Man, Fear Factory… where do i even start with these guys? They’ve been kicking around LA since ’89, and while they’ve had their ups and downs with lineup changes and all that drama, when they were firing on all cylinders, damn. And speaking of firing on all cylinders, we gotta talk about Demanufacture from ’95, because holy shit, what a ride.
So i’m spinning this album again, and fuck me, it still hits like a freight train loaded with rusty metal parts. This isn’t just some random industrial metal album, this is THE industrial metal album. When people talk about the perfect marriage of crushing metal riffs and electronic elements, this is what they should be pointing at. Burton C. Bell’s vocals switching between those brutal death growls and soaring clean vocals was pretty much revolutionary at the time, and honestly, half the metalcore bands today are still trying to copy that formula.
Let’s dive into this mechanical hellscape, shall we? The title track “Demanufacture” kicks things off and immediately you know you’re not in Kansas anymore. That opening synth bit mixing with Raymond Herrera’s pounding drums, it’s like being inside a factory that’s about to explode. The riff is so chunky and relentless, it’s perfect for headbanging until your neck gives out. This track basically sets the template for everything that follows.
Then we get hit with “Self Bias Resistor” and jesus christ, Herrera’s drumming here is absolutely insane. The way this song bounces between heavy grooves and those melodic sections, it’s like the band figured out the perfect balance between brutality and accessibility. The melodic parts don’t feel forced or tacked on like some bands do, they’re just part of the whole crushing experience.
“Zero Signal” comes next and this one’s a proper banger. The industrial interludes mixed with that start-stop metal approach creates this unrelenting wall of sound that’s simultaneously groovy and punishing. It’s got that cybernetic feel that makes you think the machines really are taking over. The way Bell delivers those lyrics about losing faith while the music pounds away, it’s pretty fucking intense stuff.
“Replica” slows things down a bit but don’t mistake that for weakness. This was the single and probably the most accessible track on the whole album, but it still hits hard. The drumming is still crushing, just at a slightly more digestible pace. It’s like they’re giving you a breather before throwing you back into the meat grinder.
“New Breed” and “Dog Day Sunrise” are decent industrial metal tracks, but honestly they feel more like palette cleansers between the heavier stuff. They’re not bad, just not as memorable as the crushing highlights surrounding them.
But then “Body Hammer” shows up and holy fuck, this might be the heaviest thing on the entire album. It’s like Ozzy’s “Iron Man” got fed through an industrial shredder and came out twice as mean. The way it shifts between that crushing slow groove and the double bass assault is just perfect. And that ending with the weird yelling, it’s like the song is having a mechanical breakdown, which totally fits the whole concept.
“Flashpoint” is interesting but something about it doesn’t quite click for me. The heavy parts are brutal and the melodic chorus is decent, but they don’t gel together as well as they should. “H-K (Hunter-Killer)” does the same formula but executes it way better, even if the lyrics are more straightforward.
Then we get to “Pisschrist” and fucking hell, this track is criminally underrated. The industrial hammering is so brutal it’ll cave your skull in, and while that melodic section is admittedly weird as shit, the rest of the song is pure gold. You can totally hear the DNA of “Resurrection” from Obsolete in here, they were definitely experimenting with how to integrate melody into their industrial assault.
The album closes with “A Therapy for Pain,” which is basically a 9-minute comedown after all that mechanical violence. It’s like the continuation of “Pisschrist” and honestly, they probably should’ve just combined the two tracks. After getting pummeled by all that industrial hell, this atmospheric piece actually works as genuine relief.
What more can you say about this absolute classic? When this came out in ’95, it was something completely new. Sure, bands like Godflesh and Ministry had been doing industrial metal, but Fear Factory took it to a whole different level with their technical precision and songwriting chops. The production by Colin Richardson is sterile and mechanical in all the right ways, and having Rhys Fulber from Front Line Assembly handle the electronic elements was pure genius.
This album basically wrote the playbook for industrial metal, and you can hear its influence everywhere from nu-metal to modern metalcore. The whole man vs. machine concept album thing was perfectly executed too, Bell’s lyrics about technological alienation and societal breakdown feel even more relevant now than they did in the ’90s.
If you’re into heavy music and you haven’t checked this out, you’re doing yourself a massive disservice. This isn’t just essential listening for industrial metal fans, this is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand how metal evolved in the ’90s. It’ll blow you away, guaranteed.