Mechanize

Untitled

Mechanize is the upcoming seventh studio album by Fear Factory.

Background

On April 7, 2009, vocalist Burton C. Bell and ex-guitarist Dino Cazares announced the reconciliation of their friendship, and the formation of a new project with Fear Factory bassist Byron Stroud and drummer Gene Hoglan (Death, Strapping Young Lad). On April 28, this project was revealed to actually be a new version of Fear Factory, minus original members Raymond Herrera and Christian Olde Wolbers. Bell, when asked why Herrera and Wolbers were not included, stated that "[Fear Factory]'s like a business and I'm just reorganizing... We won't talk about [their exclusion]."

In June 2009, Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera finally spoke about the issue on the radio program "Speed Freaks." Instead of offering reasons for leaving the group, Herrera revealed that technically, he and Wolbers never left. "[Christian and I] are actually still in Fear Factory...[Burton and Dino] decided to start a new band, and furthermore, they decided to call it Fear Factory. They never communicated with us about it," said Herrera. Herrera went on to say that the original four members (Bell, Cazares, Wolbers, and himself) are contractually regarded as Fear Factory Incorporated, and said "it's almost like them two against us two, so it's kind of a stalemate."

Herrera also stated that he and Wolbers had written eight songs for the next Fear Factory record, but that a "personal disagreement" had come up between them and Bell, which left Bell unwilling to continue work with the band.

Fear Factory featuring Bell and Cazares was set to make its live debut on June 21 in the Metalway Festival in Zaragoza, Spain. However, the show was cancelled "at the last minute," apparently due to the legal complications referenced by Herrera that now surround the use of the name "Fear Factory." The rest of that lineup's planned performances to date, which included a tour of United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand in August 2009, have also been canceled. The group claims, however, that they canceled their touring plans so as to finish writing and recording the next Fear Factory album. Despite the cancelled performances in Europe, shows around December have been confirmed in many South American countries, including Argentina , Chile and Brazil.

Despite ongoing issues between the two parties, the new Fear Factory is moving ahead with the recording process. In late July of 2009, a short video shot with a cell phone showed Dino recording over drum tracks with long time contributor Rhys Fulber. According to recent interviews with Bell and Cazares, at least one show in South America has been announced. On November 6, 2009, blabbermouth.net revealed that Mechanize will be released on February 9, 2010, on Candlelight Records. On November 9, 2009, album artwork for the upcoming album was revealed on blabbermouth.net.

According to Burton C. Bell in an interview, the album is completely finished.

On February 2, 2010, the official music video for the song "Fear Campaign," had been released. The song serves as the album's second single.

The bonus track "Crash Test" is a re-recorded version from their 1992 debut album Soul of a New Machine.

Track listing

1. "Mechanize" – 4:41
2. "Industrial Discipline" – 3:38
3. "Fear Campaign" – 4:54
4. "Powershifter" – 3:51
5. "Christploitation" – 4:58
6. "Oxidizer" – 3:44
7. "Controlled Demolition" – 4:25
8. "Designing the Enemy" – 4:55
9. "Metallic Division" – 1:30
10. "Final Exit" – 8:18
11. "Crash Test (Bonus Track)"

Personnel

• Burton C. Bell – vocals
• Dino Cazares – guitar
• Byron Stroud – bass guitar
• Gene Hoglan – drums
• Rhys Fulber – samples, keyboards, programming, mixing, producer