Soul of a New Machine is the debut studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on August 25, 1992, by Roadrunner Records. Although it was Fear Factory's first album to be released, it was actually their second album recorded. The earlier demo album, Concrete was recorded in 1991 but not released until 11 years later. Soul of a New Machine introduced the era of alternative metal,[1] and has been described as a combination of death metal and industrial metal with other elements such as grindcore.
Soul of a New Machine was remastered and re-released on October 5, 2004, in a digipak, together with the remastered Fear Is the Mindkiller EP.
Overview
Guitarist Dino Cazares has stated that Soul of a New Machine is a concept album, concerning man's creation of a machine that could be either technological or governmental. Bassist Christian Olde Wolbers described it the same way.[2]
Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic described the album as ushering in the alternative metal era of the 1990s.[1]Soul of a New Machine has also been described as death metal and industrial metal with elements of grindcore.[3][4][5][6] Author Colin Larkin of The Encyclopedia of Popular Music wrote "Soul of a New Machine established Fear Factory as a genuine death metal force, with a good collection of songs delivered with originality and ferocity."[7]
The record featured a different conceptual style from Fear Factory's later works. "Martyr" is about someone who dies for a cause; "Leechmaster" is about relationship problems; "Scapegoat" was based on how Cazares was once wrongfully accused by the law; "Crisis" is an anti-war song; "Crash Test" concerns animal testing and "Suffer Age" is based on serial killerJohn Wayne Gacy. The other songs contain different themes. Samples from the movies Full Metal Jacket, Blade Runner, and Apocalypse Now are heard sporadically throughout the album.
AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier remarked that "Fear Factory were quite ahead of their time in 1992". The critic also noted the diversity of the genres featured in the recording, saying that "Soul of a New Machine was so groundbreaking because it [fused] together some of the best aspects of numerous metal subgenres", which "[resulted] in a unique sound".[1]
Rock Hard rated the album highly, saying that the sound of the album was strange, indescribable yet required listening. Rock Hard also complimented the blending of various sub-genres, with particular note to Burton Bell for managing such an eclectic set of vocals.[9]
Kerrang! (p.61) - "[The album] contains all the unrefined qualities that would soon make Fear Factory legendary."
↑Andrew Shives was officially credited as the album's bassist in the liner notes and artwork. Years later, Dino Cazares stated that he himself (and not Shives) played all of the bass parts on the album. Burton C. Bell also corroborated Cazares' claims, although in that particular interview, Bell also claimed that Shives' replacement (Christian Olde Wolbers) did not play on the subsequent Demanufacture album, which was disputed by numerous others. Shives has not publicly commented on his role in the band since then.[10]
↑Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN9780857125958. The Colin Richardson-produced Soul of a New Machine established Fear Factory as a genuine death metal force, with a good collection of songs delivered with originality and ferocity.
