Fear Factory - Digimortal

This review is written strictly from a fan perspective. If you're not into bio-mechanical metal with a drummer who isn't human, don't buy the album. Take a listen first. I would safely say from a few times through it that every song is good on this release. The "Back the Fuck Up" track could be done without, but the ">>" button on my CD player isn't that far away. They went all out with the production, being one of the most tightly mixed albums I've purchased in a long, long time. I'm a fan of this mix job more than "Obsolete's". The album is much more bass heavy than previous releases. The click of the bass drum is still there, but there's a little more punch this time, which is important in my opinion to music like this. So you could say they've abandoned the traditional bassless style of metal mixing. The drummer is even faster this time (can you believe it), and the singer's choruses are even more melodic, not as stagnant and simple as "Obsolete". The title track, Digimortal, sort of sums up the entire album. It's got the mechanical drum grooves with the speedy double bass, and the unexpected jump into melody that FF is famous for. The band hasn't changed for anyone, which makes me happy. Harmony flutters through the entire album, and there are several tracks that make a call back to "Soul of a New Machine" for sure. All the songs contain the traditional FF stucture with breaks where they need to be, and cool riffs worth playing for fun. There's even a little more keyboard work in this release making it a bit more futuristic. If they are still available, get the Digipak to get the extra four tracks. It's worth the search for "Dean Man Walking". Being a fan of Fear Factory, and having high expectations of this release, I would say it's a great CD for fans, and people who liked the new single would enjoy it as well - a very solid 4.0 manstyle points. [www.fearfactory.com]