By Lisa Burke
May 7th 2016, Fonda Theatre, Hollywood CA: One of the greatest ways to relive a part of your youth is to hear a band play an album live in its entirety that was significant to you at a memorable time in your life. On Saturday May 7th 2016, I had this opportunity for my fourth time that week at Fonda Theatre with the band Fear Factory playing their ’95 ‘Demanufacture’ album in its entirety for its 20th anniversary tour. Other bands on this roster were Soilwork, Spades & Blades, and Omnikage.
I arrived for progressive metalcore band Spades & Blades who gave it their all and tore up the Fonda Theatre. Unfortunately, I really can’t say too much about them because I personally can’t get into this modern metalcore/hardcore sound that is happening these days, and it was not my forte. I do enjoy metalcore and hardcore as genres, but there is a big difference in styles based on origin and time, and the best way I can think to describe it is the difference between fighting The Hulk versus fighting a Power Ranger. The Hulk obviously came out before Power Rangers and is more tough, so you should be able to figure out which one is going to win in my world. Anyway, these guys are modern and very metalcore with fun stage presence and good attitude, so if you are into the style, give them a shot.
About six months ago, I saw Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork at the Fonda with Soulfly and was definitly impressed with their show. On this particular night, I actually want to rate them slightly higher than last time, even though they did have a fill-in guitar player on this tour because David Andersson is actually a doctor and was busy attending to those duties in Sweden, but I’m sure he will jump back on board with them soon. That’s top quality husband material right there actually now that I think about it, with the doctor/guitarist rock star combination. Anyway, the fill-in guitarist Ronny Gutierrez fit right in and yet stood out in a very charismatic way and nailed all the riffs from start to finish. I am slightly picky about some Soilwork songs based on how clean Bjorn’s vocals get, but most of the time and primarily with the older albums it all sounds great and very badass, which as a metal band you really need to make one of your top goals. I’m basically a fan of everything before 2010 and after that it becomes a battle of hit or miss for me. Melodic death metal is a beautiful thing that in no way should ever escape the realm of its core death metal no matter how melodic it gets, and Soilwork is good at keeping their roots. The keyboards were actually a touch too low on this night and had only a subtle effect on the melodies on certain songs that should have dominated in that world. Somewhere in the first few songs, the original guitarist was spinning around and power riffing, which was an excellent time for everyone. I actually love the hodgepodge of different metal styles and change-ups in their songs that really create an exciting show from start to finish that does not feel in anyway repetitive. They are a really strong group of heavy metal dudes that are still going strong since their mid-nineties origin, and continue to speak to the metal community in a modern way.
The highlight and draw for me on this evening, of course, was industrial/groove metal band Fear Factory and hearing the whole album ‘Demanufacture’ which was the one that really sold me on these guys (plus more tunes old and new) was absolutely wonderfully nostalgic. Burton C. Bell’s vocals were spot on 99% of the night and he has such a humble and sweet persona about him despite having such a great heavy well-trained brutal vocal scream, that he can instantly change to melodic in a heartbeat and sound perfectly pitched. He was wearing a Surgical Meth Machine tank on stage which has neon pink lettering on it, and yet everything still turned out looking metal, including Burton himself. I adore every part of his vocals, the industrial lyrics are great, and this band exemplifies the perfect usage of backing tracks in a band. This band will grind your gears into submission and fill a room with power and pain. Dino is the perfect combination on guitar to mix with the vocals and his lighthearted presence with his badass faces and antics make for a very exciting show. No Dino Cazares, no Fear Factory. Favorite songs included ‘Replica’, ‘New Breed’, ‘Pisschrist’, and ‘A Therapy For Pain’ which is absolutely beautiful to hear live. They also played two songs off the newest album ‘Genexus’ which I really enjoyed. 2015/2016 seems to be a great time for older bands that originated in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s to make great new albums that keep their roots yet speak to a modern audience, and Fear Factory has definitely succeeded on this path.
Since this was their last show of the seven-week tour, during the encore Burton had members from the other bands come on stage to dance and help sing, which was a hilarious and adorable time at a metal show that really showed what great characters these guys all are. Also, because this is Los Angeles and Fear Factory is at home, ‘Mr. Belding’, the principal from the ‘Saved By the Bell’ TV show came up on stage, like I’ve seen him do at a few shows at the Whisky-A-Go-Go, to help cheer on Fear Factory because he is actually a big supporter of the metal community and he clearly loves Fear Factory. Also, at all the other Fear Factory shows I’ve attended I’m usually one out of five females in attendance, but this night definitely exceeded those expectations for one reason or another, and the room was packed. This was a big night in music apparently, with a few competitor shows happening such as Violent Femmes and Behemoth, and interestingly Burton mentioned the Violent Femmes show which I doubt is really the same crowd or any competitive threat to Fear Factory, while Behemoth definitely is, as I debated it myself, yet I am still satisfied with my decision. One final punchline is that it was a great night with great bands at a great venue. Thank you, goodnight.
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