Album of the Week #76

Malice · 18-06-2012 8:34am #1

Here the latest Album of the Week. Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. Here's the breakdown of the votes. Only albums with more than one vote are listed.
Band|Album|Votes
Fear Factory|Obsolete|5
Sisters of Mercy|Floodland|2

Here is Resurrection from the winning album, Obsolete by Fear Factory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_OHJxN9C1Y

Malice · 18-06-2012 8:34am

I listened to this album quite a bit last week and quite honestly I think I'd forgotten how well the songs all tie together. I've a tendancy to just stick my MP3 player on random and let it off which means the whole narrative and flow of this album is lost if the songs are listened to individually and out of sequence. The production on the album makes the songs sound a bit warmer than the clinical precsion of Demanufacture but the signature machine-gun riffage is still present. If you're unfamiliar with Fear Factory's work then I'd still recommend checking out Demanufacture first but this album is a close second.

The whole man v machine, dystopian future motif is probably regarded as a bit of a cliché by a lot of people but being a huge fan of Philip K Dick and 1984, the topic really strikes a chord with me (pardon the pun).

As for the songs themselves, individual highlights for me are Descent, Edgecrusher, Resurrection and Timelessness. The latter two becoming all the more powerful and poignant when the album is listened to from start to finish.

DrumSteve · 19-06-2012 12:38pm

****ing quality album this (though odlly enough not my favourite). Also contains edgecrusher, which apart from being a great name for a song, is also a great song.

Personally speaking I felt they really solidified their sound on this album (which they carried through to Digimortal).

I have to agree with the production being "warmer", it's a bit more softer around the edges compared to say SOANM or even Mechanize, but a great listen nonetheless.

Schism · 19-06-2012 1:22pm

I was listening to this during the week when a friend of mine heard it. He's not really into a lot of metal but he liked the sound of this. So naturally enough he wanted to know who it was and some recommendations. Even though it had been Edgecrusher that caught his attention, I found myself telling him to listen to Demanufacture first instead of handing over Obsolete!

My point being although Obsolete is a great album it's always going to be the little brother of Demanufacture for me. It is a fantastic follow up though continuing on from where Demanufacture left off without missing a beat. The now distinctive Fear Factory sound is present and works perfectly, heavy as **** in places, melodic in others. One thing I always liked about FF were Bell's vocals, he's got an amazing range and he makes great use of it here.

Stand out tracks for me have to be Edgecrusher, Descent and Ressurection. Those three songs sum up the theme of the album pretty well.

DrumSteve · 19-06-2012 1:58pm

Schism wrote: »

I was listening to this during the week when a friend of mine heard it. He's not really into a lot of metal but he liked the sound of this. So naturally enough he wanted to know who it was and some recommendations. Even though it had been Edgecrusher that caught his attention, I found myself telling him to listen to Demanufacture first instead of handing over Obsolete!

My point being although Obsolete is a great album it's always going to be the little brother of Demanufacture for me. It is a fantastic follow up though continuing on from where Demanufacture left off without missing a beat. The now distinctive Fear Factory sound is present and works perfectly, heavy as **** in places, melodic in others. One thing I always liked about FF were Bell's vocals, he's got an amazing range and he makes great use of it here.

Stand out tracks for me have to be Edgecrusher, Descent and Ressurection. Those three songs sum up the theme of the album pretty well.

Don't listen to them live if you want that myth preserved...:(

Schism · 19-06-2012 2:23pm

DrumSteve wrote: »

Don't listen to them live if you want that myth preserved...:(

Really?

He's great recorded though!

viadah · 19-06-2012 2:33pm

What put me off Fear Factory after Demanufacture was Bell's vocals - his 'singing'. It was fine on Demanufacture, used sparingly and fittingly, but never was it fantastic. Then it was like someone said he was great at it and his confidence over ran his ability and off he went in that slightly not-right tone. It's like what happened with that arse from System of a Down doing backing vocals on the first album. 'Do more!' people cried. Then he did.

DrumSteve · 19-06-2012 2:48pm

Schism wrote: »

Really?

He's great recorded though!

I think he blew his voice out or summit, can't hit any notes now.

Malice · 19-06-2012 3:04pm

Yeah, his clean vocals have been patchy at best for a long time now in a live situation.

viadah wrote:

Then it was like someone said he was great at it and his confidence over ran his ability and off he went in that slightly not-right tone.

Do you have any examples of post-Demanufacture album recordings where his clean vocals have been "slightly not-right"?

DrumSteve · 19-06-2012 3:07pm

Malice wrote: »

Yeah, his clean vocals have been patchy at best for a long time now in a live situation.

Do you have any examples of post-Demanufacture album recordings where his clean vocals have been "slightly not-right"?

Saying that, the chap can still scream.

Personally speaking I've always found his album recordings to be quite good. He's a bit like lars ulrich in that respect; bogey live, but on the money in the studio.

Schism · 19-06-2012 3:12pm

Malice wrote: »

Yeah, his clean vocals have been patchy at best for a long time now in a live situation.

Do you have any examples of post-Demanufacture album recordings where his clean vocals have been "slightly not-right"?

I will say, although slightly contradictory to my first post. On that last track, Timelessness he's a bit ropey.

Overall though I still think he does a great job.

Malice · 19-06-2012 7:39pm

I have to say I love Timelessness and I think the vocals capture a sense of desolation really well. Having said that, the only part of the song I would regard as being slightly ropey is the bit where he sings "I've had the poison leak into my skin and it corroded my heart away." but that's being ultra-critical

.

Schism · 19-06-2012 8:46pm

Oh yeah I agree. That's the part that I'd say isn't the best if I had to choose one.

viadah · 19-06-2012 9:26pm

Malice wrote: »

Do you have any examples of post-Demanufacture album recordings where his clean vocals have been "slightly not-right"?

Without being as flippant as I was before, compare 'Descent' even with 'Edgecrusher' from the same album - there's a lack of confidence in the vocals on 'Descent', compared to the gruff vox on 'Edgecrusher' this should be immediately apparent. I don't think he ever fancied himself as a great singer, I think personally that on 'Demanufacture' he knew the limitations of his own voice and worked to its strengths. Following this I think that it was other people's opinions of his voice that made him stretch his abilities to the point where it doesn't sound comfortable, he has no real power in his singing voice and seems to hang back away from the notes slightly, like if he pushes it will crack. Borne out then by his inability to sing live consistently.

I understand that people like his voice, and that he is respected and influential even as a vocalist, but I can also see that he isn't a great vocalist. I understand that technical ability is not the last word in what draws people to any particular vocalist or musician. It's just that strain, that lack of confidence, that I personally don't like. 'Demanufacture' will remain one of my favourite albums and I don't fault his heavy vox at all.

Malice · 19-06-2012 10:03pm

Okay, let's take Descent, where is this lack of confidence? I honestly don't hear it. If anything the vocals could be slightly louder in the mix but that's not the fault of his vocals though, just a production decision that emphasised the guitars more. I'm thinking specifically of the "I am nothing, I feel nothing." bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFWDZ85icyo

viadah wrote:

Borne out then by his inability to sing live consistently.

I think 20 years of growling and screaming will contribute more to that than a lack of ability.

viadah · 19-06-2012 10:31pm

I'd chalk this one up to a difference of opinion then, we're both listening to the same song and hearing different things. I'm thinking of the feel of the vocals, referencing the aforementioned line, I don't feel the passion in the delivery as is more apparent on 'Edgecrusher'.

Malice · 20-06-2012 7:53am

viadah wrote: »

I'd chalk this one up to a difference of opinion then, we're both listening to the same song and hearing different things.I'm thinking of the feel of the vocals, referencing the aforementioned line, I don't feel the passion in the delivery as is more apparent on 'Edgecrusher'.

But you haven't explained where you're hearing this lack of passion. The only clean vocals on Edgecrusher are the kind of rapped second verse (around 1:20) and that's spoken rather than sung so it's naturally going to sound different to the "I am nothing" bit on Descent.

djgarvey123 · 20-06-2012 6:58pm

Malice wrote: »

But you haven't explained where you're hearing this lack of passion. The only clean vocals on Edgecrusher are the kind of rapped second verse (around 1:20) and that's spoken rather than sung so it's naturally going to sound different to the "I am nothing" bit on Descent.

You clearly know what you are talking about.

viadah · 20-06-2012 10:05pm

I wasn't referring to the comparison of clean vocals across the tracks, but the different impact of the feel of the singing vocals compared to that of the heavy vocals. The heavy vocals are more assured, more definite, more confident than the clean vocals, it's my opinion that this difference has nothing to do with one being sung, the other barked, to me it sounds clear that he has less confidence in his voice singing clean compared to heavy. I'm willing to be in the minority on this point of view.

Malice · 21-06-2012 4:32pm

djgarvey123 wrote: »

You clearly know what you are talking about.

Thank you. I wish everyone's first post on the Rock & Metal forum was as complimentary as this.

viadah wrote: »

I wasn't referring to the comparison of clean vocals across the tracks, but the different impact of the feel of the singing vocals compared to that of the heavy vocals.

Okay, that's not what I thought you meant at all

.

viadah wrote:

to me it sounds clear that he has less confidence in his voice singing clean compared to heavy. I'm willing to be in the minority on this point of view.

In a live situation I would be 100% in agreement with you.

Joe_Dull · 22-06-2012 12:40am

My favourite FF album, absolute quality stuff. A deserving winner.

Album of the Week #76

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