Fear Factory
Genexus

American band Fear Factory releases their first album on the gigantic Nuclear Blast label, it is their ninth album since the beginning and on it they have a new drummer. The album is called Genexus, perhaps named after the computer programming tool with that name, the tool that was actually born about the same time as the band, coincident? Anyways, I think the album looks exciting, futuristic and everything and I have taken my time analysing it to see whether or not it is as exciting as it looks. Here are my findings:

Genrewise it is in the extreme metal range, modern melodic death metal with a touch of groove and a bit of progressive metal, add to that a little bit industrial parts as well. It sounds a little bit sci-fi, quite powerful and with excellent production – the soundscape is fantastic. The vocalist is good and the songs have decent depth, certainly enough to last the duration of the album. It is also a relatively varied album and I can only describe it as a quality production and that you hear that these guys know what they are doing. Their experience shines through and it is difficult to see how anyone can fault the musical handiwork that is this album.

I think the album is very good, the atmosphere and sound is just brilliant. But I also think that the album deserves better songs as those on the album doesn’t really do justice to the quality of the production, it is great sound but I still feel pretty indifferent towards the songs. That’s a shame as an album that gets higher ratings have very memorable songs and something that just grabs you, this doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I really like it but it is not a memorable album, it doesn’t really break any new ground and it feels like they are running a little bit on idle and just create a great sounding piece of ordinary music. I was hoping for something more, something a little bit more exciting and interesting. Nevertheless, I don’t really think many will dislike the album.

I don’t think that any song stand out from the others in any regard, the quality is even through all the songs. I think we can conclude that the album is a quality product, with excellent production. I don’t think fans will be disappointed with the album, but at the same time maybe those who were hoping for something extraordinary might not find it as appealing. I think that Fear Factory has done it better in the past and there have been many albums within the genre that far exceeds this album that I rate slightly above the average and claim that it is not an album that will write itself into the history books. In short I will have to conclude that Genexus is more interesting as a programmer’s tool than it is as a Fear Factory album.

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