Concrete (Fear Factory album)
| Concrete | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Demo album by Fear Factory | ||||
| Released | July 30, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Death metal, industrial metal | |||
| Length | 41:44 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer | Ross Robinson | |||
| Fear Factory chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Concrete | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Blogcritics | favorable[2] |
| PopMatters | favorable[3] |
Concrete is an album by Fear Factory, released on July 30, 2002. It contains demos of songs recorded in 1991, half of which were re-recorded a year later and released on their debut album Soul of a New Machine.
Album information
Although released in 2002, Concrete was originally recorded in 1991 in Blackie Lawless's studios. It was intended to be Fear Factory's first release, but the band wasn't happy with the record deal they were in, so they left their producer, Ross Robinson.
When they were taken to court, Robinson won the rights to the album, and the band retained the rights to the songs. Fear Factory would later re-record eight of the songs for their 1992 debut, Soul of a New Machine, recording under the name "Factoría de Miedo" (Spanish for "Fear Factory") to hide from their label. Robinson would use the album to promote himself, eventually leading to him producing Korn, which would make him the most sought-after nu metal producer of the 1990s. After the band's breakup in 2002, Roadrunner Records released the album to help meet unfulfilled contractual obligations.
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".
"Concrete" was later renamed as "Concreto" and re-recorded as a b-side for the "Dog Day Sunrise" single, and later appeared as a bonus track for the digipak release of Obsolete. "Piss Christ" is not the same song as "Pisschrist", which appears on Demanufacture. "Ulceration" is named after the band's original name. "Sangre de Niños" was originally featured on one of the Cry Now, Cry Later 7" compilations. "Sangre de Niños" means "Children's Blood" in Spanish. "Soulwomb" was renamed to "Soulwound" and re-recorded as a bonus track for Obsolete.
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.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Big God/Raped Souls" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:36 |
| 2. | "Arise Above Oppression" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 1:57 |
| 3. | "Concrete" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:28 |
| 4. | "Crisis" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 3:33 |
| 5. | "Escape Confusion" | Cazares, Herrera | 3:37 |
| 6. | "Sangre de Niños" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:03 |
| 7. | "Soulwomb" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:35 |
| 8. | "Echoes of Innocence" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 3:04 |
| 9. | "Dragged Down by the Weight of Existence" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:42 |
| 10. | "Deception" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 0:29 |
| 11. | "Desecrate" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:37 |
| 12. | "Suffer Age" | Cazares, Herrera | 3:45 |
| 13. | "Anxiety" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 1:39 |
| 14. | "Self Immolation" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:34 |
| 15. | "Piss Christ" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:41 |
| 16. | "Ulceration" | Bell, Cazares, Herrera | 2:45 |
Total length: |
41:44 | ||
Personnel
- Burton C. Bell − lead vocals
- Dino Cazares − bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
- Monte Conner − liner notes, A&R
- Mikey Davis − engineering, mixing
- Raymond Herrera − drums
- Ross Robinson − production, engineering, mixing
- Andy Romero − bass, backing vocals (although is credited as Fear Factory's official bassist, Romero would only play live; Cazares took him over in studio)
- Howard Rosenberg − cover photo
- Eddy Schreyer − audio mastering
- Dave Gibney − spoken word intro and vocals on "Big God/Raped Souls"