It may not be the triumphant return fans had hoped for, but it's not a desperate gasp for one last breath either. It's somewhere in between — a bittersweet last hurrah.
It’s a strong return that’s worth the wait for fans.
It sounds distinctively like Fear Factory, which some may confuse for more of the same old same old, but it breaks ground within the superstructure that the band created and has manipulated since its inception.
This incarnation of Fear Factory is bowing out with a tense, aggressive and satisfying final act.
Aggression Continuum sounds as it should, like the next last word in extreme metal futurism, with guitarist and driving force Dino Cazares serving up countless new variations on his still unique robot-riff formula.
Thirty-two years into their career and Fear Factory remain superbly adept at crafting records that serve to enhance their legacy as a legendary band.
Recode - 3/5
Disruptor - 4/5
Aggression Continuum - 3/5
Purity - 5/5 ❤
Fuel Injected Suicide Machine - 4/5
Collapse - 3/5
Manufactured Hope - 4/5
Cognitive Dissonance - 3/5
Monolith - 4/5
End of Line - 3/5
This was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be: a middling industrial metal release from veterans who've been cruising it for a while. It's got a couple of decent moments, but its overall sound feels too one-dimensional and gimmicky to take seriously. The lyrics and vocals are often pretty weak as well and the album's large-scale concept was being explored at a more surface level than I would have liked it to.
After what this band has been through these past few years, they can still out do themselves and deliver the most precise and aggressive dystopian sci fi anyone has ever heard.
Best tracks: Disruptor, Aggression Continuum, Purity, Manufactured Hope, Cognitive Dissonance & End of Line.