em the first time. Would love to see you do a Sevendust video. Curious to see your reaction to lajon Witherspoon's vocals.
Yay, I am very happy to hear you covering a Fear Factory album! I first heard of the band because of Replica, it was the theme song for former ECW wrestler Jerry Lynn, so I bought Obsolete, and I was hooked! Thanks for this video, and like some others have said, please check out Obsolete, even if it is the ten track original version, if you liked this album, you'll like that one, too!
Another awesome album choice. Love this album. I saw them live last year with Static-X (would love to see you react to their album Machine). Fear Factory is a great band. I’d say do their next album Obsolete next. Some of my favorites off Demanufacture are the title track, Self Bias Resistor, Replica, and HK.
This is the record that had me want to see a band live for the first time. their european tour was JUST over so i went to see them next tour for their album OBSOLETE. Since then i have been to probably over a thousand concerts.
Still one of my favorite records of all time. Many mornings awoken to this 'cyber metal' masterpiece. It make take longer than it should, but this album is going to be known with great importance in heavy music history eventually.
@@mokuscsik Among FF fans, yeah. Ask your common metal fan about the elements FF has, without mentioning the name, ask which band started it and you probably won't get the answer 'FF'
Been a fear factory fan since 1999. I know they have been through a lot of line up changes and personal stuff, but I just love the concepts and the hooks in their songs. THE MACHINE LIVES ON!
Molly thank you so much for listening to our request on this one. Love your take on Zero Signal, I've had it as one of my email address aliases for over 25 years. There’s a lot of fun facts I could throw in here but I’ll just say this, Rhys Fulber….
Fear Factory is a band that many of their song hits really hard. The lyrics are existencial or sad , or heavy. Is amazing all the feelings this band can produce. Great reaction!!
Hey Molly, it's funny how you cover my favourite albums of the 90s, first Meantime and now Demanufacture. 🙂 Great reaction as always! I bought a copy of Demanufacture "blindly" in 1995. I used to listen to industrial back then (the name Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly, who is featured on Demanufacture, convinced me to give it a shot) but didn't expect a full-blown metal album, lol. The industrial/techno influences become apparent in the remix album "Remanufacture".
Demanufacture is a classic, excellent choice 👌. Fear Factory had their ups and downs over the years but they were one of the best live bands I've ever seen or heard. I got to see them at the Hammerstein in 2001 touring the Digimortal release and they absolutely crushed it. Bell was the real deal live as was Raymond Herrera, maybe the craziest live double pedal drummer I've heard. Awesome selection, hope you do more 🤘
Fear Factory has been criminally underrated. It was among the first with a technologically brutal style, but without oversaturation in the sound. ( Polished as you say) Their cristal clear metal sound and superb lyrics will always be part of my life. Demanufacture and Obsolete are masterpieces, Genexus is near. FF were visionaries, and the metal scene OWE a HUGE DEBT to them. Thanx for the video and keep the Good work !!!!
cool reaction Molly. I saw these guys in the early 90s for their 'Soul of a New Machine' album with Flotsam and Jetsam (if I remember right). Very intense, more grind / death and less industrial elements, but they are still there.
Great reaction Molly, Demanufacture is an incredible album, it is considered one of the 50 best metal albums in history, it is also very influential for metal in the 90s and is cult to this day.
This is one of my fav metal albums. I always enjoyed 80's music. Really atmospheric and soaring vocals with bands like Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode and even U2. Their singer Burton and the band really captures this influence and using it as a switch up on alot of their songs which is just a crazy joint of Industrial and every type of metal imagineable. I am glad you did this and enjoyed it thank you. Their lyrics and music always paint a picture of a dystopian, steampunk esque future where machine kills man. I get images of Judge Dredd, Blade Runner, the Matrix, Eraserhead, Fifth Element and so many other Sci-Fi films....ans you are right its very cinematic indeed. If you want to try something different yet extreme I have two contrasting examples. 1. Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics(Although Witch Cult Today is a more sensible choice for first timers) 2. Nails - Unsilent Death
Love these guys, big part of my childhood in the 90s. I was thinking about your channel the other day while listening to an album i NEVER see music channels talk about and that's Sink by a band called Floater. So underrated, i hope you give it a listen someday
oooosh shes getting through the good stuff! My school days! 90s was a great year for metal. Fear Factory, Machine head - Burn My Eyes, Pantera, Sepultura, NiN, Ministry, Type-O so many!!
Fear Factory is the first, if not one of the first bands to mixed heavy vocals with clean vocals. I discovered them in high school, and they were integral to my journey into metal music. This album, Obsolete, and Digimortal were in heavy rotation, and led me to other bands influenced by them. "Terminator" is a big influence on this album and a lot of their stuff, "H-K (Hunter-Killer) is one of the machines from the "Terminator" movies. "Dog Day Sunrise" is a cover song by a band called Head of David, by the way.
A handful of European doom/gothic bands were already mixing harsh and clean in the early 90's (esp. thinking of Tristitia, My Dying Bride, maybe early Paradise Lost), but FF with the power of Roadrunner Records behind them definitely brought this into the metal mainstream.
Man this album was all I listened to when I was a teenager. This, their next album Obsolete (my personal favourite) and any album from Machine Head. Thanks for the reaction, it was great how you broke the songs down and always appreciate the open mind you keep in all sorts of different genres and sounds. Keep it up!
This album helped siphon out so much teenage angst back in the day. I really love FF. After so many years of heavy listening a lot of their music started to sound formulaic. This may sound like a criticism; but I think it's part of their industrial shtick. Afterall, a factory is known for pumping out exact replicas with rapidity, and there are enough blast-beats coming down this conveyor belt to fill a warehouse! New subscriber!
You did it! I'm glad you liked the album. Good review. And as a lot of people have said, Obsolete is great. It's definitely my favorite by Fear Factory. I think you'll like it, too.
I love this album. First exposure to it was the Mortal Kombat movie all the way back in 1995. They played the song Zero Signal during the Johnny Cage vs Scorpion fight. Definitely one of the best industrial metal albums ever to come out! Wondering if we’ll be getting a return to Ghost soon? They’re the talk of the town right now as they just released their first concert film (which is excellent btw). Definitely recommend going through their discography in chronological order to see how that band has evolved (Infestissumam would be next since you’ve already heard Opus Eponymous). Keep up the great content 😎!
This is the first metal band to mix harsh and cleans vocals. They never really got as big as they should have because of various reasons, but they influenced the Metal scene for decades after. Arguably one of the most important bands in Metal history.
My friends and I loved this when it came out when we were in high school. Glad you enjoyed it. Would love to see you get into Sybreed another amazing "cybermetal" band with crushing guitars, killer vocals and synths. They have disbanded but all of their albums are fantastic
16:08 It was 1997☝🏽I first heard the song Hunter Killer on a Phillips Matchline TV Advert. I didn’t have Shazam to immediately identify a song back then. But the following week I read a letter in an issue of Kerrang! Magazine proclaiming FEAR FACTORY had sold out 😮 Immediately went out & bought Demanufacture & have been listening to FearFactory ever since. This video made me feel like the first time allover again - Thank you Molly 🙏
That's so awesome, thanks for sharing! This is indeed an absolutely killer album, such a great introduction to Fear Factory's music. I'm glad that you enjoyed the reaction! :)
Great selection to these days, i enjoyed a lot your comments, so great to see you surprised with this metal style, to a lot of us it was. My dream metal was techno-metal, fear factory did it brutally... like this i recommend you strapping young lad - heavy as a really heavy thing and white zombie - astro creep 2000
It's funny to hear that Zero Signal reminds you of a videogame because it was in the soundtrack of the movie ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) based on the famous videogame. It plays during the fight between Scorpion and Johnny Cage. It's the first time I listened to FF when I watched the movie.
hey molly. fave album of all time. glad you found it. didn't see this mentioned. alot of fear factorys albums tell a story. atleast the earlier stuff. from demanufatcures down fall of a government/police state etc. to obsolete's terminator esque rise of the machines. MAN IS OBSOLOETE. fantastic metal opera's. Truely a unique band.
I'm loving your channel - Fear Factory, Mr. Bungle... I strongly recommend the Spawn movie soundtrack. Every track on that album is a collaboration, it's very unique! I genuinely believe you'd love it. ❤
This was a big one for me in my early 20s - so may metal clubs went crazy when FF dropped back then! You're right about the film being soundtrack-like - lots of the samples are lifted from The Terminator as per the theme of the album. I really love how close to shoegaze FF get while still being bone-crushingly heavy. So much texture and absolutely incredible live.
Funny timing. Just yesterday Dino (guitarist) said that a new album is in the works. Supposedly we'll be getting a song at the end of the year. It will be their first without Burton as vocalist (he left in 2020 though his vocals are on their most recent album from 2021).
Glad you enjoyed Fear Factory, look forward to your reaction to Soul Of A New Machine, my personal favorite. Also they are working on a new album, excited to hear that one.
Molly, thanks for these reactions, it's like reliving the first listening all over again. :) I would recommend the band Strapping Young Lad and the album City, it sounds like a combination of Fear Factory and Ministry but even more intense! Devin Townsend is the mastermind behind this and his solo work is also amazing, Ocean Machine album would be a good starting point. As for Fear Factory, Obsolete is next album you should review. Cheers!
Aww thanks, glad you're enjoying the videos! I will definitely keep Strapping Young Lad and Devin Townsend in mind, I've got them on my list. And I will try and get to Obsolete very soon... can't wait to hear it!
Thanks for another reminder of another great band that I had largely forgotten about! Really looking forward to Obsolete whenever you get around to it. And if they haven't been suggested yet, I'd *highly* recommend Strapping Young Lad. Similar to FF, and Devin Townsend is quite the songsmith.
My absolute favourite Fear Factory album (honestly don't care for much of the newer stuff though despite them being one of my fave bands)! As others have mentioned, it's one vocalist, Burton C. Bell. He always sounded awesome on track however as much as I love FF, I have to admit he can be patchy playing live, I've seen him pitch-perfect live and so-so other times. One thing that always strikes me with older FF albums is how the drums and rhythm guitar are in sync & the main focal point as opposed to guitar & bass. The bass is almost an afterthought as they didn't always have a solid bass player before Christian Olde Wolbers joined, Dino Cazares used to record guitar & bass tracks, although Christian did join FF around this time & can be seen in the music vid for 'Replica', not sure if he recorded the bass tracks for the album though. Love that you picked up on the "Sci-fi thriller" vibes as you call them, early FF tracks do give some nods to the Terminator series. The song HK (Hunter Killer) for example, the Hunter Killer is a terminator drone like machine This album contains one of my fave misheard lyrics as well in Zero Signal (one of my all time fave FF songs) - Burton hauntingly singing " I am so alone" repeatedly, but it sounds like he is signing "I am Han Solo" instead.
This Album and Its Cinematic Atmosphere Creates This Absolute Masterpiece of A Headbanger that Gets You In The Groove And hits You In The Face The Entire Time!
So exciting to see you review this one. Obsolete is one of my favourite albums of all time and well worth checking out. Metal purists tend to favour Demanufacture but Obsolete upped the atmosphere and the foreboding qualities which made me enamoured with them. The following 3 albums after that are a mixed bag (you could probably make a really good playlist from them) but after that they had two really good albums again and then dropped off again. Real rollercoaster of a band but they played a huge influence on lots of nu-metal and metal core bands to come.
Fear Factory. Did not expect this one from you.
And yes, Obsolete is BEAUTIFUL
Yeah I've been wanting to check out Fear Factory for a very long time now, I'm glad I've finally taken the jump into their music. Great band, I love their sound and look forward to hearing more of their albums :)
I love Obsolete !!
@@mollyesanborn if you are brave enough, try their EP called Gabber Mixes :) also, the controversial album, Concrete
Obsolete was my jam in high school in the late 90’s. I loved how they could combine the heaviness with a somewhat mainstream feel/appeal.
@@mollyesanborn There's a remix album called Remanufacture that really ramps up the electro, techno even gabba elements and it is fantastic
Both the harsh and the clean vocals are done by the one incredible front man, Burton C. Bell.
Legend has it, in the early days of the band (back when their genre was full blown brutal death metal with industrial elements), the other band members heard Burton singing in the shower one day, and were very intrigued by how haunting his voice was. They then suggested to him that they try incorporating those vocals into their sound. A very revolutionary and brave decision in the early 90's for a death metal band!
Great reaction, Molly! 🙂
His voice is incredible! Such range, and yeah I love that haunted quality to his tone. It really suits this style of music.
I think Dino heard Burt sing a U2 song with that voice and tripped out.
@konowd You may be right. The fact that there's a cover of I Will Follow on Transgression seems to add weight to that possibility. Awesome cover, by the way.
Fear Factory had more range than a lot of heavy stuff at the time, they listened to a wide variety of music and it made a good stew when it all came together
A lot of the cleans on Concrete/Soul of a New Machine are directly Godflesh influenced.
We did some tracking for this album at our studio in London (Whitfield Street Recording). We didn't get too many metal bands coming in so I was a happy boy. WOOOAAARGH!
I love Fear Factory yo you gotta listen to Obsolete next
Absolutely! I am looking forward to hearing it :)
Obsolete was my Doom soundtrack 20 years before the new Doom soundtrack
100%
FACT
@@mollyesanborn Personally I recommend to listen to the normal album version of "Obsolete", I mean without the bonus tracks, "Obsolete" has 10 tracks and its good that way.
You are so intelligent about music. Its great hearing you talk about it and giving these bands exposure.
Thank you so much, I appreciate the kind words! These bands that I've been discovering are amazing and they definitely deserve all the exposure that they can get.
@@mollyesanborn
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@@mollyesanborn
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I jumped in my seat seeing this! Its a masterpiece
Yes this album is so intense! I loved every second, just jam packed with energy 🔥
I am 3 tracks into this album, and I am wondering why haven't I listened to this band sooner? I will be listening to this album more often now.
Fun fact Zero Signal is the song used as Scorpion's theme from the 90s Mortal Kombat movie
That's cool, I had no idea! There is such a cinematic quality to this whole album, I'm not surprised a song from it is featured in a movie.
And demanufacture was the main song from the original carmegaddon game
GET OVER HERE!!!!
That scene and song got me into metal
@@adventurethis same. As a 7 year old hearing this song I was in the hunt for the heaviest shit possible. When my classmates were into kid rock I was going into machine head , slayer, napalm death
I'VE GOT NO MORE GODDAMN REGRETS! I'VE GOT NO MORE GODDAMN RESPECT!
This is the music I was listening to back in school yet I was the outcast.
Fear Factory were one of the most unique metal bands of their time. On their first album Soul of a New Machine they managed to combine death metal/grindcore with heavily influenced by Godflesh and Ministry industrial sound. And even so they had their own unique thing with this amazing clean vocals. At the time of 1992 it was absolutely mind-blowing to hear clean vocals in death metal along with the usual screams/growls. Many orthodox metal fans were simply baffled by this. And then Demanufacture comes out next, where the band just takes a leap into the stratosphere, creating a true industrial metal masterpiece.
After Demanufacture they also released remix album called Remanufacture where the band's going full-on with industrial and electronic stuff. Again, at the time releasing a remix album being a metal band was such a badass move which once again proves the Fear Factory greatness to experiment and develop their music.
I'd LOVE to check out Soul of a New Machine at some point too and hear their really early stuff. And thanks for letting me know about Remanufacture, I wasn't aware there was a remix version of this album. That'd be fun to hear!
When I was a in my late teens in the late 90's I listened both Demanufacture and the remix album Remanufacture and because I liked the latter more I realized something new about my musical preferences. Remanufacture was the album that made me to delve into much more electronic music (although dark and heavy sounding), such as Front Line Assembly. And Rhys Fulber, one of the members of Front Line Assembly was involved with Remanufacture. Which is insane album if you think it was released by Roadrunner Records and it has even a rave remix of H-K!
They have a remix of Soul also.
Fear Is The Mindkiller.
I have suggest. Don`t listen what people say.
Go Your own way, path. Digimortal era was their best. What was after.... 😥Concrete was first before SOANM. There are some bands like SybreeD, Mechina, Digimortal maybe all have influences. Industrial metal music is weird and heavy. Vocalist of SybreeD band left too.
If you like the remixes, their Keyboardist/Producer that did most of the remixes is Rhys Fulber that has been half of the Industrial pioneers Front Line Assembly since 1986, and also made music under the names: Delirium, Noise Unit, Intermix, Synasthaesia, and Conjure One.
My first actual metal album. Still holds up great. Nice to see you delve into it. Its atmosphere is so haunting with all these sound effects.
Masterpiece. It came out in the summer of '95, it was a completely new influence, bands like White Zombie, Ministry, NIN didn't sound like that either, we listened to it day and night. The funny thing is that nothing in its league has surpassed this record, which is almost 30 years old.
In my eyes Fear Factory are pioneers in of so many sounds.. Electronic tones, melodic vocals etc. definitely made high school great.
YES! One of my all time favourite albums. When I bought the CD in 1995 it literally felt like it came from the future. And it's easy to see why; the production sounds so modern and fresh still after almost 30 years.
Yes the production is very well done! I love that cinematic quality that this album has to its tone.
Haven’t clicked on a video this quick in ages, just seeing the album cover in the thumbnail, thank you! Love how despite being made in ‘95 it still feels like a futuristic terminator-esque apocalyptic world. The band in general is like a nice bridge between Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth & Ministry/Front Line Assembly/Godflesh/KMFDM - if you want a madder version of this try “City” by Strapping Young Lad (like if Dillinger & Fear Factory had a baby) :)
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you were looking forward to some Fear Factory on the channel, I'm so glad I finally got to this album. I can definitely hear that classic metal/industrial crossover you mentioned, they bridge the two styles so well. I'll definitely have to get to Strapping Young Lad in the future too, I'd love to hear them. Fear Factory + Dillinger sounds like the perfect combination!
Oh god, Front Line Assembly and KMFDM mentioned! Caustic Grip from 1990 is my favourite album of FLA, I wish Molly will listen it too! And when it comes to KMFDM, I like all of their early albums, such great "ultra heavy beat" of the 90's!
@@discasting the best KMFDM albums for me are NÄIVE, NIHIL & XTORT. The 90s stuff in general is some of the most fun & addictive stuff in industrial
Caustic Grip is flippin’ great as well, also partial to Hard-Wired & Implode :)
This album pioneered the blending of clean melodic choruses with harsh verses singing style. Heavily influential on basically every band that came after it.
Fear Factory emerged from L.A. in the late 80's just as death metal began trending in the indie scene... Dino Cazares (guitar) enlisted his then-roommate Burton C. Bell (vocals) and Raymond Herrera (drums) ... They worked w/ producer Ross Robinson to record the 'Concrete' album in 1990 but it wasn't released until 2002 because of a contract dispute.
Most of the songs on 'Concrete' were used for what became Fear Factory's 1992 debut album 'Soul of a new machine'... Dino and Burton wanted to add more electronic elements for an industrial rock feel w/ their brutal delivery ... Burton added melodic singing to his brutal vocals and the album became a moderate success... Dino Cazares played bass on the record and he would do the same on their 2nd album.
For 2nd album 'Demanufacture' in 1995, Fear Factory enlisted industrial producer Rhys Fulber to enhance the album's futuristic sound and it was a huge improvement from 'Soul of a new machine'... Burton C. Bell wrote the album as a sequel about A.I. machines taking over the human race... Fear Factory's entire lyrical concept was 'man v. machine'... 'organism v. technology'... Dino also refrained from playing guitar solos because of the 90's trends.
Christian Olde Wolbers (bass) did the tour and joined Fear Factory as 'Demanufacture' sold close to a half million copies in the US alone.
Fear Factory concluded the trilogy concept w/ their 3rd album 'Obsolete' in 1998... the album sold gold (half million copies) in the US w/ a non-album single becoming an unexpected success - a cover of Gary Numan's "Cars" (which also featured Gary Numan) The album explored a world where even the humans have become mechanized and all that remains is the lone figure of resistance for humanity.
Their 4th album 'Digimortal' in 2001 was a bit commercial, exploring the concept of downloading a living person's memories into technology and becoming immortal ... However, Burton C. Bell was starting to split w/ guitarist Dino Cazares and quit Fear Factory in 2002. That was the end of the classic Fear Factory of Bell/ Cazares/ Herrera/ Wolbers.
In 2004, Burton C. Bell agreed to rejoin Fear Factory without Dino Cazares... Christian Olde Wolbers switched to guitar and Raymond Herrera (drums) and Byron Stroud (bass) recorded and released 'Archetype'... which was a return to the aggressive sound.
But after the 2005 album 'Transgression'... which was a bit commercial once again, Burton C. Bell was frustrated w/ Christian Wolber's wife involved in the band's business... He walked out again and decided to reconcile w/ Dino Cazares.
Burton and Dino joined forces for another Fear Factory album 'Mechanize' in 2010 w/ Gene Hoglan on drums and Byron Stroud on bass... However, the decision to record their 2012 album 'The Industrialist' w/ a drum machine led to the band splitting w/ Hoglan and Stroud.
Fear Factory completed and released the album 'Genexus' in 2015 w/ Mike Heller (drums) and toured into 2016. Their last album recorded w/ vocalist Burton C. Bell was 'Aggression continuum' in 2017... However, a lawsuit filed by Raymond Herrera and Christian Wolbers regarding the rights to the name Fear Factory delayed the release & resulted in Dino Cazares (guitar) retaining sole ownership of band name.
A bitter Burton C. Bell announced in 2020 that he had quit Fear Factory... He announced that he would tour again w/ a solo band, as well as his other project Ascension of the Watchers.
Dino released Fear Factory's 'Aggression continuum' in 2021 and also re-released 'The Industrialist' album w/ new drum tracks by Mike Heller... In 2023, Fear Factory announced new vocalist Milo Silvestro from Italy would be joining the band and touring w/ Dino Cazares (guitar) and Static-X's Tony Campos (bass)... Pete Webber (drums) also joined Fear Factory for the tour.
Dino announced recently that he had begun writing a new Fear Factory album - their first w/ vocalist Milo Silvestro.
Thank you for all of the info!! It is much appreciated, they seem like a very interesting band to dive into. I'm really intrigued now to hear Soul of a New Machine and Obsolete to hear the full trilogy concept they were going for.
Who replaces Gene Hoglan with a drum machine?!
@@petertapola8097 That's why they're NOT the best metal band ever. But they had potential.
Fear Factory definitely paved the way for the 90s industrial metal scene
Dog Day Sunrise sounds different, because it's actually a cover of Head of David.
Ahhh I didn't know it was a cover! Thanks for letting me know.
@@mollyesanbornHead of David is one of Justin Broadrick’s bands (aside from GODFLESH he’s been in many groups)
A Head Of David Track that was co-written by Justin K. Broadrick that left Head Of David to form Godflesh, whom directly inspired Fear Factory.
Love it when you are digging it, your "riff face" rules. Only reaction channel I like!!
I love hearing your opinions Molly. You are very open minded and insightful
Thanks so much! I appreciate that and am glad you're enjoying the videos :)
This album was way ahead of its time!! True Pioneers!!
And it still holds up today
I’m so hype that ur doing Fear Factory, they’re my fave band ever.
I remember when this album came out. It blew me and my friends' minds. Between the period of this album and it's follow up "Obsolete" they were THE metal band to us. I remember a few short years later we found out they were performing at Ozzfest and we all went as a group. They were on the second stage, which was this smaller outside area with literally trees everywhere like we were out in the woods.
We were in the front row literally inches away from them for the first few songs. Then we moved back a bit to go into the pit. One of my friends broke his hand when he fell and some dude couldn't stop himself and accidently stomped on it. His fingers were bent backwards. He saw a medic who straightened them, wrapped it up, put his arm in a sling, and gave him some painkillers. Then we went back to catch the end of their set, because that wasn't going to stop him.
Good times.
Wow... that is a crazy story! I feel bad for your friend who got his hand hurt but that's so cool you got to see them live, and that close to the stage too! Must've been an amazing show.
@@mollyesanborn It was. I've seen them again a few times since as well. Saw them on the 20th anniversary of this album where they performed the whole thing from start to finish.
My bad for not being around for these vids lately. Been a bit down lately. But I do have a story about this band. August 20th 1995, I was 16 years old at the time. I was headed to see my favorite band Megadeth. Had no idea who was opening for them either. Meet Dave Mustang at the back of the club before the show. Got lucky there were only a few people around. He put his arm around me and said "I am a fan of the music just like you are. I am no different." He had a decent buzz already but I knew he was trying to convey that he wasnt a metal god like we thought he was. He was super humble. Anyway went in and within a few minutes a band I had never heard of called Fear Factory took the stage. This was only a few months after Demanufacture album released. My jaw was on the floor the whole time. Never heard anything like it. It was f@kin incredible! Then a band I had only heard 1 song from took to the stage. Korn. My life was changed on that day. What Fear Factory and Korn did for me on that stage made the rest of the show (remember Megadeth was my fav band at the time) almost boring. Flotsam and Jetsam were the 3rd band and then Megadeth was headlining. I bought the Korn album and Demanufacture by FF and all I wanted to do for the rest of the show was go home and listen to these on repeat. Was an incredible day for me at such a young age.
Finding this video was the algorithm being awesome! I was about 16/17 when I bought Demanufacture on cassette and it was such a game changer, it totally blew my mind. I was big into black metal, and I still am, but this album showed me that bands could summon forth a different kind of atmosphere to their music.
Interesting fact for you, Pisschrist was actually a very early track, but the early demo era is nothing like the Demanufacture version.
Anyway, absolutely top notch video and I love the way you do things and describe what you're hearing, you have a new subscriber! 😊
(Btw, I still have the cassette and it probably still plays fine)
Glad you reviewed this amazing album! Soul of a New Machine is heavier album. But yeah they found something unique combining heavy vocals with melodic vocals. Burton C. Bell does them both
Fear Factory have made some absolutely incredible albums. The whole run from Demanufacture to Digimortal is full of killer songs, and Mechanize is a brilliant album from front to back as well.
It's such a shame that the band can't stay away from drama, to the point where Dino Cazares is the only original member left and even he hasn't played on every release.
Mid 90's metal was an exciting time cause there were only a few bands doing something unique while combining genres...
Fear Factory - Demanufacture (1995)
Type O Negative - October Rust (1995)
Sepultura - Roots (1996)
KMFDM - Nihil (1996)
*Misery loves Co*
*PitchShifter*
*Monster Voodoo machine* also
very perfect description of her finding elements of Pantera, Type O’ Negative , Depeche Mode in this album. this album blew me away back in 94, this and Burn My Eyes.
I've definitely got to get to a Burn My Eyes reaction as well!
I have always loved Fear Factory. So happy to see that you're checking them out. I agree with the other comments that you should listen to their album Obsolete. It was their first album I purchased.
This album, obsolete and digimortal were all produced by Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly, if you listen to them you will find a lot of the elements you noticed.
Love your reactions.
Thanks for watching! I'll have to look into Front Line Assembly, thanks for the suggestion :)
@@mollyesanborn Front Line Assembly are far reaching as influential, specifically sought out by the band for the electronic elements (there’s no keyboardist in FF), & they’ve always been my favorite band. A good place to start with them would be Millennium.
@mollyesanborn definitely start with Millennium or Hard Wired by Front Line Assembly
@@mollyesanborn I think Millennium and Hard Wired are more accessible, but I think Gashed senses & Crossfire, and Caustic Grip are better albums. They are harder for people because its pure programming with no guitars.
What's the Front Line Assembly song with a Pantera sample?
On the Special Edition of Demanufacture, there are several remixed versions of album tracks added as well as 4 original songs that arent on other releases :]
Those being "Concreto" "Your Mistake" "Resistancia!" & "Manic Cure"
I had this album on casette, it's amazing.
Lovely to see you hear it for the first time.
Rhys Fulber on the production.
Great reaction. Can‘t wait for the album Archetype. That is the album I have listened to the most.
I didn't take much notice of this album when it came out but in late 1995 a friend sent me a mix tape (for the younger people here it's a primitive version of sharing a playlist 😀) and the last song on it was 'Self Bias Resistor'. I had the tape playing in my room as I was on my bed studying for an upcoming Economics exam. I wasn't paying it much attention. Self Bias Resistor came on. Again, I wasn't paying it much attention. And then that clean chorus hit! Holy shit! I jumped off the bed and just played that song on repeat. I eventually got the Demanufacture album and saw them on that tour in 1996. To this day it remains one of my favourite albums.
Hell yes I'm glad someone is reviewing this gold piece of music
Awesome review! 🤘🏻 Idk if anyone has mentioned this but I read that Terminator inspired this album, some songs actually use Terminator samples like in H-K (Hunter Killer) and Zero signal instrumental was used in the game carmageddon. I also like how you compared Burtons vocals to Type o negative cause that's how I actually thought of it when i heard them, the remaster version has a bit more songs. Anyways awesome review Molly! 🤘🏻
1st time watching this channel. Amazing reaction to such a great album. You really picked all those influences and you gave me a unique perspective of FF and this album.
Thanks for watching, and I'm glad you've discovered the channel! Yeah this album was an amazing listen, I love Fear Factory's musical style and I'll definitely plan on doing more reactions to them in the future.
Fear factory were so ahead of their time. One of my favourite albums ever. Seen them live many times. Great video 🙌
Fear Factory has been one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time since first hearing their debut album in 1992. Ive also had the pleasure of meeting several of the band members over the years. The perfect blend of Man vs. Machine.
I am so jealous of you hearing this for the first time. This was everything to me being a teenager and a guitarist, later bassist struggling to follow THAT tone. You mentioned Static-X so I must suggest their cover of "Burning Inside" by Ministry featuring Burton C. Bell sharing vocals.
You got my sub because of the way you articulate your listening experience into words. Great work 😊
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it, glad you're enjoying the videos :)
1995 was some crazy year for metal and hard rock albums. i remember so many concerts that year and colorful characters. met a dude who embroidered his jean jacket with squirrel skulls because he was so metal.
Zero Signal is probably my favorite FF song, but they have so many good songs. Love these guys
Fear factory was a great choice for a listen. Had a buddy who was obsessed with them as kid, and I completely understood once I heard em the first time.
Would love to see you do a Sevendust video. Curious to see your reaction to lajon Witherspoon's vocals.
Yay, I am very happy to hear you covering a Fear Factory album! I first heard of the band because of Replica, it was the theme song for former ECW wrestler Jerry Lynn, so I bought Obsolete, and I was hooked! Thanks for this video, and like some others have said, please check out Obsolete, even if it is the ten track original version, if you liked this album, you'll like that one, too!
Another awesome album choice. Love this album. I saw them live last year with Static-X (would love to see you react to their album Machine). Fear Factory is a great band. I’d say do their next album Obsolete next. Some of my favorites off Demanufacture are the title track, Self Bias Resistor, Replica, and HK.
This is the record that had me want to see a band live for the first time. their european tour was JUST over so i went to see them next tour for their album OBSOLETE. Since then i have been to probably over a thousand concerts.
I haven't listened to Fear Factory in SO LONG! Thank you for correcting that lol
Still one of my favorite records of all time. Many mornings awoken to this 'cyber metal' masterpiece. It make take longer than it should, but this album is going to be known with great importance in heavy music history eventually.
Yeah this record is great! Fear Factory achieved a very unique sound on this album, it blends so many elements together.
@@mollyesanborn yes and I was trying to find bands that sounded like them, but nobody never hit the right spot
I think it's already widely accepted as one the most influential metal albums of the 90s.
@@mokuscsik Among FF fans, yeah. Ask your common metal fan about the elements FF has, without mentioning the name, ask which band started it and you probably won't get the answer 'FF'
Been a fear factory fan since 1999. I know they have been through a lot of line up changes and personal stuff, but I just love the concepts and the hooks in their songs.
THE MACHINE LIVES ON!
Moin from North Germany. ITS nice to See you , find Music from my youth. Fear Factory Concerts was the most intense in my youth
Molly thank you so much for listening to our request on this one. Love your take on Zero Signal, I've had it as one of my email address aliases for over 25 years. There’s a lot of fun facts I could throw in here but I’ll just say this, Rhys Fulber….
Fear Factory is a band that many of their song hits really hard. The lyrics are existencial or sad , or heavy. Is amazing all the feelings this band can produce. Great reaction!!
Hi Molly! This is one of my favorite albums of all time.
ive never heard fear factory before, thank you for directly getting me into them through this video 😁
I hope you're still blasting all their music, they have an incredible catalogue of solid, awesome albums!
Hey Molly, it's funny how you cover my favourite albums of the 90s, first Meantime and now Demanufacture. 🙂 Great reaction as always! I bought a copy of Demanufacture "blindly" in 1995. I used to listen to industrial back then (the name Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly, who is featured on Demanufacture, convinced me to give it a shot) but didn't expect a full-blown metal album, lol. The industrial/techno influences become apparent in the remix album "Remanufacture".
Demanufacture is a classic, excellent choice 👌. Fear Factory had their ups and downs over the years but they were one of the best live bands I've ever seen or heard. I got to see them at the Hammerstein in 2001 touring the Digimortal release and they absolutely crushed it. Bell was the real deal live as was Raymond Herrera, maybe the craziest live double pedal drummer I've heard. Awesome selection, hope you do more 🤘
They were indeed a hell of a live band, saw them many times back in the day and they were great
I love your reactions - you're AWESOME!! ❤
Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying them :)
Fear Factory has been criminally underrated. It was among the first with a technologically brutal style, but without oversaturation in the sound. ( Polished as you say) Their cristal clear metal sound and superb lyrics will always be part of my life.
Demanufacture and Obsolete are masterpieces, Genexus is near.
FF were visionaries, and the metal scene OWE a HUGE DEBT to them. Thanx for the video and keep the Good work !!!!
Another awesome reaction. Love your commentary. Excellent imaginative descriptions
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the reaction :)
cool reaction Molly. I saw these guys in the early 90s for their 'Soul of a New Machine' album with Flotsam and Jetsam (if I remember right). Very intense, more grind / death and less industrial elements, but they are still there.
Great reaction Molly, Demanufacture is an incredible album, it is considered one of the 50 best metal albums in history, it is also very influential for metal in the 90s and is cult to this day.
This is one of my fav metal albums. I always enjoyed 80's music. Really atmospheric and soaring vocals with bands like Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode and even U2. Their singer Burton and the band really captures this influence and using it as a switch up on alot of their songs which is just a crazy joint of Industrial and every type of metal imagineable. I am glad you did this and enjoyed it thank you. Their lyrics and music always paint a picture of a dystopian, steampunk esque future where machine kills man. I get images of Judge Dredd, Blade Runner, the Matrix, Eraserhead, Fifth Element and so many other Sci-Fi films....ans you are right its very cinematic indeed.
If you want to try something different yet extreme I have two contrasting examples.
1. Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics(Although Witch Cult Today is a more sensible choice for first timers)
2. Nails - Unsilent Death
Love these guys, big part of my childhood in the 90s. I was thinking about your channel the other day while listening to an album i NEVER see music channels talk about and that's Sink by a band called Floater. So underrated, i hope you give it a listen someday
I thank God I grew up with the Mortal Kombat 1995 film. I wouldn't have known of Fear Factory without that
oooosh shes getting through the good stuff! My school days! 90s was a great year for metal. Fear Factory, Machine head - Burn My Eyes, Pantera, Sepultura, NiN, Ministry, Type-O so many!!
Fear Factory is the first, if not one of the first bands to mixed heavy vocals with clean vocals. I discovered them in high school, and they were integral to my journey into metal music. This album, Obsolete, and Digimortal were in heavy rotation, and led me to other bands influenced by them. "Terminator" is a big influence on this album and a lot of their stuff, "H-K (Hunter-Killer) is one of the machines from the "Terminator" movies. "Dog Day Sunrise" is a cover song by a band called Head of David, by the way.
A handful of European doom/gothic bands were already mixing harsh and clean in the early 90's (esp. thinking of Tristitia, My Dying Bride, maybe early Paradise Lost), but FF with the power of Roadrunner Records behind them definitely brought this into the metal mainstream.
Man this album was all I listened to when I was a teenager. This, their next album Obsolete (my personal favourite) and any album from Machine Head. Thanks for the reaction, it was great how you broke the songs down and always appreciate the open mind you keep in all sorts of different genres and sounds. Keep it up!
This album helped siphon out so much teenage angst back in the day. I really love FF. After so many years of heavy listening a lot of their music started to sound formulaic. This may sound like a criticism; but I think it's part of their industrial shtick. Afterall, a factory is known for pumping out exact replicas with rapidity, and there are enough blast-beats coming down this conveyor belt to fill a warehouse! New subscriber!
one of my all-time-favorites Albums...raymond herrera responsible for little 9 year old me starting playing drums^^ great memories
You did it! I'm glad you liked the album. Good review. And as a lot of people have said, Obsolete is great. It's definitely my favorite by Fear Factory. I think you'll like it, too.
I'm looking forward to hearing Obsolete!
I love this album. First exposure to it was the Mortal Kombat movie all the way back in 1995. They played the song Zero Signal during the Johnny Cage vs Scorpion fight. Definitely one of the best industrial metal albums ever to come out!
Wondering if we’ll be getting a return to Ghost soon? They’re the talk of the town right now as they just released their first concert film (which is excellent btw). Definitely recommend going through their discography in chronological order to see how that band has evolved (Infestissumam would be next since you’ve already heard Opus Eponymous).
Keep up the great content 😎!
Thanks for watching! I'll definitely keep more Ghost in mind :)
Finally :) so glad you got to this one
This is the first metal band to mix harsh and cleans vocals. They never really got as big as they should have because of various reasons, but they influenced the Metal scene for decades after. Arguably one of the most important bands in Metal history.
My friends and I loved this when it came out when we were in high school. Glad you enjoyed it. Would love to see you get into Sybreed another amazing "cybermetal" band with crushing guitars, killer vocals and synths. They have disbanded but all of their albums are fantastic
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to make sure that Sybreed is on my list!
16:08 It was 1997☝🏽I first heard the song Hunter Killer on a Phillips Matchline TV Advert.
I didn’t have Shazam to immediately identify a song back then. But the following week I read a letter in an issue of Kerrang! Magazine proclaiming FEAR FACTORY had sold out 😮 Immediately went out & bought Demanufacture & have been listening to FearFactory ever since.
This video made me feel like the first time allover again - Thank you Molly 🙏
That's so awesome, thanks for sharing! This is indeed an absolutely killer album, such a great introduction to Fear Factory's music. I'm glad that you enjoyed the reaction! :)
Great selection to these days, i enjoyed a lot your comments, so great to see you surprised with this metal style, to a lot of us it was. My dream metal was techno-metal, fear factory did it brutally... like this i recommend you strapping young lad - heavy as a really heavy thing and white zombie - astro creep 2000
Hi Molly, I enjoyed watching your vlog with my best friend. This album reminds us of the Rock and Metal style songs from 2000’s
It's funny to hear that Zero Signal reminds you of a videogame because it was in the soundtrack of the movie ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) based on the famous videogame. It plays during the fight between Scorpion and Johnny Cage. It's the first time I listened to FF when I watched the movie.
hey molly. fave album of all time. glad you found it. didn't see this mentioned. alot of fear factorys albums tell a story. atleast the earlier stuff. from demanufatcures down fall of a government/police state etc. to obsolete's terminator esque rise of the machines. MAN IS OBSOLOETE. fantastic metal opera's. Truely a unique band.
Hi, I saw them live yesterday evening in Herford, Germay. killer show - so high energetic. Thank you Dino!
Thanks for this wonderful analysis. Well done! 🤘❤️🔥
I'm loving your channel - Fear Factory, Mr. Bungle... I strongly recommend the Spawn movie soundtrack. Every track on that album is a collaboration, it's very unique! I genuinely believe you'd love it. ❤
This was my favorite band for like 20 years 🤘
This was a big one for me in my early 20s - so may metal clubs went crazy when FF dropped back then! You're right about the film being soundtrack-like - lots of the samples are lifted from The Terminator as per the theme of the album. I really love how close to shoegaze FF get while still being bone-crushingly heavy. So much texture and absolutely incredible live.
Im really anticipating their follow-up obsolete which is one of my favorite fear factory albums.
Funny timing. Just yesterday Dino (guitarist) said that a new album is in the works. Supposedly we'll be getting a song at the end of the year.
It will be their first without Burton as vocalist (he left in 2020 though his vocals are on their most recent album from 2021).
You need to check G/Z/R or simply the solo Geezer Butler first album, Plastic Planet, that features Fear Factory's vocalist as well
I'm going to Bloodstock Festival here in the UK next year and Fear Factory are playing this album in full live
Glad you enjoyed Fear Factory, look forward to your reaction to Soul Of A New Machine, my personal favorite. Also they are working on a new album, excited to hear that one.
Molly, thanks for these reactions, it's like reliving the first listening all over again. :)
I would recommend the band Strapping Young Lad and the album City, it sounds like a combination of Fear Factory and Ministry but even more intense! Devin Townsend is the mastermind behind this and his solo work is also amazing, Ocean Machine album would be a good starting point.
As for Fear Factory, Obsolete is next album you should review. Cheers!
Aww thanks, glad you're enjoying the videos! I will definitely keep Strapping Young Lad and Devin Townsend in mind, I've got them on my list. And I will try and get to Obsolete very soon... can't wait to hear it!
Thanks for another reminder of another great band that I had largely forgotten about! Really looking forward to Obsolete whenever you get around to it. And if they haven't been suggested yet, I'd *highly* recommend Strapping Young Lad. Similar to FF, and Devin Townsend is quite the songsmith.
My absolute favourite Fear Factory album (honestly don't care for much of the newer stuff though despite them being one of my fave bands)! As others have mentioned, it's one vocalist, Burton C. Bell. He always sounded awesome on track however as much as I love FF, I have to admit he can be patchy playing live, I've seen him pitch-perfect live and so-so other times. One thing that always strikes me with older FF albums is how the drums and rhythm guitar are in sync & the main focal point as opposed to guitar & bass. The bass is almost an afterthought as they didn't always have a solid bass player before Christian Olde Wolbers joined, Dino Cazares used to record guitar & bass tracks, although Christian did join FF around this time & can be seen in the music vid for 'Replica', not sure if he recorded the bass tracks for the album though.
Love that you picked up on the "Sci-fi thriller" vibes as you call them, early FF tracks do give some nods to the Terminator series. The song HK (Hunter Killer) for example, the Hunter Killer is a terminator drone like machine
This album contains one of my fave misheard lyrics as well in Zero Signal (one of my all time fave FF songs) - Burton hauntingly singing " I am so alone" repeatedly, but it sounds like he is signing "I am Han Solo" instead.
One of my favourite live bands. So fuckin good.
More reaction channels need to give fear factory their flowers. Thanks very much for the reaction.
These guys were awesome live!
Thank you for the fair assessment!
This Album and Its Cinematic Atmosphere Creates This Absolute Masterpiece of A Headbanger that Gets You In The Groove And hits You In The Face The Entire Time!
So exciting to see you review this one. Obsolete is one of my favourite albums of all time and well worth checking out. Metal purists tend to favour Demanufacture but Obsolete upped the atmosphere and the foreboding qualities which made me enamoured with them. The following 3 albums after that are a mixed bag (you could probably make a really good playlist from them) but after that they had two really good albums again and then dropped off again. Real rollercoaster of a band but they played a huge influence on lots of nu-metal and metal core bands to come.