Rock & Metal Forum Awards 2010 - Metal Album of the Year

Malice

The votes have been counted for the first category and we have a two-way tie! Based on the fact that I finally got to see them live this year and that the album they released in 2010 was a long-overdue and very much welcome return to form I have decided that Mechanize by Fear Factory is the album of the year. An honourable mention to Diamond Eyes by Deftones which didn't quite impress me as much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRH2-1F_dD4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpyrLTn1EaU

silent sage

With all due respect to Fear Factory, I'm sorry I didn't change my vote to Deftones. I'd say you'd find it hard to unearth a bigger Irish Deftones enthusiast than myself (I was literally obsessed for a number of years ), but after Saturday Night Wrist I thought they had lost their way. It took me a few listens to realize that Diamond Eyes is a welcome return to form.

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

Deftones up in this.

Malice

I lost a lot of interest in Deftones after seeing them at the Download Festival in 2006. For some reason their sound seemed really poor so any energy that you would normally get from a band you like playing live was lost. Chino's vocals didn't seem to come out properly at all and they really seemed to be going through the motions rather than enjoying themselves. On top of that their set seemed to be dominated by songs from the album Deftones. That album was a big let down for me as I'd been eagerly awaiting new material from them since White Pony's release in 2000 (I think).

Having said all that, their first three albums are classics and I can't recommend them highly enough.

silent sage

Malice_ wrote: »

I lost a lot of interest in Deftones after seeing them at the Download Festival in 2006. For some reason their sound seemed really poor so any energy that you would normally get from a band you like playing live was lost. Chino's vocals didn't seem to come out properly at all and they really seemed to be going through the motions rather than enjoying themselves.

I don't think I've ever seen a truly quality live performance from them, some of the acoustic sessions off their Live in Hawaii dvd are not bad, but I find their studio sound doesn't seem to translate well onto stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=184iWpbSlIA

On top of that their set seemed to be dominated by songs from the album Deftones. That album was a big let down for me as I'd been eagerly awaiting new material from them since White Pony's release in 2000 (I think).

That album was a drastic change in expression alright; namely an expression of depression.

Having said all that, their first three albums are classics and I can't recommend them highly enough.

I agree .

Motley Crue

Having seen Fear Factory at Sonisphere this year I couldn't have been happier to see them back on form, their album is phenomenal, and their music has always been first rate.

Some really good pictures from Sonisphere

Malice

Some great pics there Motley Crue. I didn't know Byron Stroud played 6 string bass. As I recall he only played 5 string bass at the Dublin gig.

My mate's pictures are here in case anyone missed them. They were taken with an iPhone so the quality isn't great.

Motley Crue

Malice_ wrote: »

Some great pics there Motley Crue. I didn't know Byron Stroud played 6 string bass. As I recall he only played 5 string bass at the Dublin gig.

As a point of note, I don't know because I'm not technically aware in that sense, but most of these photos - actually probably all of them, were taken during the opening song of the set. If I remember correctly that was 'Mechanize' so whether that song had any particular significance in using this kind of bass I'm not sure.

They played 8 songs of genius though that day, brilliant weather for their set, and an excellent sound.

Malice

Yeah, they opened with Mechanize in Dublin too. It's not a bad choice of opener in fairness . As for whether it has any significance on the choice of bass used, I believe the song is in F# so it's possible that Byron has strung the bass to (high to low) G, D, A, E, B, F#. I don't think the normal high C string is used in the Mechanize bass line.

Motley Crue

Malice_ wrote: »

Yeah, they opened with Mechanize in Dublin too. It's not a bad choice of opener in fairness .

Not at all, great song, great album....a welcome return, and proof where proof is needed, that a band can return from a split or an indefinite hiatus or a breakup (where such a thing has been bravely acknowledged) and create an album which shows how much they were missed and the relevance of their sound in music

I sincerely hope Fear Factory are still making music in 10 to 15 years time - they're all early to mid 40's so no reason why not

Nodferatu

haarp - the filth is my fave, not a fan of FF fan TBH but each to their own.