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Fear Factory - Hatefiles
(Roadrunner Records) |
I, for one, was quite dismayed when Burton C. Bell decided to end his days with Fear Factory in March 2002. After some twelve years, four studio albums, two remix albums and a string of singles, the ashes of the one great futuristic cyber-metal act were laid to rest. Now depending on your view, Hatefiles can either been seen as the perfect compilation to all those hardcore fans of this highly influential band’s legacy, or simply Roadrunner’s last grasp attempt to bleed the last dollar out of the band. In all honesty, after totally immersing myself in this album, I have come to the conclusion that it’s somewhere in between.
Prior to Burton’s departure, Fear Factory was in the midst of recording some five tracks for the various games. While both ‘Frequency’, the ultra quick (At just fifty seconds) ‘Demolition Racer’ and ‘Machine Debaser’ have been aired before, ‘Terminate’ is possibly the last track ever recorded by the band. The production is pretty heavy given the lightweight feel of Digimortal and gives the band a whole a last grab of aggression. Perhaps it’s not the best track the band ever laid down, but interesting given that all the members recorded alone and not as a group.
‘Invisible Wounds (The Suture Mix)’ is an excellent remix lifted from the ‘Linchpin’ Tour E.P., while Tom Lord-Alge’s unheard commercial remix of ‘Resurrection’ could well have brought back the bands fortunes with this overtly commercial rework. The original mix of ‘Body Hammer’ and ‘Zero Signal’ by Colin Richardson are a fascinating insight to the original versions of these ‘Demanufacture’ songs before the decision was made to remix once again. The Gary Numan only vocal on ‘Cars’ and the demo version of ‘Dark Bodies’ is the last of the real rarities, with the last seven tracks made up of one live recording and six unnecessary remixes.
Hatefiles is hardly the hardcore Fear Factory fans ultimate so-called ‘collection of rare and hard to find’ tracks. Most have been released before, with only seven being aired for the first time. The only real high point about ‘Hatefiles’ is the notes that accompany each of the tracks explaining their history. The vaults have well and truly been emptied of studio material (Especially after the release of Concrete earlier this year), but don’t be surprised is Roadrunner release a live album next.
By: Justin Donnelly
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