Digimortal

05/03/2001 5:09 PM, LAUNCH
Jon Wiederhorn

Thematically, Fear Factory has been exploring man's relationship with machines since its conception in 1990, and its obsession with cyborgs, robots, and all things sterile and computerized his shaped and manipulated its incendiary brand of heavy metal. In 1993, when the band hooked up with Front Line Assembly foreman Rhys Fulber, Fear Factory discovered the missing link that would help it seamlessly meld the organic with the mechanical. But its music was still daunting and oppressive.

Gradually, however, the band mutated from a hostile and inaccessible death-metal outfit to an innovative and provocative act that's equally fond of ear-catching melodies and head-severing noise. The transformation began with the radio-friendly passages in quot;Resurrection" and the cover of Gary Numan's "Cars," from 1998's Obsolete and reaches a head with the group's latest offering, Digimortal. The disc is Fear Factory's most engaging to date, combining grinding guitars, eerie hooks and vocals that see-saw between acrimony and tuneful woe. Most of the songs clock in at under four minutes and the surging, foot-tapping chorus of the single "Linchpin" sounds tailor-made for MTV. If you're a speed metal freak, before you clench your fists and spit in distain, give a listen to the machine-gun drum blasts and blowtorch guitars in the tune's pre-chorus.

With Digimortal, Fear Factory have achieved a masterful blend of underground rancor and mainstream melody that should excite Linkin Park followers without totally alienating Slayer fans