Obsolete (album)
Encyclopedia
Obsolete is the third studio album
by American industrial metal
band Fear Factory
, released on July 28, 1998. Conceptually, it is a sequel to 1995's Demanufacture
. With the success of its fourth single
, "Cars
," a Gary Numan
cover
, Obsolete would break Fear Factory into the mainstream and remain their highest selling album.
invited Fear Factory to open for the reunited Black Sabbath
at two sold-out stadium shows at the Birmingham NEC. Fear Factory also headlined their own concert on December 7 in London. The band intended to return to work on their album in Los Angeles
until late January when they'd record in Vancouver
with producers
Rhys Fulber
and Greg Reely
. The working title Obsolete was announced during this time although not certain to remain.
In a first, guitarist Dino Cazares
tuned
down to A
for this album. Gary Numan
appears on the cover
of his song "Cars
."
is contained within the music and continues where Demanufacture
left off. Obsolete is about the future of mankind
and how machine
s have taken over humanity. It was inspired by the band's belief that humanity has become too reliant on technology. Bell explained, "We're up to the point in the story where man is obsolete. Man has created these machines to make his life easier, but in the long run it made him obsolete. The machines he created are now destroying him. Man is not the primary citizen on earth."
However, a hero
named Edgecrusher sets out to destroy the machines and save humanity. The story of Obsolete was inspired by books like The Boys from Brazil
, Brave New World
, and 1984
.
The CD booklet features a narrative that details one chapter in the conflict between humankind and technology which corresponds with the songs. Illustrations by artist Dave McKean
, famous for his work in comic books, are also based on themes or characters from the record. Bell explained the wealth of booklet content:
and is also the name of a song on the album.
In the songs "Shock", "Descent", "Hi-Tech Hate", and "Resurrection", Burton C. Bell
portrays Edgecrusher as the one singing the lyrics. The closer song, "Timelessness", is about him as well. As he has been captured by the Securitron in the story's conclusion, the song captures his words (or thoughts) of fear and despair as he is in jail or possibly in the process of being executed.
s in the story and their name is part of the album's song, "Securitron (Police State 2000)".
Securitron is an organization that embodies the law enforcement of the machine-controlled society set in the story. They appear to be all over the world and to ensure no crime is gone un-seen, they have set large monitors in various places to keep humanity under their view. It is clear that a machine-controlled world state is in effect in the story but whether or not Securitron is the world state itself is unknown. This is much like how The Party in Nineteen Eighty-Four utilized the telescreens on the population of Oceania. They themselves are likely cyborg
s as implied by how one of the enforcers is mentioned having gloved hands.
They come out victorious against Edgecrusher as in the end of the album they capture and imprison him.
in the story and is also the name of a song on the album.
From the description given in the album's booklet, the Smasher/Devourer is a large robot with an "egg
-like frame" and "its arms are actually weaponry for protection": no further information on its design is given and what the machine really could look like is left to the imagination, but the description recalls the design of ED-209
from the RoboCop
movies though the design is mostly influenced by the Terminator
. It was originally created by humanity to serve as law-enforcement but was re-programmed by the Securitron.
The machine is last mentioned in the booklet's page for the song "Descent" and its status after that is unclear.
let in the form of a movie script
with the lyrics intertwined in the story itself. The prologue
is the following:
"2076 A.D. Everything that you believe to be true is a contradiction. Imagine a world that is suffering a slow decay, and a culture on the edge of extinction. A world in chaos brought to obedient order by the machines that man created. The linear programming that the system machine created to bring order is failing steadily due to the one variable the machines cannot compute... humanity. In this time, man has become a docile creature herded into submission under the mechanical laws that apply, programmed and desensitized for their convenience.
However, there are certain persons drawn together for reasons that are grounds for punishment, or even death. These people long and yearn for a change within the infrastructure, a better way of life, and a logical existence. These people create factions that congregate in total secrecy in places random and unknown. These factions maintain chaos in society in order to disrupt the system, locate the weak spot, and trigger a collapsing effect. Their anger is only superseded by their will to exist, and nothing could be stronger."
The next song is "Edgecrusher". In the script we find out from a newscast that the previous event took place in a prison called the MSC (Maxi-Security Containment) Facility. The reporter tells us that a breach was instigated by the Faction, but Edgecrusher caused the actual riot
from inside. We are also told that he was serving a sentence for Public Disorder and Infrastructure Sabotage; then they show a clip of the breach, which is the song itself describing the break of the prisoners (hence the chorus "Break of the edgecrusher").
Before "Smasher/Devourer" the reporter details the damage and deaths caused by Edgecrusher (he must have had great strength to kill all the guards by himself or perhaps he was assisted by his cell mates) and after that we are introduced to the Smasher/Devourer character which is described in the booklet as the following: "On the monitor appears an image that looks like solid and mechanical. A bi-pedal design with an egg-shaped, armoured mainframe. What appears to be arms are actually weaponry for protection." The live coverage shows the robot
's search for Edgecrusher and his companionship while the song is actually the commands of the machine to the hostile congregation ("I am the way, prepare for salvation").
"Securitron (Police State 2000)" is the last song of the first scene and the next entity to start chasing Edgecrusher. Edgecrusher is constantly watched by the monitors of Securitron so he descends underground, into the shadows below street level where apparently the refuse is, but he knows that he is safe from incident from any enforcer among the trash. The song is about the police of this dictatorial regime, the Police 2000: how oppressive they are and how they're everywhere not giving any privacy or freedom to citizens. In the end of the scene Edgecrusher is forced to surface and the scene fades out with him running down a deserted street into the night.
protest
of factions of various dissensions in front of the Securitron base, a heavily guarded fortress. The lyrics are the words of a man who emerges and speaks to the crowd through a megaphone. The song is basically an anti-war, anti-nuclear
proclamation from Dino Cazares
.
As the man finishes the Securitron enforcers move in on the crowd. He sees no way out of this situation: true freedom cannot be realized in a scrutinized society. He takes a can of gasoline and pours it on himself. With the match in his fingers, the lyrics of "Freedom or Fire" are his final words. This act of self-immolation
is very much like Thích Quảng Đức's. "Obsolete" starts with a spoken intro by Gary Numan
. They are the words of a Securitron enforcer who grabs the megaphone after the members of the crowd disperse in order to escape detainment of the enforcers. Of course, the main message of the song is that "man is obsolete" and that "our world [is] obsolete".
Edgecrusher has witnessed the events of this 3 songs and it makes him think how their humanity disappeared into the darkness, how mechanised they have become. As he eludes the enforcers he enters a church and finds a statue of Jesus Christ. He has seen this image before. He apparently gains a lot of memories from seeing the statue and he extends his arm to touch the face of it. In the song "Resurrection" Edgecrusher swears to continue his mission to save humanity. (This was also depicted in the music video.)
"Timelessness" closes the scene and the album too. Edgecrusher walks away from the figure, and as he glances back it seems as though it he has been weeping. The Securitron forces capture Edgecrusher in the conclusion and this last song has a very melancholic feel to it. The lyrics are desperate; they are Edgecrusher's words (or probably thoughts) from the jail. We can feel his fear and despair: he lost his battle against machines and failed in saving mankind.
and Monster Magnet
for a fall 1998 tour. They also began their first headlining US tour with System of a Down
, Hed PE, Static-X
, and Spineshank
in early 1998. The tour ran into tragedy, however, when a rental truck housing all of the band equipment and merchandise was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Philadelphia. This forced several shows to be immediately rescheduled. Three days later, the stolen truck was found near the Walt Whitman Bridge
, empty and in flames.
Regarding the theft, Burton C. Bell told MTV
, "January 23 was a very dark day in Fear Factory history. Our entire production was in that truck including lights, merchandise, everything. Not only was our entire production in that truck, but also the other two group's who traveled with us. System of a Down, all their stuff got taken with the truck, same with a band called SpineShank, all their equipment as well. So everything, the whole show just drove off." Such problems on Fear Factory's first headlining tour proved demoralizing; however, Bell described the events as somewhat of a "blessing in disguise" as various one-off major city dates that needed rescheduling were expanded into multiple shows heading into mid April.
In a last-minute change, Fear Factory replaced Judas Priest
in the Second Stage headlining slot of Ozzfest
'99. The tour ran from May through July.
Three singles were released for Obsolete. "Shock" and "Descent" managed to chart but did not endure lasting popularity. Only after the release of "Cars," exclusive to the limited edition digipack version of Obsolete, did Fear Factory gain significant mainstream exposure. This was further aided by the song's music video
directed by John S. Bartley.
frontman Chuck Schuldiner
who was suffering from a brain tumor
. The auction faced severe controversy however; while the record sold for $1,000, the buyer never materialized. Other items up for auction, including a guitar signed by Papa Roach
and articles from Crazy Town
and Slipknot
, also didn't materialize. A new auction was to be organized, but Schuldiner died on December 13 that year.
, Obsolete would gain significant commercial success. As of 2001, the album had sold over 750,000 copies according to SoundScan. It is Fear Factory's best selling album to date and was certified gold in Australia by the ARIA
and also in the US by the RIAA
.
-meets-Slayer
sound."
version of Obsolete released on March 23, 1999 contains additional tracks:
Singles - Billboard (North America)
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
band Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
, released on July 28, 1998. Conceptually, it is a sequel to 1995's Demanufacture
Demanufacture
Demanufacture is the second studio album by the Los Angeles industrial metal band Fear Factory. This is the band's first album with their classic line-up adding new bassist Christian Olde Wolbers. Many regard it as the band's best album and a heavy metal classic...
. With the success of its fourth single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Cars
Cars (song)
Fear Factory, an American industrial metal band, recorded a version of "Cars" and released it as the second single from their third studio album, Obsolete. The song was only included as a bonus track on the limited edition digipak re-release of Obsolete and would be instrumental in breaking Fear...
," a Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
, Obsolete would break Fear Factory into the mainstream and remain their highest selling album.
Background and recording
The group began writing and pre-production in late 1997. This came to a sudden halt when Ozzy OsbourneOzzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
invited Fear Factory to open for the reunited Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
at two sold-out stadium shows at the Birmingham NEC. Fear Factory also headlined their own concert on December 7 in London. The band intended to return to work on their album in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
until late January when they'd record in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
with producers
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Rhys Fulber
Rhys Fulber
Nowell Rhys Fulber is a Canadian electronic musician and producer. He was a member of Front Line Assembly and Delerium along with Bill Leeb, and now records on his own under the name Conjure One.- Biography :...
and Greg Reely
Greg Reely
Greg Reely is a Canadian record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with acts such as Sarah Mclachlan, Frontline Assembly, Fear Factory, Machine Head, Coldplay, The Tea Party, Spirit of the West and others.-Credits:...
. The working title Obsolete was announced during this time although not certain to remain.
In a first, guitarist Dino Cazares
Dino Cazares
Dino Cazares, born in El Centro, California, is a Mexican-American musician and the guitarist for Los Angeles-based industrial metal group Fear Factory. He also plays in the metal bands Divine Heresy and Asesino.-Biography:...
tuned
Guitar tuning
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
down to A
A (musical note)
La or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
for this album. Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
appears on the cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of his song "Cars
Cars (song)
Fear Factory, an American industrial metal band, recorded a version of "Cars" and released it as the second single from their third studio album, Obsolete. The song was only included as a bonus track on the limited edition digipak re-release of Obsolete and would be instrumental in breaking Fear...
."
Concept
A concept storyConcept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
is contained within the music and continues where Demanufacture
Demanufacture
Demanufacture is the second studio album by the Los Angeles industrial metal band Fear Factory. This is the band's first album with their classic line-up adding new bassist Christian Olde Wolbers. Many regard it as the band's best album and a heavy metal classic...
left off. Obsolete is about the future of mankind
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
and how machine
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
s have taken over humanity. It was inspired by the band's belief that humanity has become too reliant on technology. Bell explained, "We're up to the point in the story where man is obsolete. Man has created these machines to make his life easier, but in the long run it made him obsolete. The machines he created are now destroying him. Man is not the primary citizen on earth."
However, a hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
named Edgecrusher sets out to destroy the machines and save humanity. The story of Obsolete was inspired by books like The Boys from Brazil
The Boys from Brazil (novel)
The Boys from Brazil is a 1976 thriller novel by Ira Levin. It was subsequently made into a movie of the same name that was released in 1978.- Plot :...
, Brave New World
Brave New World
Brave New World is Aldous Huxley's fifth novel, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 , the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future society is an embodiment of the ideals that form the basis of...
, and 1984
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
.
The CD booklet features a narrative that details one chapter in the conflict between humankind and technology which corresponds with the songs. Illustrations by artist Dave McKean
Dave McKean
David McKean is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician....
, famous for his work in comic books, are also based on themes or characters from the record. Bell explained the wealth of booklet content:
- "That was the only way to totally bring the concept out. When you read the words, you can visualize it in your head. The music helps to augment that. It's like a mini-graphic novel with Dave McKean artwork throughout it and a great story that goes along with the music... The challenge was to make a story out of it. It was kind of difficult to join all of these elements together. But to us, challenge is the greatest thing. Challenge makes us strive for greater ideas and concepts."
Edgecrusher
Edgecrusher is the main character and protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and is also the name of a song on the album.
In the songs "Shock", "Descent", "Hi-Tech Hate", and "Resurrection", Burton C. Bell
Burton C. Bell
Burton Christopher Bell is an American musician. Bell is best known as the frontman of the metal band Fear Factory where he is the only consistent member. His singing style mixes clean vocals with death growls.-Fear Factory:...
portrays Edgecrusher as the one singing the lyrics. The closer song, "Timelessness", is about him as well. As he has been captured by the Securitron in the story's conclusion, the song captures his words (or thoughts) of fear and despair as he is in jail or possibly in the process of being executed.
Securitron
The Securitron are the antagonistAntagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s in the story and their name is part of the album's song, "Securitron (Police State 2000)".
Securitron is an organization that embodies the law enforcement of the machine-controlled society set in the story. They appear to be all over the world and to ensure no crime is gone un-seen, they have set large monitors in various places to keep humanity under their view. It is clear that a machine-controlled world state is in effect in the story but whether or not Securitron is the world state itself is unknown. This is much like how The Party in Nineteen Eighty-Four utilized the telescreens on the population of Oceania. They themselves are likely cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
s as implied by how one of the enforcers is mentioned having gloved hands.
They come out victorious against Edgecrusher as in the end of the album they capture and imprison him.
Smasher/Devourer
Smasher/Devourer is the secondary antagonistAntagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
in the story and is also the name of a song on the album.
From the description given in the album's booklet, the Smasher/Devourer is a large robot with an "egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
-like frame" and "its arms are actually weaponry for protection": no further information on its design is given and what the machine really could look like is left to the imagination, but the description recalls the design of ED-209
ED-209
The Enforcement Droid Series 209, or ED-209, is a fictional robot in the RoboCop franchise. The ED-209 serves as a heavily-armed obstacle and foil for the series' titular character, as well as a source of comic relief due to its lack of intelligence and tendency towards clumsy malfunctions.The...
from the RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
movies though the design is mostly influenced by the Terminator
Terminator
-Science:*Terminator , the line between the day and night sides of a planetary body*Terminator , the end of a gene for transcription-Technology:*Terminator , a resistor at the end of a transmission line to prevent signal reflection...
. It was originally created by humanity to serve as law-enforcement but was re-programmed by the Securitron.
The machine is last mentioned in the booklet's page for the song "Descent" and its status after that is unclear.
Story line
The whole plot of the album is presented in the album bookBook
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
let in the form of a movie script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
with the lyrics intertwined in the story itself. The prologue
Prologue
A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Greek prologos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance...
is the following:
"2076 A.D. Everything that you believe to be true is a contradiction. Imagine a world that is suffering a slow decay, and a culture on the edge of extinction. A world in chaos brought to obedient order by the machines that man created. The linear programming that the system machine created to bring order is failing steadily due to the one variable the machines cannot compute... humanity. In this time, man has become a docile creature herded into submission under the mechanical laws that apply, programmed and desensitized for their convenience.
However, there are certain persons drawn together for reasons that are grounds for punishment, or even death. These people long and yearn for a change within the infrastructure, a better way of life, and a logical existence. These people create factions that congregate in total secrecy in places random and unknown. These factions maintain chaos in society in order to disrupt the system, locate the weak spot, and trigger a collapsing effect. Their anger is only superseded by their will to exist, and nothing could be stronger."
Scene I
The album starts off with "Shock", which is much like a declaration of the intentions of Edgecrusher. He is in the center of a dim, tungsten-lit room surrounded with people with the intent to hear what he is saying. Basically, what he says is that he will lead the opposition, the detractors of this totalitarian regime, and his aim is to destroy the current system and change it to a better one ("Shock to the system" as it is said in the lyrics), so he is going to act as a trigger for this revolution.The next song is "Edgecrusher". In the script we find out from a newscast that the previous event took place in a prison called the MSC (Maxi-Security Containment) Facility. The reporter tells us that a breach was instigated by the Faction, but Edgecrusher caused the actual riot
Prison riot
A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners in attempt to force change or express a grievance....
from inside. We are also told that he was serving a sentence for Public Disorder and Infrastructure Sabotage; then they show a clip of the breach, which is the song itself describing the break of the prisoners (hence the chorus "Break of the edgecrusher").
Before "Smasher/Devourer" the reporter details the damage and deaths caused by Edgecrusher (he must have had great strength to kill all the guards by himself or perhaps he was assisted by his cell mates) and after that we are introduced to the Smasher/Devourer character which is described in the booklet as the following: "On the monitor appears an image that looks like solid and mechanical. A bi-pedal design with an egg-shaped, armoured mainframe. What appears to be arms are actually weaponry for protection." The live coverage shows the robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
's search for Edgecrusher and his companionship while the song is actually the commands of the machine to the hostile congregation ("I am the way, prepare for salvation").
"Securitron (Police State 2000)" is the last song of the first scene and the next entity to start chasing Edgecrusher. Edgecrusher is constantly watched by the monitors of Securitron so he descends underground, into the shadows below street level where apparently the refuse is, but he knows that he is safe from incident from any enforcer among the trash. The song is about the police of this dictatorial regime, the Police 2000: how oppressive they are and how they're everywhere not giving any privacy or freedom to citizens. In the end of the scene Edgecrusher is forced to surface and the scene fades out with him running down a deserted street into the night.
Scene II
The scene opens with "Descent". Edgecrusher is alone in this song, he has grown tired from running for so long from Smasher/Devourer and the Securitron. He wonders if his mission is worth it, he dwells upon his life, and what it actually amounts to. Edgecrusher stops in an abandoned building to rest himself. As he falls to sleep on a cold, flat floor, he repeats the same words as he does every night; they are the lyrics to this song. As he wakes up and looks to the sky he realizes that his life is worth the effort, so he keeps going.Scene III
"Hi-Tech Hate" is the first song of this scene. It depicts an anti-warAnti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
of factions of various dissensions in front of the Securitron base, a heavily guarded fortress. The lyrics are the words of a man who emerges and speaks to the crowd through a megaphone. The song is basically an anti-war, anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
proclamation from Dino Cazares
Dino Cazares
Dino Cazares, born in El Centro, California, is a Mexican-American musician and the guitarist for Los Angeles-based industrial metal group Fear Factory. He also plays in the metal bands Divine Heresy and Asesino.-Biography:...
.
As the man finishes the Securitron enforcers move in on the crowd. He sees no way out of this situation: true freedom cannot be realized in a scrutinized society. He takes a can of gasoline and pours it on himself. With the match in his fingers, the lyrics of "Freedom or Fire" are his final words. This act of self-immolation
Self-immolation
Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...
is very much like Thích Quảng Đức's. "Obsolete" starts with a spoken intro by Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
. They are the words of a Securitron enforcer who grabs the megaphone after the members of the crowd disperse in order to escape detainment of the enforcers. Of course, the main message of the song is that "man is obsolete" and that "our world [is] obsolete".
Edgecrusher has witnessed the events of this 3 songs and it makes him think how their humanity disappeared into the darkness, how mechanised they have become. As he eludes the enforcers he enters a church and finds a statue of Jesus Christ. He has seen this image before. He apparently gains a lot of memories from seeing the statue and he extends his arm to touch the face of it. In the song "Resurrection" Edgecrusher swears to continue his mission to save humanity. (This was also depicted in the music video.)
"Timelessness" closes the scene and the album too. Edgecrusher walks away from the figure, and as he glances back it seems as though it he has been weeping. The Securitron forces capture Edgecrusher in the conclusion and this last song has a very melancholic feel to it. The lyrics are desperate; they are Edgecrusher's words (or probably thoughts) from the jail. We can feel his fear and despair: he lost his battle against machines and failed in saving mankind.
Release
Obsolete was initially released in a standard format in July 1998. Bell explained, "We wanted the album to come as the concept and the whole story. We had the ten songs in a row for it, and "Cars" was never meant to be on the record. We just knew it would either be a single later on or a B-side or an extra track later on somewhere else. Initially it just didn't fit with the concept." Five other satisfactory songs that did not fit its story concept, including "Cars," were later included on a limited edition digipak in March 1999.Touring and promotion
Fear Factory joined Rob ZombieRob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
and Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet is an American stoner rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf , John McBain and Tim Cronin...
for a fall 1998 tour. They also began their first headlining US tour with System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
, Hed PE, Static-X
Static-X
Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California. They were formed in 1994. They are signed to Warner Bros. Records and have released six albums, their most recent being Cult of Static, which was released on March 17, 2009....
, and Spineshank
Spineshank
Spineshank is an American Grammy-nominated alternative metal band. The band has sold over 540,000 records, and has released 3 studio albums.-Formation, Roadrunner Records years :...
in early 1998. The tour ran into tragedy, however, when a rental truck housing all of the band equipment and merchandise was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Philadelphia. This forced several shows to be immediately rescheduled. Three days later, the stolen truck was found near the Walt Whitman Bridge
Walt Whitman Bridge
The Walt Whitman Bridge is a green-colored single-level suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, New Jersey. Named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided in nearby Camden toward the end of his life, the Walt Whitman Bridge is one of the larger bridges...
, empty and in flames.
Regarding the theft, Burton C. Bell told MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, "January 23 was a very dark day in Fear Factory history. Our entire production was in that truck including lights, merchandise, everything. Not only was our entire production in that truck, but also the other two group's who traveled with us. System of a Down, all their stuff got taken with the truck, same with a band called SpineShank, all their equipment as well. So everything, the whole show just drove off." Such problems on Fear Factory's first headlining tour proved demoralizing; however, Bell described the events as somewhat of a "blessing in disguise" as various one-off major city dates that needed rescheduling were expanded into multiple shows heading into mid April.
In a last-minute change, Fear Factory replaced Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
in the Second Stage headlining slot of Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
'99. The tour ran from May through July.
Three singles were released for Obsolete. "Shock" and "Descent" managed to chart but did not endure lasting popularity. Only after the release of "Cars," exclusive to the limited edition digipack version of Obsolete, did Fear Factory gain significant mainstream exposure. This was further aided by the song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
directed by John S. Bartley.
Charity auction
A gold record of Obsolete was provided to Allbeat.com's charity auction for DeathDeath (band)
Death was an American metal band founded in 1983. The band's founder, Chuck Schuldiner, is considered "a pioneering force in death metal and grindcore". The band ceased to exist after Schuldiner died of brain cancer in 2001, though remains an enduring heavy metal brand.Death is considered one of...
frontman Chuck Schuldiner
Chuck Schuldiner
Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.Schuldiner was the singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the band Death, which he founded in 1983, initially under the name Mantas. He also recorded as guitarist and songwriter with his other band, Control Denied...
who was suffering from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
. The auction faced severe controversy however; while the record sold for $1,000, the buyer never materialized. Other items up for auction, including a guitar signed by Papa Roach
Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest . The group's success continued with their gold album Lovehatetragedy , their platinum album Getting Away with Murder , The Paramour Sessions , and Metamorphosis...
and articles from Crazy Town
Crazy Town
Crazy Town is a rap rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer. The band is best known for their 2001 single, "Butterfly", which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart...
and Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
, also didn't materialize. A new auction was to be organized, but Schuldiner died on December 13 that year.
Commercial success
Largely thanks to the popularity of the band's rendition of "Cars," which did not even manage to chartRecord chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, Obsolete would gain significant commercial success. As of 2001, the album had sold over 750,000 copies according to SoundScan. It is Fear Factory's best selling album to date and was certified gold in Australia by the ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
and also in the US by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
Critical response
The album gained critical appreciation. Allmusic's Greg Prato noted, "Admirably, they've stayed true to their sound over the years, paying no mind to current musical trends -- they're content with their original MinistryMinistry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
-meets-Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
sound."
- Kerrang!Kerrang!Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
(p. 61) - "[T]he sound of Fear Factory proclaiming their supreme status to the sound of orchestral atmospherics and a title-track that sees them conversing with Gary Numan."
Track listing
Bonus tracks
A digipakDigipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
version of Obsolete released on March 23, 1999 contains additional tracks:
Credits
- Burton C. BellBurton C. BellBurton Christopher Bell is an American musician. Bell is best known as the frontman of the metal band Fear Factory where he is the only consistent member. His singing style mixes clean vocals with death growls.-Fear Factory:...
- Vocals - Dino CazaresDino CazaresDino Cazares, born in El Centro, California, is a Mexican-American musician and the guitarist for Los Angeles-based industrial metal group Fear Factory. He also plays in the metal bands Divine Heresy and Asesino.-Biography:...
- GuitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Christian Olde WolbersChristian Olde WolbersChristian Olde Wolbers , is the guitarist of the metal band Arkaea. He is the former bassist and guitarist of the industrial metal band Fear Factory, and is now in Beowülf.-Biography:...
- BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Raymond HerreraRaymond HerreraRaymond Herrera is the drummer for industrial metal band Arkaea. He is a former member of the industrial metal band Fear Factory and Mexican death metal band Brujeria.-Biography:Herrera has been an avid gamer all his life...
- DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Fear FactoryFear FactoryFear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
- Producer - Rhys FulberRhys FulberNowell Rhys Fulber is a Canadian electronic musician and producer. He was a member of Front Line Assembly and Delerium along with Bill Leeb, and now records on his own under the name Conjure One.- Biography :...
- Keyboards, Programming, Producer, MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Gary NumanGary NumanGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
- Spoken word on "Obsolete," vocals on "Cars" - Greg ReelyGreg ReelyGreg Reely is a Canadian record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with acts such as Sarah Mclachlan, Frontline Assembly, Fear Factory, Machine Head, Coldplay, The Tea Party, Spirit of the West and others.-Credits:...
- Producer, MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - DJ Zodiac - ScratchingScratchingScratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
on "Edgecrusher"
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Billboard 200 | 77 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Descent" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 38 |
| "Shock" | Modern Rock Tracks | 38 | |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 16 |