Territory’s Edge - Best New Metal of February 2022

Welcome to the February edition of Territory’s Edge where I highlight the heavy music released this month that caught my attention.  I don’t care much for strict categories or genre purism; whether the music is 13-minute-long blackened funeral doom or R&B influenced post hardcore, it’s eligible here.  Bandcamp links are always listed by default if available, as buying from this platform does the most to directly support the artists.  Otherwise, streaming links and music videos for singles will be posted.  For an individual single to be discussed in full in this column, it must be released over one month in advance of an upcoming album, or be a standalone single.  

Cult of Luna - The Long Road North

Cult of Luna's music often evokes a lengthy, scenic journey - for their latest album, specifically in a rural, remote part of Sweden, according to frontman Johannes Persson.  With that in mind, it makes sense that The Long Road North would come accompanied by an immersive grayscale game where the player navigates through a harsh landscape.  If "Lights on The Hill" from 2019's A Dawn to Fear evoked reaching a scenic overlook, The Long Road North is akin to a trek in harsh weather through remote wilderness.  Throughout the band's nine albums, lengthy compositions use repetition to create an atmosphere or build up slowly to a climax.  Drummer Thomas Hedlund provides a backdrop of complex, progressive rhythms for the slow-burning, chugging riffs from Johannes Persson and Erik Olofsson.  "Into the Night" and the instrumental “Full Moon” provide a melancholic respite in the middle.  This atmospheric break is comparable to quieter Neurosis material with Johannes adopting a Scott Van Till style of singing. Similarly, the ambient “Beyond I” and “Beyond II” offer two variations on the same theme.  One features lead vocals by guest singer Mariam Wallentin, while the other is an instrumental. Brooding, colossal tracks like the title track and “An Offering to the Wild” provide a cinematic scope.  Cult of Luna has yet to release a bad album, and The Long Road North is a legitimate early AOTY contender. 

Hollow Front - "Comatose"

I was introduced to Hollow Front with their 2020 debut full-length, Loose Threads, and took note of the band's potential while finding room for improvement.  This track displays some growth in the songwriting department, and overall is a stronger display of their abilities.  According to Tyler Tate, one of the band's two vocalists, "Comatose" is about battling depression, specifically during the midst of the pandemic, as well as anxiety over an uncertain future at the time.  “Comatose” features a nice usage of backing clean vocals that mesh well with the low growls, rather than just following the expected clean chorus-unclean verse format.  This Grand Rapids based metalcore band goes on tour with Fit For a King and Silent Planet this spring. 

Venom Prison - Erebos

On Venom Prison's new album, frontwoman Larissa Stupar is as fierce and passionate as ever.  Melodic guitar solos and powerful riffs from Ash Gray and Ben Thomas further augment her powerful delivery. The band’s use of elements of Greek mythology as metaphors for modern issues, particularly current criminal justice systems, is a recurring theme throughout Erebos.  Songs like “Judges of the Underworld”, “Castigated in Steel and Concrete” and “Technologies of Death” all focus on incarceration or the death penalty, and the lyricism is a strong point.  A comparison between Primeval (the band’s first two EPs reissued last year) which was straight-up death metal, and Erebos reveals a new direction for them.  While still primarily death metal, Venom Prison ventures into new territory with this album.  The most obvious departure is the excellent “Pain of Oizys”,  alternately delicate and fiercely confident. This song about battling depression is the first Venom Prison track where Larissa’s clean singing takes center stage, and her singing reappears in a supporting role elsewhere on tracks like “Veil of Night”.  On the other side of the spectrum, the closer “Technologies of Death” has Larissa adopting a raspy black metal style delivery, before the fury settles down for a melodic bridge.  Towards the end of the song, Larissa leaves the listener on a hopeful note, “Somewhere deep inside/empathy is still alive.” Without a doubt, Venom Prison are poised to reach bigger audiences and garner attention here.  

Ends Embrace - "Warhorse"/"Forgotten Ways"/"Voices of the Dead"

Up next is an underground one-man Navajo black metal project from Scottsdale, Arizona.  Ends Embrace's three newest singles, two of which appear on a split EP called Thrall of the Winter Moon, show a marked progression in musicianship from We Will Never Die.  Ryan Silas plays raw black metal with a bit of crust punk influence as well.  The whinnies of a horse and a doomy, melodic guitar line set the backdrop for “Warhorse”, while "Forgotten Ways", which transitions into “Voices of the Dead”, reminds me of a lo-fi take on Downfall of Gaia.  While I'm not normally into raw recorded black metal, Silas' affinity for punk, usage of minor key instrumentals, and anti-oppression message from an indigenous perspective give Ends Embrace a sense of individuality in the crowded underground black metal scene.  The split EP is available as a pay-what-you-want download on Bandcamp if you like what you hear.

Rolo Tomassi - Where Myth Becomes Memory

While this band currently has six albums in their discography, Where Myth Becomes Memory was my introduction to Rolo Tomassi, and a very good first impression at that.  This is a well-paced progressive metal album with wide influences as disparate as mathcore and dream pop.  The band, whose name is a reference to the film L.A. Confidential, is led by sister and brother duo Eva (lead vocals) and James Spence (keyboards, electronics and backing vocals).  Where Myth Becomes Memory is very dynamic in sound, ranging from ethereal dream pop to a maelstrom of technical metal and throaty growls.  Reminiscent of Spiritbox, the single “Cloaked” is a good overview of both sides of the Rolo Tomassi sound.   Softer tracks like “Closer”, “Stumbling” and “The End of Eternity” tip the overall balance of Where Myth Becomes Memory in favor of atmosphere and elegance. 

Graphic Nature - new skin

While Graphic Nature take their name from a Deftones song off the progressive alternative metal masterpiece Koi No Yokan, this young band's sound is clearly in the realm of hardcore, with some industrial and old school nu metal influence thrown in.  Like their fellow British contemporaries Loathe, the band has listed instrumental video game soundtracks as an influence.  This ruthless ten-minute EP wastes no time kicking the door down, and finishes the sonic destruction just as quickly.  According to frontman Harvey Freeman, new skin represents Graphic Nature's core sound, and is thematically about the process of freeing yourself from self-hatred and toxicity.  Each of these songs lasts about two and half minutes, and offers a quick cathartic release from negative emotions.  

Other Notable Releases 

Albums/EPs

Korn - Requiem (Feb 4, nu metal)

Windveill - There Inevitably Will Be Silence (Feb 4, atmospheric black metal/blackgaze)

Circa Survive - A Dream About Death EP (Feb 4, post-hardcore/alternative)

Vorga - Striving Towards Oblivion (Feb 4, black metal)

Thorn - Yawning Depths (Feb 4, death metal)

Hangman's Chair - A Loner (Feb 11, doom/heavy metal)

Zeal & Ardor - Zeal & Ardor (Feb 11, black metal/soul/blues)

Napalm Death - Resentment is Always Seismic EP (Feb 11, grindcore)

Cane Hill - Krewe d'Amour Vol. II EP (Feb 11, nu metal/metalcore)

Once Human - Scar Weaver (Feb 11, melodic death metal)

Darkmatter - Project Darkmatter EP (nu metal/metalcore)

An Isolated Mind - A Place We Cannot Go (Feb 15, noise rock/experimental)

Black Map - Melodoria (Feb 18, alternative metal/post-hardcore)

Bloodywood - Rakshak (Feb 18, folk metal/nu metal)

Pure Wrath - Hymn to the Woeful Hearts (Feb 18, black metal)

Immolation - Acts of God (Feb 18, death metal)

SIFYN - Marionette (Feb 18, progressive metal - side project from Veil of Maya's Lukas Magyar)

Bad Omens - The Death of Peace of Mind (Feb 25, metalcore)

Blood Incantation - Timewave Zero (Feb 25, dark ambient)

Eight Bells - Legacy of Ruin (Feb 25, doom) 

Allegaeon - Damnum (Feb 25, death metal)

Corpsegrinder - Corpsegrinder (Feb 25, death metal)

Territory's Edge: Best New Metal of November 2021

Territory's Edge entry for November, which proved eventful for heavy music.  Other noteworthy releases I enjoyed from this month include the brutal post-metal of Twin Dream by Glassing, the instrumental prog/post rock soundscapes of A Vast Field of Silence by Outrun the Sunlight, the symphonic alt-metal of Heaven in Hiding by Imminence, and the Christmas themed metalcore single "Lowborn" by Wolves at the Gate. 

MØL - Diorama

 

Here is a very good black metal/shoegaze combination similar to earlier Deafheaven material.  While Deafheaven’s most recent album Infinite Granite is primarily shoegaze with only trace remnants of black metal, Diorama is stylistically closer to Sunbather and is a near 50/50 split of the two sides of their sound.   Kim Song Sternkopf’s harsh black metal-style delivery is countered with melodic guitar riffs and ambient instrumental sections from Nicolai Bladt and Ken Lund Klejs.  The band takes their name from the Danish word for “moth” and writes both Danish and English lyrics, sometimes within the same song.  “Diorama” is the calmest and most atmospheric of the eight songs.  This closing title track is entirely in Danish, and features Sternkopf singing cleanly for the majority of it alongside vocalist Kathrine Shepherd.   Another clear standout is “Itinerari”, which uses ambient instrumental sections and clean vocals to great effect.  MØL sees shoegaze and black metal as styles that meld well with each other, and blend them together expertly.  They have also listed Gojira, Mastodon, and Danish alternative rock group Mew as influences, making for a diverse, well-rounded take on the genre.  

Venom Prison - "Judges of the Underworld"

  

Over their seven years of existence, Venom Prison have steadily gained traction within the metal underground.  “Judges of the Underworld” may be the song to break them out.  The Welsh band’s metalcore influenced take on death metal is just as fearsome as their name implies and remains so.  However, their purposeful message and frontwoman Larissa Stupar’s dual vocal style provide potential for the band to reach a greater audience, particularly fans of larger acts like Jinjer or Arch Enemy.  Larissa both sings and growls over a driving guitar riff on a song just as memorable as it is brutal.  The track marks Venom Prison’s first single from their February 2022 album titled Erebos, which in Greek mythology refers to the primordial personification of darkness.  Several song titles on this upcoming album allude to ancient Greek myth, including this one.  The underworld of Hades had three judges named Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus, who weighed the deeds of the deceased.   Lyrically, this song is about the criminal justice system – in particular the isolation of prison and the underlying factors of poverty and inequity that can lead to a cycle of violence.   The art of using myth as a lyrical metaphor by making a parallel with a modern situation often makes for a compelling message, as Trivium has shown on several occasions.  "Judges of the Underworld” is a ferocious and incisive single that marks Venom Prison as a band to watch in 2022.  

 

Northlane - "Echo Chamber" 

  

I named Alien as my album of the year in 2019, so anticipation remains high for anything this band releases.  After completing the recording this summer, Northlane finally announced the details of their 2022 album Obsidian this month.  In the meantime, my favorite Australian progressive metalcore band has certainly stayed active.  They’ve hosted live streamed shows, released acoustic and remix EPs of songs from Alien, and launched a new Patreon - not to mention frontman Marcus Bridge’s endeavors at building new guitars and recording instrumentals on his girlfriend's DIY punk project.  Their new single was written about addiction to social media.  Initially sounding like a synth-pop song with an electronic beat and upbeat singing dominating the first verse, “Echo Chamber” eventually grows more distorted and progresses into Northlane’s signature style.  They have a goofy video to go along with it, which depicts (very poorly) disguised mannequins performing in place of the band members before Marcus shows up in a black hoodie to take down the imposters – accept no substitutes!  The whole silliness of it all is a bit out of left field, though given the intensity of "Bloodline" and "Eclipse" (which dealt with subject matter of heroin and child abuse) I get Northlane wanting to make a less serious music video for once.  Guitarist Josh Smith said this was as poppy as Obsidian gets, so expect a heavy album in April. 

Slipknot - "The Chapeltown Rag"

  

Slipknot is now 22 years removed from their debut album, but show no signs of slowing down.   Their latest single is both aggressive and insightful.  Thematically, "The Chapeltown Rag" contains similarities to the previous song, also dealing with social media and the dangers of being addicted to life behind a screen.  However, it's specifically inspired by a true crime documentary the band’s vocalist Corey Taylor watched on the 1970s case of the Yorkshire Ripper.   The lead detective in the investigation trying to catch the serial killer mistakenly believed the Yorkshire Ripper only targeted “fallen women” and pursued that hypothesis even though there was no proof.  The press on the investigation soon focused on the alleged moral failings of the Yorkshire Ripper’s victims, rather than the actual crime committed.  Because the false theory wasted time, the serial killer was not arrested until five years after the first murder.  Corey Taylor noted similarities to the misinformation and distortion that can rapidly spread within social media today.  He described the track as “classic Slipknot” in sound.  This aggressive and catchy track is indeed reminiscent of the chaotic style of Slipknot’s first album, and is delivered with the razor-sharp precision of We Are Not Your Kind.  Jay Weinburg’s drumming in particular is a standout performance.  

Volumes - Happier?

  

Volumes has had somewhat of a revolving door lineup, especially for a relatively young band, with bassist/producer Raad Soudani the only constant member throughout every album.   The original vocalist Michael Barr reentered the band on Happier?, joining Myke Terry (formerly of Bury Your Dead) on vocals.  Following the loss of former lead guitarist Diego Farias, who sadly passed last year, the band does not currently have a permanent member in that role.  Max Schad played session guitar on this album as well as contributing to its fantastic production.  Volumes is coming off a 2017 full-length Different Animals, which suffered from a disjointed, directionless track listing, despite a fantastic vocal performance from Myke Terry being the one real saving grace of it.  Lineup changes aside,  Volumes actually play to their strengths here, and Happier? is a far more cohesive and consistent album than its predecessor.   The balance between aggressive djent groove and smooth R&B melody is expertly done.

 

Silent Planet - Iridescent

  

Silent Planet’s new album is darkly beautiful and deeply personal.   I’m writing a much longer post going in-depth with Iridescent, as I felt this space alone wasn’t adequate to cover my thoughts on this one.  Go listen to it now.  

Territory's Edge - Best Metal of September 2021

Following some inactivity, I plan on reviving this blog through a new review format.  Here I discuss my own favorite new releases in the world of heavy music within the previous month in a feature called "Territory's Edge".  Like a wildcat patrolling and roaming the edges of his or her home range, the act of finding and listening to new metal music is an often solitary one of exploration.  Whether it's current material from personal favorites or discoveries of exciting new or underground artists, there's always more metal to track down.  In the midst of long full-time work hours, my goal is to make this a recurring feature.  Singles, EPs, and albums are all eligible for this list.  As always, go purchase the music and support the bands if you like what you hear!

Silent Planet - "Terminal"

 

 

The Azusa, California resident metalcore band unleashed a fantastic pair of songs this year from their upcoming album Iridescent, which releases on November 12.  The two tracks provide a study in contrasts.  While "Panopticon" is characterized by glitchy industrial electronics over aggressive bass lines (no guitar appears on that song) and contains only screamed vocals, the newest single, "Terminal", explores Silent Planet's most atmospheric and experimental depths to date.   Ambient verses flow into bleak, crushingly heavy guitar riffs.  Frontman Garrett Russell's incisive, spiritual and eloquent lyricism - an aspect that helped Silent Planet stand out from the crowded metalcore pack during their early years - takes a more personal turn on this song.  "Terminal" addresses Russell's experience with mind-altering medications while he was admitted to a mental hospital in November 2019.  Ethereal clean vocals convey that disassociation and undercurrent of despair.  The music video ties in with the one for "Trilogy", released last year and inspired by the same events.  Iridescent is ultimately an overarching story meant to be listened to as a whole - "Terminal" is one piece of that narrative.  To say I anticipate hearing the new Silent Planet project in full is an understatement.  We've got a potential album of the year.

Rivers of Nihil - The Work

On their fourth full-length album, Rivers of Nihil expand the boundaries of their progressive/technical death metal sound.  The Reading, Pennsylvania band are coming off their critically acclaimed 2018 project, Where Owls Know My Name.   Like its predecessor, The Work integrates saxophone (courtesy of Zach Strouse) within Rivers' dark, expansive soundscapes.  Melodic and versatile, this album comes across like a tech death take on Pink Floyd.   Of particular note is the track "Focus",  with guitarist Brody Uttley's programming lending a sinister Neurosis/Nine Inch Nails industrial atmosphere.   The Work is a multi-faceted experience, ranging from more straightforward death metal of "MORE?" to the progressive rock balladry of "Wait".  While sticking closely to its concept, the album has no shortage of variety, and individual songs incorporate a range of push and pull dynamics of their own.   At 64 minutes in length, there's plenty for fans of complex and heavy music to consume here.  Rivers of Nihil are poised to continue their trajectory as true juggernauts within the metal scene.

Inferi - Vile Genesis

Since their formation 2006, Nashville technical death metal ragers Inferi have not let up in intensity.  Their particular breed of death metal is a fearless yet calculated aggression, much like a snarling mongoose about to sink his teeth into a cobra.  The band's sixth full-length album, Vile Genesis, is a relentless onslaught of speedy melodic guitar shredding and death metal ferocity.  The clean guitar break on the title track provides a sparse moment of contrast that further emphasizes the surrounding chaos.  These eight tracks average five minutes in length, yet maintain a breakneck tempo through the guitars - Inferi packs plenty of technical riffage here.   "Carving Thine Kingdom" is a standout cut that recalls Brand of Sacrifice with its backing orchestration and infectious guitar riffs, and "Heirs of the Descent" fades out with a ominous final note. 

Invent Animate - "The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was"

Shortly after signing to UNFD, Invent Animate released their latest single, which is split into three separate tracks but is in essence a single ten and a half minute song.  "The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was" comes on the heels of 2020's full-length Greyview, the band's first album to feature new vocalist Marcus Vik (ex-Aviana).   The result is an ambitious single that impresses more than the album that preceded it.  Thematically, this techy metalcore composition explores the impact and aftermath of addiction from dual perspectives.  Drummer Trey Celaya has called the release a highly personal one, as it was inspired by his family's drug addiction crisis.   "The Sun Sleeps" is an honest discourse about a real-life scenario that allows the music to speak for itself. 

Spiritbox - Eternal Blue

 

It's no exaggeration to call Spiritbox's debut full-length one of the most anticipated releases of the year.  Led by singer Courtney LaPlante and her husband, guitarist Mike Stringer, the Vancouver based band has built up momentum steadily until they have become one of the biggest new names in the hard rock and metal world.  Spiritbox strategically released many singles spanning late 2019 to 2021, including a few that came long before the release date was announced.  Between the buzz that these songs created and Courtney's multiple guest features on other bands' songs, Spiritbox has made a seismic impact in 2021.   Their breakthrough song is "Holy Roller", originally released in summer 2020 and by far the heaviest on Eternal Blue.   Cold, mechanical and caustic, a spoken word verse drops into a brutal breakdown, and back again.  Other highlights include the haunting Evanescence-style opener "Sun Killer" and the venomous "Yellowjacket", the latter featuring guest vocals from Architects' Sam Carter.  The closer "Constance", titled in memory of Courtney's late grandmother, concludes the album on a moving note.  While one of the few songs to contain no screaming, it is perhaps the heaviest of all in tone.  The music parallels the slow loss of memory to dementia by initially sounding calm and serene, gradually growing more dissonant, and finally fading into a void of distortion.  With just one album, Spiritbox has lived up to the hype and are here to stay.
 

Wake - Devouring Ruin (2020)

  

Wake, March 27, 2020

Tracklist

1.  Dissolve and Release

2. Kana Tevoro

3. This Abyssal Plain

4. Elegy

5. Mouth of Abolition

6. Paean

7. Torchbearer

8. In the Lair of the Rat Kings

9. Monuments to Impiety

10. The Procession

Purchase the album on Bandcamp here:

 

 Devouring Ruin | WAKE (bandcamp.com)

This small Canadian band from Calgary, Alberta started out under the grindcore label but now they play something else entirely.  I first heard about Wake and decided to check them out in early December after they appeared at #25 on Treble Zine’s year end list.  They released both a full-length album and a 3-track EP named Confluence in the same year.   Grindcore bands are known for having very short song lengths, and Wake’s 8 song album Sowing the Seeds of a Worthless Tomorrow was only 19 minutes total. However, both Devouring Ruin and Confluence have a track that exceeds ten minutes in length. Wake is now best described as some combined form of extreme metal.  I'll discuss tracks from both of those releases.

“Dissolve and Release” displays some atmosphere, mixing a clean guitar line within technical death metal, and opens the album up on a strong note. “Beyond Empyrean” and “Disparity and Chaos” include some interesting instrumental sections and riffs. The guitar work of Arjun Gill and Rob LaChance creates an intense, dense atmosphere.  Brief melodic interlude tracks are sprinkled across the album. Wake won’t be for everyone, and even by my standards it’s on the heaviest edge of the music I enjoy. For those that enjoy technical, compositionally strong death metal, this is a complex project to listen and decipher many times over.

Amazonia

Photo Credit: Land Rover Our Planet

The French progressive death metal band Gojira is known for songs such as "Stranded" and "Flying Whales", along with the environmental causes and charities that have long been a part of their work.  The band, led by brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier, make no exception with the release of their new album, Fortitude.  A month ahead of Fortitude's release Gojira released the single "Amazonia", and with it used their influence within the metal community to raise awareness of a critical issue and bring about change for good.  

The lyrics of "Amazonia" and the corresponding video discuss the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, a crisis that impacts and erodes the rights of Brazil's indigenous people groups.  Forest land that belongs to them is being burned by outsiders to be converted into development, mining, livestock pasture or cropland.  The rapid rate of deforestation disregards sustainability and the rights of these native people, who are often met with violence and criminalization in the struggle for their own land.   They have also been disproportionately impacted by the recent pandemic. 

Screen shot from the video for "Amazonia"

 All proceeds generated from the song "Amazonia" are being donated to The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, an organization that works for the empowerment of these people and their health and rights. Gojira's incisive message is driven home with these lyrics: "Behold the life/the boundaries fools will crush/the greatest miracle/is burning to the ground."  The track's tribal instrumentation is an homage to Roots, a 1996 album by the Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura, whose members have long been advocates for native cultures. 

Habitat loss and degradation is considered the greatest threat to biodiversity on this planet.  An estimated 40,000 plant species, 2500 terrestrial animal species, 3000 fish species, and countless invertebrates call the Amazon home, and local populations are directly endangered by forest destruction.    For large carnivores like the jaguar, deforestation is a two-pronged threat.   Jaguars and their puma relatives are apex predators with sparse densities and require large home ranges to roam, raise young, and hunt prey.  Not only are the big cats displaced from critical habitat, the land is often converted into for-profit cattle ranching operations where the native animals are persecuted as predators.  The plight of the jaguar, one of Amazon's iconic species, strongly parallels that of the indigenous people in the area - as well as around the world.  Greed and the idea of "manifest destiny" have no limit and will ruthlessly destroy all that stands in the way of expansion and profit.  This connection is reflected in the anti-consumerist message on another track from Fortitude, "Born For One Thing", as well as its music video.

Screen shot from the video for "Born for One Thing"

Gojira are not alone in their advocacy. The band launched an initiative auctioning several custom, one-of-a-kind personalized guitars and other band gear, with all proceeds benefitting the The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.   Members of other high-profile bands have also stepped in to donate equipment to the cause, and at the time of this writing almost $250,000 has been raised.  Gojira's collective effort that truly showcases the power that a community can have when working together towards a meaningful cause.  Though metal is a genre of music often unfairly stereotyped as violent or ignorant, Gojira has set an example we would do well to follow and learn from.  We can accomplish good for others when we work together. 

Gojira - Amazonia (gojira-music.com)

Gojira (propeller.la)

Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil | APIB (apiboficial.org)

Fear Factory - Mechanize (2010)

Candlelight Records, February 5, 2010

Tracklist

1. Mechanize

2. Industrial Discipline

3. Fear Campaign

4. Powershifter

5. Christploitation

6. Oxidizer

7. Controlled Demolition

8. Designing the Enemy

9. Metallic Division

10. Final Exit

This entry is one in a series of ten-year retrospectives on my favorite albums from the year 2010. On Mechanize, Fear Factory takes a more aggressive edge while not sacrificing the melody that is key to their unique sound. Tracks like “Fear Campaign” and “Powershifter” are relentless and heavy with machine-like precision and rhythm courtesy of guitarist Dino Cazares and drummer Gene Holgan. While technical and calculated this is a band that is not afraid to be catchy as well and throughout the album vocalist Burton C. Bell delivers memorable choruses. He has an almost mechanical but melodic vocal delivery that fits perfectly with the atmosphere and mood the band is going for. Fear Factory adheres to this formula for most of the album and it works very well. The final two songs “Designing the Enemy” and “Final Exit” diverge from this path and are far more melodic and experimental.

Mechanize is the lone album I have reviewed that is not currently available for streaming on Spotify. This is likely due to issues over an ongoing legal dispute which band lineup has the rights to the name, but you can still buy it through sellers on Amazon. The whole legal dispute which is preventing a new album is unfortunate, but it doesn’t overshadow the tremendous influence Fear Factory brought to the metal scene. In the early 1990s, the albums Soul of a New Machine and Demanufacture broke new ground with their hybrid of death metal and industrial music. In fact Burton C. Bell is widely considered to be the first vocalist to mix death metal growls with clean choruses, a style which is now ubiquitous in metal.  

I give this album an overall score of 8/10, with "Designing the Enemy", "Fear Campaign" and "Powershifter" standing out as the highlights.   Seen by many fans as a return to form and one of Fear Factory’s best albums to date, Mechanize is calculated, heavy, and cold, much like the machine itself.