Concrete (Fear Factory album)

Last updated
Concrete
Fear Factory Concrete.jpg
Studio album (demo)by
Fear Factory
ReleasedJuly 30, 2002 (2002-07-30)
Recorded1991
Genre Death metal [1]
Length41:44
Label Roadrunner
Producer Ross Robinson
Fear Factory chronology
Digimortal
(2001)		Concrete
(2002)		 Hatefiles
(2003)
Singles from Concrete
  1. "Sangre de Niños"
    Released: 2002

Concrete is the first recording by American industrial metal band Fear Factory. The first album to be produced by Ross Robinson, it was intended to be Fear Factory's first release; however, the album was shelved after the band declined a record contract presented to the band by Robinson. Subsequently, the album was shelved, with Robinson retaining the master tapes and the band retaining the song rights; half of which were re-recorded a year later and released on their debut album Soul of a New Machine . In 2002, Robinson sold the master tapes to Roadrunner, who subsequently released the album on July 30, 2002, though the band members have had divided opinions on its release.

Contents

Background

Concrete was recorded in one week in 1991 in Blackie Lawless's studios. It was intended to be Fear Factory's first release and the first release on a planned record label run by Robinson. The album was recorded on a $5,000 budget, with the album's costs being cut by Robinson and Dino Cazares sneaking into the studio at night to record guitar and bass, which according to Dino gave the album "a $10,000 sound". [2] [3] However, when the band was presented with record contracts by Robinson, the band was advised to not sign the deal, and subsequently stopped working with him. Robinson then sued the band and took them to court, which Bell jokingly said in 2021 was foreshadowing the entire career of Fear Factory as they would face more lawsuits in later years. [4] Robinson eventually won the rights to the album's master tapes, and the band retained the rights to the songs as well as a DAT tape recording of the album. [5] Both Fear Factory and Robinson used the album to promote themselves, with Fear Factory using the demo to sign to Roadrunner Records and Ross using the demo to promote his work and attract the attention of local bands, and later of Korn, whom he produced for in 1994 and he would become a heavily sought-after nu metal producer of the 1990s. [6] [7] Burton C. Bell considers the album to be a demo, and the band subsequently used it to improve their songs. [8]

Songs

Eight of the songs on Concrete were re-recorded in 1992 and released on Soul of a New Machine: "Big God/Raped Souls", "Arise Above Oppression", "Crisis", "Escape Confusion", "Dragged Down by the Weight of Existence" (re-recorded as "W.O.E"), "Desecrate", "Suffer Age", and "Self Immolation".

Five of the songs were not re-recorded for Soul of a New Machine, nor re-recorded anywhere else: "Echoes of Innocence", "Deception", "Anxiety", "Piss Christ", and "Ulceration".

The remaining three songs were re-recorded elsewhere: "Sangre de Niños" ("Children's Blood" in Spanish) was re-recorded in 1993 and was included on the Cry Now, Cry Later compilation under the "Factoría de Miedo" moniker, and was the only studio recording to feature then-bassist Andrew Shives; "Concrete" (renamed as "Concreto") was re-recorded in 1995 and was included as a b-side for the "Dog Day Sunrise" single during the Demanufacture era, and was later included on certain editions of the Obsolete album; and "Soulwomb" (renamed as "Soulwound") was re-recorded in 1998 and was included as a b-side for the "Resurrection" single, and was later included on certain editions of the Obsolete album.

"Piss Christ" is not the same song as "Pisschrist", which appears on Demanufacture. "Ulceration" is named after the band's original name. The opening guitar riff in "Echoes of Innocence" was used as a synthesized motif in "A Therapy for Pain", the final track on Demanufacture. The title also appears in that song as a lyric.

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Blogcritics favorable [9]
PopMatters favorable [10]

After its shelving, the Concrete demo was never leaked onto the internet. In 2002, following the band's breakup, Ross Robinson sold the master tapes of Concrete to Roadrunner for $10,000. [11] The album was subsequently released under the name Concrete. The band's opinions on its release have been divided. Dino Cazares was happy about the release; "It's something special for the kids, who never even heard it. They can see where we were coming from. Back then, we were gigging in East L.A. We didn't really have too much recording under our belts. We had recorded a couple of demos before that, but we had never worked with a producer like Ross Robinson." [2] Alternatively, Burton C. Bell was annoyed that Robinson had gone behind the band's back to sell the masters without their consent. [11]

Track listing

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Big God/Raped Souls"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:36
2."Arise Above Oppression"Bell, Cazares, Herrera1:57
3."Concrete"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:28
4."Crisis"Bell, Cazares, Herrera3:33
5."Escape Confusion"Cazares, Herrera3:37
6."Sangre de Niños"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:03
7."Soulwomb"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:35
8."Echoes of Innocence"Bell, Cazares, Herrera3:04
9."Dragged Down by the Weight of Existence"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:42
10."Deception"Bell, Cazares, Herrera0:29
11."Desecrate"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:37
12."Suffer Age"Cazares, Herrera3:45
13."Anxiety"Bell, Cazares, Herrera1:39
14."Self Immolation"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:34
15."Piss Christ"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:41
16."Ulceration"Bell, Cazares, Herrera2:45
Total length:41:44

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes. [12]

Personnel

Fear Factory

Additional musicians

  • Dave Gibney − spoken word intro on "Big God", vocals on "Raped Souls"

Production

Visual art

Studios

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear Factory</span> American industrial metal band

Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. Over the years, Fear Factory has seen frequent changes in its lineup, with lead vocalist Burton C. Bell being the only consistent member for 31 years until his departure in 2020. Guitarist Dino Cazares is the only original member still in the band. The band went on hiatus in March 2002 following some internal disputes, but resumed activity a year later without founding member Cazares. Previous bassist Christian Olde Wolbers replaced him on guitarist, while Byron Stroud handled bass duties. After a second hiatus in 2006, Fear Factory reunited in April 2009 with a new lineup that featured a returning Cazares, Gene Hoglan as the replacement of original drummer Raymond Herrera, and Bell and Stroud reprising their respective roles; this lineup recorded the band's seventh studio album titled Mechanize (2010). Wolbers and Herrera — together comprising 50% of the band's legal ownership — disputed the legitimacy of the reunited band, and a legal battle from both parties had begun. Despite this, Fear Factory has since released three more albums: The Industrialist (2012), Genexus (2015) and Aggression Continuum (2021).

<i>Soul of a New Machine</i> 1992 studio album by Fear Factory

Soul of a New Machine is the debut studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on August 25, 1992, by Roadrunner Records. Although this record was Fear Factory's first studio album to be released, it was actually their second album to be recorded, after Concrete, which was recorded in 1991 but not released until 11 years later. German magazine Rock Hard described it as death metal with many other elements such as industrial metal.

<i>Demanufacture</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Fear Factory

Demanufacture is the second studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on March 3, 1995, by Roadrunner Records. It is the band's first album with their classic line-up, adding new bassist Christian Olde Wolbers, who performed on close to half of the album's tracks, with guitarist Dino Cazares handling the rest. Many regard it as the band's best album and a heavy metal classic. The album was certified Gold in Australia by ARIA and Silver in the UK by the BPI.

<i>Digimortal</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Fear Factory

Digimortal is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on April 24, 2001, by Roadrunner Records. It is a concept album and the final part of a trilogy that started with Demanufacture and continued with Obsolete. It was the band's last album before officially breaking up in March 2002, though they reformed in 2003.

<i>Obsolete</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Fear Factory

Obsolete is the third studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on July 28, 1998, through Roadrunner Records. It was produced by Fear Factory, Greg Reely and Rhys Fulber, the latter of whom wrote, arranged and performed all of the album's keyboard parts, and was the band's first full album to feature bassist Christian Olde Wolbers, who performed on around half of the tracks of the band's previous album Demanufacture (1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dino Cazares</span> American guitarist

Dino Cazares is an American musician, best known as the guitarist and one of the co-founders of industrial metal band Fear Factory. He is also a co-founder of Divine Heresy, Asesino, and Brujeria. Cazares popularized the use of digital amp modelling processors, as well as the use of seven and eight-string guitars in metal music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Olde Wolbers</span> Belgian musician

Christian Francis Olde Wolbers is a Belgian musician, songwriter and producer. He is the bassist and backing vocalist of the rap metal/nu metal band Powerflo and the bass player of the thrash metal band Vio-lence. He is also a former bassist, guitarist and backing vocalist of the industrial metal band Fear Factory, and the hardcore punk/crossover thrash band Beowülf.

<i>Genexus</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Fear Factory

Genexus is the ninth studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on August 7, 2015. It is the third Fear Factory album since guitarist Dino Cazares rejoined the band in 2009, their first album to feature drummer Mike Heller, and the final album they released with vocalist Burton C. Bell before his departure from the band in 2020, although his vocals appear on the band's next album, Aggression Continuum, which was initially recorded in 2017 but not released until four years later. Genexus is also Fear Factory's first release through Nuclear Blast. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Remanufacture – Cloning Technology</i> 1997 remix album by Fear Factory

Remanufacture – Cloning Technology is the first remix album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory. The album is a remix of the band's second studio album Demanufacture, released on May 20, 1997.

<i>Coal Chamber</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Coal Chamber

Coal Chamber is the debut studio album by American nu metal band Coal Chamber. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Roadrunner Records and contains the single "Loco". The special edition of the album contains the bonus tracks "Headstones and the Walking Dead", "Big Truck ", "Pig (Demo)", "Sway (Demo)", "Unspoiled (Demo)", and "Loco (Demo)". The DVD features two of the band's concerts, a live video of "Loco", and the music video of "Loco".

<i>Fear Is the Mindkiller</i> 1993 EP by Fear Factory

Fear Is the Mindkiller is the first EP by American industrial metal band Fear Factory. It was released on April 14, 1993, by Roadrunner Records and is containing remixes of songs from the first album Soul of a New Machine.

<i>Hatefiles</i> 2003 compilation album by Fear Factory

Hatefiles is the second compilation album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released by Roadrunner Records on April 8, 2003. It contains rare, unreleased and remixed tracks. The album is notable as it contains "Terminate", the last song to be recorded with original guitarist Dino Cazares until his return to the band in 2009. Graphic designer Dave McKean's artwork is also used.

<i>Strictly Diesel</i> 1998 studio album by Spineshank

Strictly Diesel is the debut studio album by American metal band Spineshank, released on September 22, 1998, through Roadrunner Records. After forming in 1996, Spineshank shopped a demo tape around the Los Angeles area, bringing them to the attention of Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares. The band subsequently began opening for Fear Factory and other bands from early 1997 onwards, attracting the attention of Roadrunner A&R rep Kevin Estrada, who signed the band. Produced by Jay Baumgardner and Amir Derakh, Strictly Diesel is a nu metal and industrial metal album whose sound was compared to bands such as Deftones, Fear Factory, Korn and Sepultura—all of whom Spineshank cited as musical influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear Factory discography</span>

The discography of Fear Factory, an American industrial metal band, consists of ten studio albums, three compilation albums, two remix albums, one demo album, one video album, five extended plays, twenty-one singles and thirteen music videos. Fear Factory formed in 1989, signing to Roadrunner Records three years later. The band's debut studio album, Soul of a New Machine, was released in 1992. The following year, Fear Is the Mindkiller was released as an EP, featuring remixes by Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly. In 1995, Fear Factory released their second studio album, Demanufacture, which peaked at number 27 on the UK Albums Chart, and was later certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI); it was followed two years later by another remix project, Remanufacture , which this time featured contributions from a number of different remixers, including many techno-oriented artists, as well as the band themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolved (band)</span> Australian death metal band

Devolved is an Australian technical death metal band led by drummer and lyricist John Sankey, originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, then based in Los Angeles where Sankey resided for over 15 years. The band has released four full-length albums and has toured extensively throughout Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.

<i>The Best of Fear Factory</i> 2006 greatest hits album by Fear Factory

The Best of Fear Factory is the third compilation album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on Roadrunner Records, featuring a collection of the band's music with the label. The record was released without Fear Factory's involvement, so it's unlikely that the album is officially recognized by the band themselves. Songs from Concrete, as well as their various compilation, live and remix albums, are not included.

"Archetype" is a song by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released from the album of the same title. The single was released on the same day as the album itself, on April 19, 2004. It is the fifth track of the album and was also included on the MTV2 Headbangers Ball, Vol. 2 compilation in September 2004. Months prior to the release of Fear Factory's studio album, however, an exclusive remix of "Archetype" was included on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Album in November 2003. This version features a more electronic sound and softer ending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burton C. Bell</span> American heavy metal vocalist

Burton Christopher Bell is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder and former frontman of the industrial metal band Fear Factory. Until 2021 he was the only member to perform on all of the band's albums. His singing style mixes clean and shouted vocals with death growls.

<i>Mechanize</i> 2010 studio album by Fear Factory

Mechanize is the seventh studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on February 5, 2010 in Germany and February 9, 2010 in United States. It is the only album to feature Gene Hoglan on drums and the first since 2001's Digimortal to include original guitarist and founding member Dino Cazares, who rejoined the band after a reconciliation with lead vocalist Burton C. Bell, in April 2009. The album was produced by Rhys Fulber, who had not produced or been involved with a Fear Factory album since Archetype. The album has received mostly positive reviews from fans and music critics, being praised for its very aggressive and heavy sound. In its first week of release, the album sold 10,000 copies.

<i>Aggression Continuum</i> 2021 studio album by Fear Factory

Aggression Continuum is the tenth studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on June 18, 2021. An instrumental version titled Aggression Continuum: The Instrumentals was released on September 17, 2021. A remixed version titled Recoded was released on October 28, 2022, featuring a compilation of remixes of the songs from the album.

References

  1. 1 2 "Concrete - Fear Factory". Allmusic.
  2. 1 2 Blabbermouth (2002-06-04). "FEAR FACTORY's "Concrete" To Surface On July 30th". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  3. ↑ Millspublished, Matt (2021-07-22). "Fear Factory's Dino Cazares: "You can't control how people are gonna twist your words around."". loudersound. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  4. ↑ Everley, Dave (8 April 2021). "Bust-ups, bankruptcy and backstabbing: how Burton C Bell escaped the wreckage of Fear Factory". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Ex-Fear Factory Vocalist Burton C. Bell Says Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory" Sounded "Like 'Demanufacture' For Kids"". Theprp.com. 2021-04-08. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  6. ↑ Everleypublished, Dave (2021-04-08). "Bust-ups, bankruptcy and backstabbing: how Burton C Bell escaped the wreckage of Fear Factory". loudersound. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Read a Brief Excerpt from Decibel's Comprehensive History of Nü-Metal". MetalSucks. 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  8. ↑ Mosh (2015-12-20). "Interview: Burton C Bell of Fear Factory". The Moshville Times. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  9. ↑ "Fear Factory: Concrete ...Everything Old Is New, Eventually". Blogcritics. Archived from the original on 2002-09-13.
  10. ↑ "Fear Factory: Concrete". PopMatters.
  11. 1 2 Mosh (2015-12-20). "Interview: Burton C Bell of Fear Factory". The Moshville Times. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  12. ↑ Concrete (liner notes). Fear Factory. Roadrunner Records. 2002. RR8439-2. Retrieved March 12, 2017.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.