Shot. A distant, covered in industrial noise shot. A blow. Blow of tons of steel. Roar. After this comes the roar. 45 minutes of roar in ten songs. Fear Factory have returned. Happy New Year! Anger. ‘Mechanize’ is uncompromisingly angry record. It grabs you in the beginning and the opening ‘Mechanize’ delivers the first series of fractures, it drags you determined, hung like an Iraqi prisoner after an American Humvee and buries you in the viciously-lyrical ‘Final Exit’. And during the rest of the time… well, let’s just say that the album is so tough that you could get in a fight with it. It is not stronger than ‘Obsolete’ and ‘Digimortal’. It is THAT strong. While you listen to it, you forget for the previous two albums. You forget about the break-up. You forget that the rhythm line-up differs from the one of the golden (okay, steel) years. Excuse me for the blasphemy but even the distinct machinegun tearing, hauling and inhuming of Raymond Herrera does not miss you. Gene Hoglan has played with Death and Strapping Young Lad. Enough said. You forget everything while listening to the synthesized energy of the songs and kiss your prejudice goodbye. It appears that the important thing for Fear Factory is Dino Cazares and Burton C. Bell to play together. Then the band dominates, the metal is saved and the mechanical apocalypse is just around the corner. ‘Mechanize’ is a new album of a killer band and the fact it is undeviating and predictable is actually an advantage. Because you can very well predict the pain in the head when you see an undeviating kick flying to your face. Much speed, many chopping guitars and insane drum battering lie in the basis of the tracks. The clean singing of Burton C. Bell left behind, often obscured by mechanical sounds and the lyrical passages, as far as they appear, are at the right places without lowering the rude power of the album. Details on the songs are needless. You have to face ‘Mechanize’ by yourself. So, come on in, the metallurgic works Fear Factory is open again. Are you ready for dances in the moshpit?