Vanguard

Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: Entertainment

The wide world of extreme metal is a brotherhood; not many people know this. The brotherhood of metal permeates every aspect of what we do in our lives. There is nothing like getting together with a bunch of friends, downing a few cold ones and jamming out killer, face-melting death metal tunes. However, once in an odd full moon, one of these sorts of bands obtains a record deal and ends up making it big. Fear Factory was one of these bands.

Formed back in 1989, Fear Factory was not your typical run-of-the-mill death metal group. They incorporated industrial/electronic elements in their music, along with melodically sung passages (one of the first extreme metal bands, actually, to do that). Probably the most defining element to Fear Factory's sound was the syncopated double bass/guitar riffage that has become such a standard in today's music, especially the newer metalcore scene (think Unearth, Bleeding Through, etc.). And when in a decade where death metal lyrics were the usually of the trite "blood and gore" theme, Fear Factory detailed futuristic topics man versus machine topics.

They even went so far as to release a concept album (1998's "Obsolete") that brought to life a dismal Orwellian universe where cybernetic tyranny rules over humanity.

So imagine you are Fear Factory's sole guitarist, Dino Cazares, and you are bickering with your band members for what seems like forever over everything. Writing music, touring, nothing is as fun as it used to be anymore. What is a guy to do?

Go forth, find other musicians and rock out once more is what you do!

Divine Heresy is Dino's first real mainstream project since the 2002 breakup of Fear Factory. The rest of the band is composed of extreme metal drum god Tim Yeung, who has played in several high-caliber death metal acts such as Hate Eternal and Vital Remains; Joe Payne, former bass player for brutal death juggernaut Nile; and a relatively unknown vocalist known as Tommy Vext.

Divine Heresy's debut, sonically speaking, is a mix of Cazares' old group's guitar style, mixed with Yeung's almost athletic delivery of grindcore-esque blastbeats and percussive battery. The vocals, however, come across as very similar to what Howard Jones currently does in Killswitch Engage, as they have more of a metalcore bark to them. Vext also has the capability to sing melodically, but the usage of it is so sparing during most of the album that it almost seems like an afterthought.

Another concern is Vext, while quite good at what he does, still needs a lot of work in the vocal department in order to truly shine near other giants in the industry, such as Howard Jones or Bjorn "Speed" Strid (from Soilwork fame).

The album as a whole is pretty solid, but it ultimately does not bring anything really new to the table. One can go in any record store and hear any number of bands doing similar things that Divine Heresy pumps out in their debut here. However, one thing is for certain: The raw aggression that the band displays is 100 percent real and will more than likely cause some very chaotic live shows in the next few months.

I recommend any fan of heavy and extreme to come and see Divine Heresy, Shadows Fall, Static-X and 3 Inches of Blood at the Soul Kitchen in downtown Mobile on Oct. 21.

I'll see you guys in the pit!

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