Obsolete (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section may contain original research or unattributed claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details. |
| Obsolete | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by Fear Factory | ||
| Released | July 28, 1998 | |
| Recorded | February to May, 1998 | |
| Genre | Industrial | |
| Length | 48:52 | |
| Label | Roadrunner Records | |
| Producer(s) | Fear Factory, Rhys Fulber, Greg Reely |
|
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fear Factory chronology | ||
| Remanufacture (1997) |
Obsolete (1998) |
Digimortal (2001) |
Obsolete is the third full-length album released by Fear Factory on July 28, 1998. The album is considered a sequel to Demanufacture, the band's second full-length release. It is also their third studio release as Remanufacture is a remix album.
A concept story is contained within the music. The story is about the future of mankind and how machines have taken over humanity. This was inspired by the band's belief that humanity has become too reliant on technology.[citation needed] However, a hero named Edgecrusher sets out to destroy the machines and save humanity.
Dino Cazares made his debut with seven-string guitars on this album as well.[citation needed]
This album was also ranked gold and was once called "the heaviest album of 1998".
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Shock" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 4:58
- "Edgecrusher" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:39
- "Smasher/Devourer" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 5:34
- "Securitron (Police State 2000)" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 5:47
- "Descent" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 4:36
- "Hi-Tech Hate" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 4:33
- "Freedom or Fire" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 5:11
- "Obsolete" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:51
- "Resurrection" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 6:35
- "Timelessness" (Bell/Cazares/Fulber) – 4:08
[edit] Bonus tracks
A digipak version of Obsolete contains additional tracks:
- "Cars" (Gary Numan) – 3:37
- "0-0 (Where Evil Dwells)" (Thirlwell/Mosimann) – 5:16
- "Soulwound" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:51
- "Messiah" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:31
- "Concreto" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:30
"Cars" is a cover of the original Gary Numan track (Numan also appears on the new version) and "0-0 (Where Evil Dwells)" is a cover of Wiseblood.
[edit] Story line and characters
[edit] Edgecrusher
Edgecrusher is the main character and protagonist and is also the name of a song on the album.
It is unknown who Edgecrusher truly is but from reading the lyrics, he might be a cyborg. His human side must have been more prevalent if he preferred to save humanity instead of assist the machines that control the Earth to destroy it.
In the beginning of the story, he is in a prison and he causes a prison breach. He kills the guards and also causes the death of many cell mates. He must have had great strength to kill all the guards by himself or perhaps he was assisted by his cell mates. He escapes the ruined prison and begins his mission.
However, he also has two obstacles in his path. The first is the massive elite robot, Smasher/Devourer that is hunting him down and the second is the police force of the future, the Securitron. He likely engaged in battle with them.
In the songs with his name, "Descent" and "Resurrection", Burton C. Bell portray's Edgecrusher as the one singing the lyrics. The opener song, "Shock" and the closer song, "Timelessness", could be him as well. He also witnessed the events in the song's "Hi-Tech Hate", "Freedom or Fire" and the album's title track. In the song, "Descent", he wonders if his mission is worth it. From the lyrics in "Resurrection", he enters a church and finds a statue of Jesus Christ. He apparently gains a lot of memories from seeing the statue and the statue itself appers to be crying. Edgecrusher than swears to continue his mission to save humanity. (This was also depicted in the Resurrection video.) Bell could be portraying him in the closer song, "Timelessness" but this is unknown. If it is him, he has either been captured by the Securitron or has committed suicide.
[edit] Securitron - antagonists
The Securitron are the antagonists in the story and their name is part of the album's song, "Securitron (Police State 2000)".
In the story, they serve as law enforcement, governmental leaders and are deadset in keeping humanity in-line. It is the increased use and abuse of machinery by humanity that caused them to come into existence. They appear to be all over the world and to ensure no crime is gone un-seen, they have set large monitors in various places to keep humanity under their view. This is much like how The Party in Nineteen Eighty-Four utilized the telescreens on the population of Oceania. They themselves are likely cyborgs and also appear to be draining the Earth's resources. Despite keeping humanity under control, their true plans seem to lean on making humanity extinct.
It is possible they capture Edgecrusher in the story's conclusion due to the melancholic sounding lyrics, making them the victors.
[edit] Smasher/Devourer - secondary antagonist
Smasher/Devourer is the secondary antagonist in the story and is also the name of a song on the album.
From the description given in the album's booklet, the Smasher/Devourer is a large robot with an "egg-like frame" and "its arms are actually weaponry for protection": no further information on its design is given and what the machine really could look like is left to the imagination, but the description recalls the design of ED-209 from the Robocop movies. It is used to hunt down criminals and may have once been used to protect humanity but the Securitron reprogrammed it to be mankind's enemy. In the story, it's sent on a mission to kill Edgecrusher.
According to guitarist, Dino Cazares, the Smasher/Devourer is like a Terminator and can wipe out anything on Earth.
The machine is last mentioned in the booklet's page for the song "Descent" and its status after that is unclear.
[edit] Credits
- Burton C. Bell - Vocals
- Dino Cazares - Guitar, Mixing
- Fear Factory - Producer
- Rhys Fulber - Keyboards, Programming, Producer, Mixing
- Raymond Herrera - Drums
- Gary Numan - Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
- Greg Reely - Producer, Mixing
- Christian Olde Wolbers - Bass
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Billboard 200 | 77 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Descent" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 38 |
| Fear Factory |
| Burton C. Bell | Christian Olde Wolbers | Byron Stroud | Raymond Herrera |
| Dino Cazares | Andrew Shives |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: Concrete | Soul of a New Machine | Demanufacture | Obsolete | Digimortal | Archetype | Transgression |
| Compilation and remix albums: Fear Is the Mindkiller | Remanufacture | Hatefiles | The Best of Fear Factory |
| Related articles |
| Ascension of the Watchers | Asesino | Brujeria | G/Z/R | Strapping Young Lad | Zimmer's Hole |
