Soul of a New Machine

Soul of a New Machine is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Fear Factory, released on August 25, 1992 by Roadrunner Records. Although this record was Fear Factory's first studio album to be released, it was actually their second album to be recorded, after Concrete, which was recorded in 1991 but not released until 11 years later. The album was remastered and re-released on October 5, 2004 in a digipak, packaged together with the remastered Fear Is the Mindkiller EP.

For the book by Tracy Kidder, see The Soul of a New Machine.

Soul of a New Machine
Studio album by Fear Factory
Released	August 25, 1992
Recorded	May 1992
Studio	Grand Master, Ltd., Hollywood, CA
Genre	Death metal industrial metal
Length	55:14
Label	Roadrunner
Producer	Colin Richardson
Fear Factory chronology
Soul of a New Machine (1992) Fear Is the Mindkiller (1993)

Overview

Guitarist Dino Cazares has stated that this album is a concept album, concerning man's creation of a machine that could be either technological or governmental. It was also confirmed by bassist Christian Olde Wolbers in an interview.[1] The particular concept would later play a more prominent role in some of Fear Factory's later albums.

The sound of the record is different from the later albums, as it was influenced by many different extreme sub-genres of metal, such as death metal, thrash metal and grindcore, hence making the band an "anomaly" among others since it did not fit into any genre category at that time.[2] The sound was also heavily influenced by Napalm Death and Godflesh. Many feel this album is ground breaking as this is the first album to mix death growls with clean vocals. The album has been described as death metal with elements of grindcore by The Moshville Times.[3] 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."[4]

The record featured a different conceptual style from Fear Factory's later works. "Martyr" is about how Burton C. Bell was "bored with his lifestyle"; "Leechmaster" and "Manipulation" are about relationship troubles; "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 killer John 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.

Then-bassist Andrew Shives only played live with the group; the bass tracks on the album were performed by Dino Cazares (though Shives was credited as the band's bassist on the album). In 1993 Fear Factory released a 7" single under their Spanish name Factorio De Miedo called Sangre De Ninos. This is the only material that was ever recorded in a studio with Andrew Shives on bass. He was forced to leave the band due to some internal disputes and was replaced by Christian Olde Wolbers in December 1993.

Professional wrestler Jerry Lynn used the song "Scapegoat" as his theme music during his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling. "Big God/Raped Souls" was used in The Crow: City of Angels.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Rock Hard	[5]

AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier gave the album three stars out of five, remarking 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".[2]

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.[5]

• Kerrang! (p. 61) - "[The album] contains all the unrefined qualities that would soon make Fear Factory legendary."

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Burton C. Bell except where noted; all music is composed by Dino Cazares and Raymond Herrera.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Martyr"	4:06
2.	"Leechmaster"	3:54
3.	"Scapegoat"	4:33
4.	"Crisis"	3:45
5.	"Crash Test"	3:46
6.	"Flesh Hold"	2:31
7.	"Lifeblind"	3:51
8.	"Scumgrief"	4:07
9.	"Natividad"	1:04
10.	"Big God/Raped Souls"	2:38
11.	"Arise Above Oppression"	1:51
12.	"Self Immolation"	2:46
13.	"Suffer Age"	3:40
14.	"W.O.E."	2:33
15.	"Desecrate"	2:35
16.	"Escape Confusion"	3:58
17.	"Manipulation"	3:29
Total length:		55:14

Credits

Fear Factory

• Burton C. Bell – lead vocals (credited as "Dry Lung Vocal Martyr"), programming ("Hardware, Utilities"), intro programming (10) Lyrics
• Dino Cazares – (credited as "Discordant") guitars, bass,
• Raymond Herrera - (credited as "Variable Percussive Wrecking") drums
• Andrew Shives – bass ("Discordant Bass") (credited but did not participate in recording)

Additional personnel

• Colin Richardson – producer, mixing, add. performer (9)
• Steve Harris – engineer, mixing
• Bradley Cook – assistant engineer
• Rober Fayer – assistant engineer, add. performer (9)
• Eddy Schreyer – mastering
• Ted Jensen – remastering (Expanded Edition)
• Satok Lrak, Karl Kotas (spelled backwards) – computer graphics, art direction
• Joe Lance – photography
• Lora Porter – executive producer, add. performer (9)
• Otis – sampling (credited as "Sample god"),
• Darius Seponlou – introduction (5), intro programming (5)
• Monte Conner – A&R

References

1. Bart Nijssen (September 17, 2001). "KindaMuzik - Interview with Christian Olde Wolbers". KindaMuzik. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
2. Allmusic review
3. Sean (November 21, 2013). "Oldie But Goldie: Fear Factory - Soul of a New Machine". The Moshville Times. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
4. Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958. 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. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
5. Frank Albrecht. "Soul of a New Machine review by Rock Hard". Rock Hard. Retrieved January 29, 2019.