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Fear Factory: Archetype
22/09/11 || Smalley
Sorry Dino-doo , I know you were a founding member of Fear Factory, and your menacing, machine-precision guitar work on “Demanufacture” was a defining feature of that classic, but maybe being left out of Fear Factory 2.0 was for the best. The best for FF that is, at least before ”Transgression” came out; you see, while Dino would go on on to make weak metal with his own little group , Fear Factory recorded an extremely solid comeback with 2004’s “Archetype”, surprising the shit out of everybody, especially considering they hadn’t made music near this good in almost a decade.
Not to imply that “Archetype” is quite on the same level as “Demanufacture”, though; while it definitely has some great tunes, overall, it lacks some of that cold, industrial personality that was so scrumptious to the ears. Still, it’s impossible to deny the obvious passion of the band in “Archetype“s music; maybe it was mostly the desire for a successful comeback after the band almost died out, or all that bad blood left over in-between Bell and Dino, or a desire to remain relevant after the soggily-commercial “Digimortal”, but whatever the deciding factor here, you know they aren’t fucking around right from the first moments of “Slave labor”.
Former bassist Christian Olde Wolbers proves himself on the rhythm guitar right away with his aggressive playing (not as good as Dino’s, but still satisfactory stuff), while Raymond Herrera brings the pain on his kit, and Byron Stroud holds down the low end nicely with his full-bodied bass. It’s obvious the band’s setting out to prove they can still kick ass from the heavier riffing here (especially when compared to their previous two albums), and the viciously anti-corporate, Kathy Change-inspired lyrics about self-immolation only add to the intensity. Seriously, the chorus is Bell shouting out for God to help him pour gas all over himself! Granted, Bell isn’t that much better a vocalist here than on any other FF album, but it’s still fucking bad ass, and a nice way to start off the album.
The brutal “Cyberwaste” & “Act of god”, respectively, a middle finger to those who troll behind the Internet’s anonymity (something I can definitely get behind) and an assault on organized religion, are even heavier (save for “Act”‘s excellently melodic chorus), but then “Drones” tones things down a bit for a more haunting, melodic, atmospheric experience, keeping “Archetype” from becoming one-note in its approach. Dig the hell outta that one. The epic title track continues to keeps things relatively chill, with lyrics that alternately trash Dino as an “infection” and do a good job of defending Fear Factory’s continued existence, and while the blunter “Corporate cloning” feels a bit misplaced coming right after that, I can’t argue with its android-vocals, steady, assembly line-tempo riffing, and irresistible chorus all being cool as hell.
From there, the eerily calm “Bite the hand that bleeds”, and the soaring, melancholic “Undercurrents” give us some more helpings of the softer side of Factory before “Default judgement” and “Bonescraper” throw us back into the heavy fray. Finally, “Human shields” is a nice little ballad to cool down with, “Ascension” is an okay atmospheric interlude, and “School” is a fun little Nirvana cover to cap it all off (and better than the original to boot).
So all in all, “Archetype” is a heavy, diverse, and passionate comeback for Fear Factory, updating their sound without selling out any like on ”Obsolete” or “Digimortal”. Again, it doesn’t have that same great atmosphere as “Demanufacture” did, nor are the performances quite as good (though not bad at all), and a few of the heavier moments feel forced, but “Archetype” is still much better than anyone could have hoped for. And to return to the topic of Dino, he played some good rhythm guitar on “Mechanize”, creating Fear Factory 3.0 , so I hope their next album can at least match this one. Maybe trashing the now-exiled Herrera will put some additional fire in their bellies? But no matter what comes next for Factory’s roller coaster career path, at least I’ll still have “Archetype” with me…
- Information
- Released: 2004
- Label: Liquid 8
- Website: www.fearfactorymusic.com
- Band
- Burton C. Bell: vocals
- Christian Olde Wolbers: guitars
- Byron Stroud: bass
- Raymond Herrera: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Slave Labor
- 02. Cyberwaste
- 03. Act Of God
- 04. Drones
- 05. Archetype
- 06. Corporate Cloning
- 07. Bite The Hand That Bleeds
- 08. Undercurrent
- 09. Default Judgement
- 10. Bonescraper
- 11. Human Shields
- 12. Ascension
