Search - Fear Factory :: Concrete

One of my favorite albums of all time...

x-pert741 | Santa Monica, CA United States | 02/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Now, I'd like to let you all know, that I LOVE guitar solos. But, despite this album (and all other FF albums as well) having none of them, this album is still one of my all time favorites. Because, even without the solos, they manage to make very powerful riffs, and the vocals, bass, and drumming are really good. The echo of the guitars and drums at the beginning of Big God/Raped Souls really sets the mood for the rest of the album. Unlike the newer FF albums, Burton C. Bell actually Death Growls, instead of just yelling roughly, and his growls rival that of Chris Barnes and Dave Vincent. His melodic vocals, while used sparingly compared to later albums, still convey the emotion and energy of other releases. Back to the riffs, Dino Cazares actually does more than the familiar "strum one chord over and over to sound heavy" Nu Metal riff used often in later releases, and by many Nu Metal bands such as that of Mudvayne and Slipknot. The riffs he creates are pure Death Metal, and when he does do the Nu Metal thing, since it's used so rarely, it actually does sound good. Raymond Herrera as always, has excellent drumming. I like all the tracks, except for Dragged Down by the Weight of Existence. It's still a good track, just it doesn't stand out as far as I'm concerned.Now, onto the history of this album...Obviously, I won't cover every aspect (if you wanna know the whole story, buy the album), but it all began with Dino and Raymond meeting up in 1990, and they started jamming together. Eventually, they left the bands they were currently with, and started Fear Factory with Burton C. Bell. They recorded this album with Ross Robinson, who then, was just getting started as a producer. They recorded Concrete, and when they (they meaning the band) were going to sign the contract, they weren't satisfied with the agreement in the contract. They eventually went to court, and Ross Robinson kept the tapes, but FF got to keep the songs. So, they got signed to RoadRunner, and they rerecorded exactly half of the songs on this album, and recorded some new songs they had written, such as Martyr and Scumgrief. This new album, released two years after the band formed, was titled Soul of a New Machine. Some other Concrete songs, like the title track Concrete, were rerecorded under different names as outtakes, like Concrete becamse Concreto, which is available on the Obsolete Digipak version. Some songs, like Deception and Sangre De Ninos, never saw the light of day, until this album was released. This album was finally released, a few years after RoadRunner bought the rights from Ross Robinson, and thye released it during the period when there was no more Fear Factory. But now, Fear Factory is back, minus a member or two, and they are going to release Archetype in a few months from now.So, in the end, if you like Death Metal even somewhat, or you're looking to get into Death Metal, buy this. The angelic vocals with the Death growls will help attract those not used to Death Metal, but this album is still solid enough to get the tr00est Death Metallers headbanging in no time. But, if you wanna find out what modern Fear Factory sounds like, get Demanufacture, or any album released afterwards. Modern Fear Factory, while still talented (and is probably the only Nu Metal band I like, other than maybe SOAD), is no longer Death Metal, and is now a mix of Industrial and Nu Metal, with only the faintest signs of Death Metal left in their music. So, with that, I conclude my review.\m/"

Bittersweet

TypeOFF | Missouri | 08/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While I knew this was coming out, I must admit that when I saw it in the new music rack I got this sudden rush...This is a surreal listening experience...almost like watching home videos of your children when they were younger that someone else had that you didnt know existed. You will listen to this and marvel at the growth, maturity, and progression of this phenomenal band. You will come to appreciate the influence that they have had on all walks of rock n roll..not just metal. Listening to Burton on this album makes you shake you head in disbelief...you truly witness the birth of a singer in retrospect. The joy of this album are the hidden clues of the things to come. Lets fact it..it is raw and gritty...hence the name..concrete...The lyrics are uninterpretable, soft, and you can sense Burton's reluctance to let his melodic side shine thruough. Yet...there are clues and hints of what this band was capable of. You will listen to this album and hear A Therapy for Pain....Self Immolation previews Edgecrusher...and on and on...every song is a trip back that every true fan will be able to cling to. Those AD (after Demanufacture) FF fans will not appreciate this...The PD (pre...) will surely celebrate this release. This album should celebrate this bands accomplishments...do not use it to compare to Digimortal...if you use this to blast Digimortal then you never ever udnerstood what this band set out to do in the first place. Bravo FF...RIP...I miss you."

Fear Factory's unofficial first album

digireplica | Nanaimo | 10/03/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album was recorded back in 1991 before Fear Factory even had a label. But it was recorded at Blackie Lawless's recording studio, so it has quality to it. It was never released however at the time because the band left the producer who threw this album together for them, so when they signed with RoadRunner, they re-recorded most of the songs from this album. Unfortunately, although exactly half of the songs from this album were re-recorded for their official debut (Soul of a New Machine), they were never able to top the recordings on this album. It's bone-crunching in every way you can imagine. Nearly all of the songs were later re-done by the band, even beyond Soul of a New Machine, but you'll never find better versions of these songs than on this album. Bone-crunching, loud, heavy, death metal from Fear Factory, if it wasn't for a select few tracks from their official studio release, this would be all you need."