Burton C. Bell - vocals
Christian Olde Wolbers - guitar
Byron Stroud - bass
Raymond Herrera - drums

“The soul of this machine has improved.”

Fear Factory is out on tour celebrating “15 Years of Fear”, showing no signs of slowing down or changing the musical formula which has made them respected by their peers and loved by their fans. Their hard-hitting industrial metal sound is indescribably ominous, and the lyrical content of a Fear Factory song is often apocalyptic. They seem to be rather underground, yet it’s likely that when someone hears one of their songs for the first time they might be wondering why the band doesn’t have more popularity.

Well, I’m not seeing any Fear Factory merchandise in Hot Topic stores, and if there was it’s a safe bet that it wouldn’t be flying off the shelves. The typical emo or Death Cab for Cutie listening kid probably wouldn’t get Fear Factory. Ah, but there is still time. Their sound has an addictive quality and their mind bending live shows seem to rearrange the placement of internal organs. It is music that isn’t suited for the anemic or soft skulled.

Accompanied by US touring mates Soilwork and Strapping Young Lad, Fear Factory came to the House of Blues in Anaheim and gave the people a remarkable show from start to finish. By the time they hit the stage the audience were fueled and frenetic from an excellent set played by Soilwork. The four madmen hit the stage and went into their first number, 540,000 Fahrenheit from the recent release Transgression and began the bludgeoning.

Burton Bell flew up to the microphone and sang his ass off with his trademark switch from a growling demonic voice to singing in a melodic, rock baritone. They played from a varied, yet somewhat predictable set list, and some would wish that it could have been tweaked a little, but the songs were being performed incredibly well and the sound quality was decent in the small House of Blues with molten metal flying everywhere with every scream, searing note and thunderous blast being emitted from the Fear Factory soundstage. Former bassist turned guitarist (after Dino Cazares split the band) Christian Olde Wolbers played with a fury that was amazing, ripping crunchy, slamming power chords and throwing in the pedal effect(s) for the trademark cranium-cracking FF guitar sound. The fusion between bassist Byron Stroud and drummer Ray Herrera makes for a rhythm section that is like no other bottom or timekeeping in metal music today. Herrera’s drumming with its precision (and desultory abandon when called for) double- bass drum wizardry is mesmerizing. To sit up above the stage and watch him hit the hell out of his drum kit is more than worth the price of admission. It’s phenomenal that a drummer can be so technical and still have the soul like this power drummer employs every time he hits …or pounds.

The energy of this band and the way they affect the listener is amazing … Fear Factory put Anaheim’s collective dick in the dirt that night at House of Blues.

Set List:

• 540,000 Fahrenheit
• Transgression
• Slave Labor
• Demanufacture
• Zero Signal
• Shock
• Edgecrusher
• Descent
• Big God
• Martyr
• Linchpin
• Acres of Skin
• Cyberwaste
• Archetype
• Replica
• Timelessness