By Jim Shea

There’s one thing for sure: Fear Factory is officially back. Back in 2001, Fear Factory released Digimortal, which was good, but it wasn’t their best. Sure, it didn’t meet the expectations of their previous works, but the band gave it all their best and made a solid album. However, activities for Fear Factory came to a screeching halt in 2002 when guitarist Dino Cazares departed the band. Thankfully, the rest of Fear Factory did some restructuring and was able to produce Archetype.

Archetype shares a dual relationship -on one end, there’s heavy hitting tracks such as “Cyberwaste” and “Bonescraper.” However, on the other extreme, there are a couple of tracks that are quite melodic, such as “Bite The Hand That Bleeds” and “Human Shield.” Fear Factory’s trademark brand of “industrial metal” does remain intact, which is a good thing forthe fans.

The best songs include “Slave Labor,” “Act of God” and “Default Judgment,” because of the perfect execution of each song. “Slave Labor” is one of the band’s best tracks up to date since the track is so well played out.

To best describe Archetype is to compare it to Fear Factory’s fourth album, Obsolete. Archetype is somewhat of a raw, stripped-down version of Obsolete, but still keeps its charm. Many can be quite pleased that this is a step above from the Digimortal days and the band has gotten back on the right track. Good job with Christian Olde Wolbers for filling in Dino Cazares’ shoes and Bryon Stroud taking over bass. Just because there’s a lineup change doesn’t necessarily mean Fear Factory has lost their edge.

It would be bold to say Archetype is Fear Factory’s greatest album, but this is a fine piece of work. While maybe one or two tracks hold Archetype from being the best album, it does contain a great collection of industrial metal songs and hits. What’s great about Archetype is that it isn’t too generic like Digimortal was, and the songs can be memorable to those who enjoy it.

Truly, Fear Factory has not changed a bit and that’s a good thing. People can still enjoy the industrial metal style of their music. Fans can be pleased that Archetype is a fresh, new album packed with Fear Factory goodness.