After the cancellation of their Bloodstock and Sonisphere appearances last summer, I was beginning to wander whether the FEAR FACTORY reunion was actually going to materialise. However, a few months on, with impressive new album ‘Mechanize’ flying off the shelves, LA’s finest industrial metal bad boys are back – make no mistake about it. The return of the imposing figure of Dino Cazares will please long time fans of the band, the only downside being the lack of any songs from the excellent ‘Archetype’ album. However, Cazares is an important piece of the FEAR FACTORY jigsaw puzzle, and his crunching down-tuned guitar riffs add the real meat to the band’s live sound.

Frontman Burton C. Bell isn’t the best of live singers, and every time I’ve seen FEAR FACTORY over the years, his vocals have been drowned out by the guitars and unmistakable percussion. The melodic ‘Resurrection’ was the best example of Bell’s limitations as he struggled through the clean vocals, missing many a note along the way. Still, Bell is the voice of FEAR FACTORY and it would be wrong to hear anybody else screaming the death metal chimes of ‘Demanufacture’ and ‘Martyr’.

Drummer Gene Hoglan is not nicknamed ‘the atomic clock’ for nothing. His drum work is absolutely awesome, as he seems at ease with the extremely fast and technical drum beats of FEAR FACTORY’s material. Hoglan’s playing creates an explosive intensity, and really comes to the fore on new tracks ‘Powershifter’ and ‘Fear Campaign’. Hoglan is the pulse of the band and is amazing to watch, even if his constant impression of a pneumatic drill finally taxes your ears by the end of the night.

Bands who play at the intense speed of FEAR FACTORY usually play shorter sets than most. However, tonight, the set was a full 90 minutes, and only the most crazy of metalheads could have taken a minute more. Closing number ‘Replica’ rounded off a superb night of metal. FEAR FACTORY are one of the most important metal bands to come out of the 1990′s, and it’s great to see them back on top of their game. Roll on their headline performance at Bloodstock. Prepare to be blown away!

Rating 4.4/5.0

Setlist: Mechanize / Shock / Edgecrusher / Smasher-Devourer / Industrial Discipline / Acres of Skin / Linchpin / Powershifter / Fear Campaign / Martyr / Christploitation / Resurrection / Final Exit / Demanufacture / Self Bias Resistor / Zero Signal / H-K (Hunter Killer) / Replica