Fear Factory
Genexus


3.7
great

Review

by Trey STAFF
July 31st, 2015 | 511 replies


Release Date: 2015 | Tracklist

Review Summary: This time more melodic and accessible, Dino Cazares and Burton C. Bell prove that they still have what it takes to make a visceral Fear Factory album.

Fear Factory’s music is pretty recognizable. Just about any song in their discography is going to feature drums in lockstep with chugging guitar riffs, sporadic industrial influences, and Burton C. Bell shouting through the verses while singing through the choruses. It’s a simple formula the band have tweaked in small ways for just about every release. These small changes have always been enough to give each album its own identity without breaking from the Fear Factory mold. Soul of a New Machine is the band’s death metal album, Demanufacture is the ground-breaking industrial metal release, Obsolete has groove, and Transgression is basically alt. metal… you get the idea. Genexus continues that trend of minor changes, and comes away with an identity of its own.

When compared to the rest of Fear Factory’s discography, Genexus is going to be defined by its accessibility and the amount of melody present. A majority of the melodic elements come from the band’s industrial influences. Rhys Fulber has stepped up the amount of actual keyboard melodies to the point they almost share equal prominence with Dino’s riffs (especially on the second half of the album). These melodic industrial elements are intermingled with the ‘found sounds’ and synth noises that have always been prominent in the past. Dino, too, has embraced just a bit of a melodic element to his playing. That doesn’t mean he has suddenly discovered something beyond the almighty chug, just that there are definitely more tonal shifts in his riffs than on any other Dino-led Fear Factory release. This increase in melody culminates in Fear Factory’s most atmospheric and downright catchy closing song ever, ‘Expiration Date’. The song features a programmed and rhythmic beat, layers of melodic keyboards, and a superb (even uplifting) vocal performance – it’s the perfect way to close out the album.

While on the topic of vocals, Burton Bell delivers another excellent performance on Genexus. His shouts are still as powerful as they were on Demanufacture, and his clean vocals continue to improve with each release. Of course, there’s no denying his singing range is still fairly limited, but the improved choruses and conviction in which they’re delivered tend to pick up any slack. This combination of strong choruses and prominent melodic elements is really what defines Genexus. An argument could be even be made for a song like ‘Regenerate’ being the most accessible and catchy song in Fear Factory’s career; and that’s really saying something. ‘Soul Hacker’ even takes things a step further with a surprisingly melodic guitar solo, a Killing Joke-inspired chorus, and a fairly moderate tempo.

Even when compared to Transgression and Digimortal, Genexus is easily the most accessible album in the Fear Factory discography. This is due to a more dynamic use of tempos, an increase in melodic industrial elements, better songwriting, and maybe even a slight drop in intensity. The industrial sounds are no longer limited to ‘found sounds’ and samples with occasional, subtle melodic moments; there are actual full-blown melodies woven throughout just about every track. These melodic elements never overtake Dino’s wall-of-riffs, but they’re definitely more prominent and developed than ever before. No one is ever going to mistake Genexus for anything other than a Fear Factory release, but the band’s slight alterations have produced a change in sound that is minor in execution, yet significant in scope.



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user ratings (384)
3.7
great
other reviews of this album
Dmax28 (4)
Fear Factory extend their life energy with a catchy and melodic release that can serve as a great in...



Comments:Add a Comment 
Willie
Moderator
July 31st 2015


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 3.7

These are probably two of the more conventional Fear Factory songs on the album, but here they are:



ProtoMech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=midnSfMs5Y8



Dielectric: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHpcq5lUvN0



Soul Hacker: https://youtu.be/cfIAqYhLSr0

Toondude10
July 31st 2015


15264 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

not expecting much from this honestly, will read later

Gyromania
July 31st 2015


37482 Comments


good to know these guys are still alive and kickin'. nice review

also: their last four album covers are so similar-looking. so monochromatic

Toondude10
July 31st 2015


15264 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

it's to help with the gimmick factor



review's good, my hopes are up a tad bit I guess, but I doubt it will be better than Industrialist/Mechanize.

Willie
Moderator
July 31st 2015


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 3.7

I think it's better than The Industrialist, but I still prefer Mechanize. That might change as I hear this one even more, though. I've only had it a few weeks.

Toondude10
July 31st 2015


15264 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

a few weeks!? damn you and your fucking staff/moderator powers

Willie
Moderator
July 31st 2015


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 3.7

Yep ;)

BigHans
July 31st 2015


30959 Comments


Bet this rules

Voivod
Staff Reviewer
July 31st 2015


10946 Comments

Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off

Great review, gonna check if the album is streaming at Spotify.

Toondude10
July 31st 2015


15264 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

nope, gotta wait another week

Voivod
Staff Reviewer
July 31st 2015


10946 Comments

Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off

^^Ok then, thanks for the heads up

FlyheadMetal
July 31st 2015


2422 Comments


FART FACTORY
lol jk this band is alright

Toondude10
July 31st 2015


15264 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

well if they stream the album ahead of time I'll be first to let you know ;-)

BigPleb
July 31st 2015


65799 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Great rev Willie, has me a little more excited to hear this!

Parallels
July 31st 2015


10166 Comments


nice review trey

Confucius
August 1st 2015


505 Comments


I don't like any of the three songs they released and since they're like 30% of the whole thing I highly doubt I'll enjoy this

KILL
August 1st 2015


81580 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

mandatory sacrifice lol

KevinKC
August 1st 2015


1480 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

I feel relieved when you say "Dino, too, has embraced just a bit of a melodic element to his playing. [...] there are definitely more tonal shifts in his riffs" because my god ! he's pushed the boundaries of monotone chugging very far on Mechanize and The Industrialist.

Is Mandatory Sacrifice an actual song ? Or just nine minutes of Burton C. Bell hammering a metal plate in his garage while whispering insanities ?

KILL
August 1st 2015


81580 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

its a slayer cover bro!

Willie
Moderator
August 1st 2015


20311 Comments

Album Rating: 3.7

@KevinKC: There is still a lot of chugging on this album, but even when Dino is doing his thing, the electronics more than make up for it. Also, I don't know anything about the last two tracks listed on this site. The promo ends with 'Expiration Date', which is the obvious album closer.



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