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Album Review
by SashaS
3-4-2003
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| Fear Factory's 'HateFiles' is LoveNoise |
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Fear Factory: 'HateFiles'
(Roadrunner)
Fear Factory: Futurockstic Hi-tech metallism
Post-career releases usually mean a hurried-up jobs for an easy cash-in but, Fear Factory being the band that never cut cred-corners, are celebrated with an industrial-strength solid collection of previously unreleased tracks, different mixes and first-on-polymer cuts. Entitled ‘HateFiles’, it displays all elements that made the band favourite with fans and well respected with critics.
Fear Factory sadly halted the sonic juggernaut after a decade-plus career in 2002. No-one expected it although we personally found it strange that the last time the band played London (in April 2001), singer Burton C. Bell passed on an opportunity to honour the agreed interview despite the past of deep discussions about space, meaning and purpose of everything, function of science fiction and theological denial of a soul in the machine.
Fear Factory were pioneers inasmuch that they used the blueprint of metal, loaded it with experimental electronics and topped it with lyrics that painted a different kinda imagery. They were critical of today but, as every good sci-fi, it was wrapped in palatable form that never troubled Moral Majority. (Not like Marilyn Manson, for instance, who’s too obvious on purpose to feed off notoriety.) Fear Factory were an intelligent band and that can’t be said about many outfits/artists… all throughout the history of rock music.
The ‘HateFiles’ collection’s highlights are ‘Terminate’, the band’s last ever recording (for the video game ‘Terminator: Dawn of Fate’) that was mixed without the band’s involvement and offers an unusual treatment of Burt’s vocal; the ultra-rare ‘Gabber Mixes’ of ‘Transgenic’, ‘Manic Cure’ and ‘New Breed’ (only available on vinyl) and previously unreleased mixes of ‘Zero Signal’, ‘Resurrection’, ‘Cyberdine’ and ‘Refueled’ (both Junkie XL’s restructuring of ‘H-K Hunter Killer’, an out-take from ‘Remanufacture’ sessions), ‘New Breed’ and Gary Numan’s ‘Cars’ are also included; there is a demo of ‘Dark Bodies’ as well as live version of ‘Replica’ from 1996.
Quality? If you are a fan then you know the answer; any newcomer is in for a revealing treasure trove. Listening to this I wish they didn’t quit but many other bands, from Blink 182 to Linkin Park to Limp Bizkit…
The former FF members promised individual activities but nothing’s materialised yet; during the band’s career they were talking about making a film and BCB was writing a screenplay, who also informed us about “doing some other writings”… Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera are supposed to have canned a Kush album (possibly for Sony). Dino Cazeras has been busy playing with different people and bands but nothing of any consequence or this magnitude.
If this is the Fear Factory’s ultimate epitaph (alas, the record co. claims there are only live recordings left unreleased), then it is a deft one indeed. Lemme me blast it again… although the pigs have already called round few times.
8.6/10
SashaS
15-6-2005
Fear Factory’s compilation ‘HateFiles’ is released 07 April 2003 by Roadrunner
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