Soul of a New Machine

Soul of a New Machine is the debut studio album (not counting the 1991 album Concrete) by the Los Angeles, California metal band Fear Factory. It was released on August 25, 1992. The album was remastered and re-released on October 5, 2004 in a digipak, packaged together with the remastered Fear Is the Mindkiller EP. Guitarist Dino Cazares has stated that this album is a concept album, concerning man's creation of a machine that could be either technological or governmental. It was also confirmed by bassist Christian Olde Wolbers in an interview. The machine-human connection would play a more prominent role in the later Fear Factory concept albums. The sound of the album is different from the later albums for it was heavily influenced by Napalm Death and Godflesh, therefore this one featured more of a death metal and grindcore sound. Many feel this album is ground breaking as this is the first album to mix death growls with clean vocals. While Fear Factory's main concept is man vs. machine, this album featured different themes. "Martyr" is about how Burton C. Bell was bored with his lifestyle; "Leechmaster" and "Manipulation" are about relationship troubles; "Scapegoat" was based on how Cazares was once wrongfully accused by the law; "Crisis" is an anti-war song; "Crash Test" concerns animal testing and "Suffer Age" is based on serial killer John Wayne Gacy. The other songs contain different themes as well. Samples from the movies Full Metal Jacket, Blade Runner, and Apocalypse Now are heard sporadically throughout the album. Then-bassist Andrew Shives only played live with the group; the bass tracks on the album were performed by Dino Cazares. In 1993 Fear Factory released a 7" single under their Spanish name Factorio De Miedo called Sangre De Ninos. This is the only material that was ever recorded in a studio with Andrew Shives on bass. He was forced to leave the band due to some internal disputes and was replaced by Christian Olde Wolbers in December 1993. Professional wrestler Jerry Lynn used the song "Scapegoat" as his theme music during his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling. "Big God/Raped Souls" was used in The Crow: City of Angels.