KosieKat's Reviews
If you're at industrial bands with big names, Fear Factory is one of the first to be mentioned in many conversations. They're a group that if you look at their discography really has a solid sense of what they are about and have followed that path. With the industrial sound really kind of brushing at the heels of pop culture at the time, Zero Signal getting to appear in the Mortal Kombat movie back then in the 90's was really an excellent oppurtunity for Fear Factory and honestly whats more fun than throwing on album like this an then crushing some noobs to a few rounds of MK? but I digress. The concept of this album, fighting back against the oppressive machines in control, really coming through with Herrara's POUNDING drums. The speed and precision of his beats absolutely annihilate you as the listener. The band was in fact accused of using a drum machine becuase of Herrara's precision, which is a back handed compliment if I ever heard one. The guitar is fine but honestly is second fiddle to the rhythm section ( which is fine by me, its what I want in industial music, excellent rhythm and drumming). The Synth on this album adds to the athmosphere instead of becoming the centerpiece, or detracting from the brutality which is appreciated as a fan of heavy music. The vocals of Burton Bell are raw emotion fueled to drive thier message home, and the effects they have in the background only add the ambience. While I personally don't think this is their #1 album if I was ranking them( their follow up album Obselete is probably the favorite here) , its definately up there and worth the praise. Without the sucess of this album there would not be an Obselete, so there is that as well. If you don't have time for a full album listen to the tracks H-K (Hunter Killer), Body Hammer, and Pisschrist those I think were my top 3.
AAHHH Smells like a classic. Can't you smell it? When you read the titles? See the album art? Hear the screaming? the pounding repition of the snare in the track Pulp while the guitar wails behind it? Smells like dirty streets, burnt out garbage cans, and Disatissfaction. Love it. The imagery is very strong when listening to this album. Broaderick is very powerful in his delivery and messaging. Long hailed a pioneer of this sound, this album stands up as being just as heavy and enjoyable to listen to today which for something recorded in 89 is saying something considering how many artists these days continue to try and 'push the envelope'. Pack it in guys, Justin Broaderick basically invented the envelope decades ago and it remains unmatched by many sounds. Life is Easy is like the industrial version of a funeral doom dredge, just ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh for 5 minutes ( bonus if you go ahhhhhh with it) Then Streetclear picks up with some more dynamic drum beats and to keep you hooked in. Dead Head and Suction finish the album with what I feel are very bass heavy tracks, as the vocal becomes more dissonant and pushed further away while the bass takes a more prominant roll in the mix to round out the album. While there are tracks on here that stand out as ' singles' ( Pulp, Locust Furnace) I do think it is best enjoyed as a singluar listen start to finish.
OH BOY . What an album, what a journey. You know, I started this listen very optimistic, the first track, I thought, hey, this isn't too bad, kinda rough production, underground sounding, experimental, lets keep going......but...it got worse not better, or even the same... The kazoo sounds in Body Horror were a brave choice really but honestly were far better executed Frank Zappa when he used them. ( yes I know its actually a clarinet but its recording or technique or something left much to be desired) and then whatever followed in Lazarus that sounded sort of like a bad didgeridoo. The only piece after the opener that I didn't cringe during was Bloodstream ( before the minute and a half of heartbeat over violin pulls). As I continued to listen I had to wonder, " Is there only one bass riff on this album?" Maybe, it felt like it. There was so little variation of it when it was featured that i can still here the do do- do do do. pattern . ON driving the demons out I happened to exclaim outloud " OH BONGOS" and my husband replied " Whats astonishing is no matter how many instruments you play, if you play them badly, its still bad and it doesn't matter if they keep adding more" honestly. That really resonated with me as I pondered what was happening. That sentence ties together this album pretty well as a thought. I actually LIKE noise, in general, but the composition of a lot of these tracks did not work for me as it felt forced and kind of pretentous when I listened to it. The sound was raw in a way like you didn't bake your chicken long enough, not in a way that made me feel any real emotion which was dissapointing for something that had so many people worked on in this outfit. After this album the only thing this band produced were some live albums. I looked into it becuase I had to see what was going on with them. Most of the band members don't even have wiki pages. or if they do they say " This person worked with Martin on God and maybe one of his other projects". Aside from Broaderick who is well known in his own right for Godflesh ( which is a much better outfit) and Martin himself who unfortunately went on to continue making music, although he shifted into calling himself The Bug and focused on becoming more of an electric/ dubstep guy. I gave this one star for really going for something here in the way that an elementry teacher gives all the students a gold star for trying their best. Good effort there boys. Go ahead though and keep the day jobs.
This was a very enjoyable album. This is the type of industrial album you can just throw on when you want to kick back with the boys and hang out which is what ultimately I did as I listened to this as our friend biked over and my husband and he sat out on the patio with me jamming out to this album. Front Line Assembly has a LARGE catalouge but this is really their first foray into actual METAL if I recall and the array of sampling of the guitar riffs used throughout the album are excellent, from Sepultura to Pantera, the riffs selected to be used by the duo help carry the heavy metallic sounds of their electronic instrumentation and vocals. This album is very danceable which is super fun, I love when the rivets pound out in a way that lets me get up and move. While the whole album is good I believe the stand out tracks are the title track -Millenium and Division of Mind. The rap track, Victim of a Criminal is also excellent IMO and whle some may protest its place as I told my listening companions yesterday who were confused and thought the album changed , this is an industrial album what would it be without a singular track somewhere in the middle that doesn't seem to fit in with any of the others sonically as a statement piece? And if you don't like this album? Give it another try, because I'm an American and you're a sick asshole ;)
I liked this. It was kinda weird. I'd never listened to Dodheimsgard before this and so I had to do my research while I was listening to find this was thier first foray into industrial/avant-garde type music while being only black metal before this, and while I have not at this point listened to their earlier stuff, I'm going to guess that was a good move. I am quite the enjoyer of what what some may call 'noise' music and so this had enough elements of that to tickle my fancy. While some songs went on a bit long ( and could have had a greater impact i think slightly shorter) Shiva Interfere, Carpet Bombing, and Completion were all lovely listens and with my research the glazing of thier most recent album by others online, Black Medium Current, landed it on my list to check out to see if they further developed thier industrial sound that they delved into on this album here. While many songs may seem disjointed both sonically and theme ( my husband asked my multiple times if I was listening to the same album from across the room throughout not believeing I was as it kept shifting so drastically if that is any indication of the tonal changes) - I really like that kind of change up and will check out more of thiei work to see if they polished this (lack of) formula.
When I saw no one on this site had rated, much less reviewed, this album, I said , shoot, thats the next one I've got to listen to , it could be a hidden jem! And I was sonically rewarded for this experiment. Do you want to listen to something HEAVY? This is HEAVY. You will feel its WEIGHT thrown at you as you listen to it. I was thankful that this album was heavy on the industrial side of Industrial metal and on the "light dusting of machine sound used" The vocal loopings, the screeching sounds, the beating of drums the mechanical poundings all coming together across the heavy tracks in a variety of ways as each track was distinct enough from each other that they felt different and did not get boring as some lesser industrial offerings can. This Album took me on a journey as I listened and I felt like I was watching a story unfold. After uplift of sorts it brings on Run Through the Night, The absolute brutal hit you will take in Dirt Poor and Mentally Ill is delicious. 10/10. The spoken word poetry bits by Williams may not be for everyone. I personally enjoy them as a juxatoposition against heavy tracks in between and the story that this album tells. The final track is the only one that doesn't seem to go with the rest of the ' story of the album as I listened to it' in my opininon, and at nearly 10 minutes long, it was lost on it me a bit, butoverall I hope that others will see this and give this album a listen too, it deserves more ears.
The opening of this album for me was like stepping into a cold swimming pool. I was kind of hesitant, and it took me a few minutes to warm up through the opening track. I thought that it would be a perfectly servicable, mid level album trying to use idustrial elements, nothing too offensive but noththing to really write home about. However the third track, Tears Have No Name, is an absolute banger, and worthy of any playlist save, this ignited my excitement to listen through the rest of the album as I begun headbanging to the track and it continued through , as Espirit de Corps continues to pick up the pace I couldn't help but grin, at hopfully finding a great album to add to the rotation. As I finished my listen this was only confirmed as I enjoyed myself throughout although I know that may be a bit controversal considering the major shift with the last 3 songs. If you have not given ....And Oceans A.M.G.O.D a listen yet, do yourself a favor, and do it. Now. Its an up tempo headbanging good time for most of the album that takes the industrial influence and melds it so well with forceful driving Heavy Metal Riffs, while I will admit that the ending of the album, does do that thing that sometimes industrial bands do where they get a little happy with the umm tss bumm instrumentals when it came to the end of the album, you still should give a majority of the tracks a listen and even so, it doesn't hurt to just let it play out