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.

Northlane - Alien (2019)

UNFD, August 2, 2019

Tracklist

1. Details Matter

2. Bloodline

3. 4D

4. Talking Heads

5. Freefall

6. Jinn

7. Eclipse

8. Rift

9. Paradigm

10. Vultures

11. Sleepless  

In October 2014, a young vocalist named Marcus Bridge became the new frontman for the Australian progressive metalcore band. He was chosen out of many auditions. Adrian Fitipaldes, the former Northlane singer, had announced his departure - citing health and vocal issues - shortly after the group's second album Singularity. Only 23 at the time, Marcus had recently endured a rough background of childhood abuse and witnessed his sister's spiral into methamphetamine addiction. Growing up with unstable, heroin addicted parents and moving and forth between hotel rooms in Sydney's notoriously violent King's Cross neighborhood, he had endured years of trauma and insecurity. Marcus would start writing Northlane lyrics with songwriter and rhythm guitarist Josh Smith on the band's 2017's album Mesmer, but Alien marks the first point where, with support, he was comfortable and confident enough to fully delve into these topics. As unflinching and honest as it is in its portrayal of childhood abuse and violence, Northlane's Alien is ultimately a survivor's tale. Marcus has said that he hopes this record will also help others who have had difficulty opening up about similar situations, and foster an empathy and acceptance of those with a difficult upbringing.

On Alien, the Australian progressive metalcore band experiments with industrial metal, goes in a heavier direction, and unflinchingly delves into raw and authentic subject matter.  Vocalist Marcus Bridge discusses his upbringing in a violent, unstable household, projecting intensity and emotion over an equally intense musical background.  He's continued to make strides as a vocalist as well.  The two calmer, more ethereal tracks, "Sleepless" and "Rift", showcase the strength of his singing and the emotional weight behind the songwriting.   Tracks like "Eclipse", "Vultures", and "Details Matter" take a sharp left turn from the melodic Mesmer and display Northlane's sound at its fiercest.  Programmer and guitarist Jon Deiley, the writer of the instrumental demos for the album, portrays a brooding, eerie soundscape backing Marcus's cathartic self-disclosure.  While sonically different from its predecessor, Alien is still at its core a Northlane album, and sounds like a logical progression of their sound rather than a complete reinvention.

Alien is a dynamic album and ranges from low tuned djent riffs and a menacing industrial buzz to reflective, haunting passages over electronics.  Despite the subject matter, the goal behind the project was ultimately to show that one can make it out no matter your circumstances.  Marcus has stated that he hopes the album with help those who have experienced similar situations, and foster an empathy and acceptance of those with a difficult or violent background.  "Bloodline", released as a single in April, best describes this message.  On the chorus, Marcus makes a defiant declaration against his violent upbringing as he sings, "I was raised in hell, I made it out by myself." By exploring a new direction within the djent subgenre, Northlane have made something thought-provoking and unique with an important message to tell.  Ambitious, passionate, and purposeful, Northlane have made one of the best heavy albums of the year. Alien is a landmark release for Northlane and earns a score of 10/10.