Obsolete is the third full-length album released by Fear Factory on July 28, 1998. The album drops the Death Metal style featured on Soul of a New Machine and Demanufacture. The album is also considered a sequel to Demanufacture, the band's second full-length release. It is also their third studio release as Remanufacture is a remix album. Cover for the album Obsolete by Fear Factory This is an album cover. ... A studio album is a collection of studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Fear Factory is a Los Angeles, California based metal band. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see May (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws elements from industrial music and heavy metal music. ... Groove metal, often associated with half-thrash/neo-thrash/nu-thrash/post-thrash and power groove, is a term sometimes used to describe a derivative of thrash metal which took its current form during the early 1990s. ... Alternative metal is an form of music that gained popularity in the early 1990s alongside grunge. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Roadrunner Records is a major record label that concentrates on metal bands. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Fear Factory is a Los Angeles, California based metal band. ... Rhys Fulber was a member of Front Line Assembly and Delerium along with Bill Leeb. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... Chronicles of Chaos is an extreme metal webzine. ... Fear Factory is a Los Angeles, California based metal band. ... Remanufacture - Cloning Technology (sometimes referred to Remanufacture) is a remix album of the sophomore release Demanufacture by Fear Factory, released on May 20, 1997. ... Messiah is a best of compilation album by the Los Angeles industrial metal band Fear Factory released in 1999 by Roadrunner Records. ... An album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. ... Fear Factory is a Los Angeles, California based metal band. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Soul of a New Machine is the debut album (not counting the 1991 and later released in 2002 album Concrete) by the Los Angeles death metal/industrial band Fear Factory. ... Demanufacture is the second official album (not counting the previous EP Fear is the Mindkiller) by the Los Angeles industrial metal band Fear Factory. ... For other uses, see Sequel (disambiguation). ... Demanufacture is the second official album (not counting the previous EP Fear is the Mindkiller) by the Los Angeles industrial metal band Fear Factory. ... Remanufacture - Cloning Technology (sometimes referred to Remanufacture) is a remix album of the sophomore release Demanufacture by Fear Factory, released on May 20, 1997. ...

This album is the band's most popular to date. It was certified Gold in Australia by ARIA and also in the US by RIAA. It was once called "the heaviest album of 1998" by MTV. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with RIAA certification. ... The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry. ... The RIAA Logo. ... This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ...

Concept

A concept story is contained within the music. The story is about the future of mankind and how machines have taken over humanity. This was inspired by the band's belief that humanity has become too reliant on technology^[1][2]. 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^[1]. In popular music, a concept album is an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical (Shuker 2002, p. ... This article is about modern humans. ... This article is about devices that perform tasks. ... For other uses, see Hero (disambiguation). ... The Boys from Brazil (1976) is a fiction thriller novel by Ira Levin. ... For other uses, see Brave New World (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Orwell novel. ...

Track listing

1. "Shock" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 4:58
2. "Edgecrusher" ft. Pat Hoed & DJ Zodak (Bell/Madchild/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:39
3. "Smasher/Devourer" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 5:34
4. "Securitron (Police State 2000)" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 5:47
5. "Descent" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 4:36
6. "Hi-Tech Hate" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 4:33
7. "Freedom or Fire" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 5:11
8. "Obsolete" ft. Gary Numan (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:51
9. "Resurrection" ft. El Feroce, Susie Hodge, Walter Creery, Falstaff Fallen, Monty Washington, Coco Collingwood, Narcissa, Pepé Lamoco, Cleo Ledingham & Chelsea Devon (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 6:35
10. "Timelessness" ft. El Feroce, Susie Hodge, Walter Creery, Falstaff Fallen, Monty Washington, Coco Collingwood, Narcissa, Pepé Lamoco, Cleo Ledingham & Chelsea Devon (Bell/Cazares/Fulber) – 4:08

Shock is a single by Musical Act Fear Factory. ... Pat Hoed (born 1962 in Hollywood, California) is a singer, professional wrestling commentator and radio personality. ... For the video game programmer Garry Newman, see Garrys Mod. ... Ressurection is an EP by the American metal band Fear Factory. ...

Bonus tracks

A digipak version of Obsolete released on March 23, 1999 contains additional tracks: A compact disc in Digipak-style packaging; seen here: Boards of Canadas 1998 release Music Has the Right to Children Digipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of MeadWestvaco, Inc. ... is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

11. "Cars" ft. Gary Numan (Gary Numan cover) – 3:37
12. "0-0 (Where Evil Dwells)" (Wiseblood cover) – 5:16
13. "Soulwound" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:51
14. "Messiah" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:31
15. "Concreto" (Bell/Cazares/Herrera/Wolbers) – 3:30

Cars is a single/cover of Gary Numan by Musicial Act Fear Factory. ... For the video game programmer Garry Newman, see Garrys Mod. ... Wiseblood is an industrial band formed by J. G. Thirlwell and Roli Mosimann. ...

Characters

Edgecrusher

Edgecrusher is the main character and protagonist and is also the name of a song on the album. It is unknown who Edgecrusher truly is but from reading the lyrics, he might be a cyborg. His human side must have been more prevalent if he preferred to save humanity instead of assist the machines that control the Earth to destroy it. A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... For other uses, see Cyborg (disambiguation). ...

In the songs "Shock", "Descent", "Hi-Tech Hate", "Freedom or Fire" 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 from jail. Burton C. Bell being interviewed at the 2006 Wacken Open Air Burton Christopher Bell (born February 19, 1969) is a vocalist, lyricist, guitarist and keyboardist. ...

Securitron

The Securitron are the antagonists in the story and their name is part of the album's song, "Securitron (Police State 2000)". For other uses, see Antagonist (disambiguation). ...

In the story, they serve as law enforcement, governmental leaders and are deadset in keeping humanity in-line. Securitron is an actual organization that controls the police of the future, the Police 2000 and also Smasher/Devourer. It is the increased use and abuse of machinery by humanity that caused them to come into existence. 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. This is much like how The Party in Nineteen Eighty-Four utilized the telescreens on the population of Oceania. They themselves are likely cyborgs and also appear to be draining the Earth's resources. Despite keeping humanity under control, their true plans seem to lean on making humanity extinct. For the band, see The Police. ... This article is about the Orwell novel. ... Big Brothers face looms on giant telescreens in Victory Square Telescreens are featured in George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. ... Oceania is red on the fictitious 1984 world map Note: At the end of the novel, there are news reports that Oceania has captured all of Africa, though as propaganda, the credibility of the reports are uncertain. ... For other uses, see Cyborg (disambiguation). ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ...

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 antagonist in the story and is also the name of a song on the album. For other uses, see Antagonist (disambiguation). ...

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. It is used to hunt down criminals and may have once been used to protect humanity but the Securitron reprogrammed it to be mankind's enemy. In the story, it's sent on a mission to kill Edgecrusher. In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... The first appearance of the ED-209 in the first RoboCop film The Enforcement Droid Series 209 (or ED-209) is a fictional law enforcement robot featured as one of the design and special effect highlights of the movie RoboCop (1987), and its two sequels. ... RoboCop is a 1987 science-fiction, action movie and satire of business-driven capitalism, directed by Paul Verhoeven. ...

According to guitarist, Dino Cazares, the Smasher/Devourer is like a Terminator and can wipe out anything on Earth^[1]. Dino Cazares, born September 2, 1966 in El Centro, CA, was the guitarist for Los Angeles-based metal/industrial group Fear Factory until 2002. ... An 800-series terminator endoskeleton, a robot-only version of the cyborg played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. ...

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 booklet 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." A booklet is a small book. ... Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions. ... A prologue (Greek πρόλογος, from προ~, pro~ - fore~, and lógos, word), or rarely prolog, is a prefatory piece of writing, usually composed to introduce a drama. ...

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-let 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's 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 from inside. We are also told that he was serving a sentence for Public Disorder and Infrastructure Sabotage, than 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. A prison riot is a riot that occurs in a prison, usually when those incarcerated rebel openly against prison guards. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ...

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-war 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^[1]. 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 one. "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. Anti war protest in Melbourne, Australia, 2003 Anti_war is a name that is widely adopted by any social movement or person that seeks to end or oppose a future or current war. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... The anti-nuclear movement holds that nuclear power is inherently dangerous and thus ought to be replaced with safe and affordable renewable energy. ... Dino Cazares, born September 2, 1966 in El Centro, CA, was the guitarist for Los Angeles-based metal/industrial group Fear Factory until 2002. ... Thích Quảng Đức pictured during his self-immolation. ...   (born Lâm Văn Tức in 1897 – June 11, 1963) was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon intersection on June 11, 1963. ... For the video game programmer Garry Newman, see Garrys Mod. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Credits

• Burton C. Bell - Vocals
• Dino Cazares - Guitar, Mixing
• Fear Factory - Producer
• Rhys Fulber - Keyboards, Programming, Producer, Mixing
• Raymond Herrera - Drums
• Gary Numan - Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
• Greg Reely - Producer, Mixing
• Christian Olde Wolbers - Bass
• DJ Zodak - Scratching on "Edgecrusher"

Burton C. Bell being interviewed at the 2006 Wacken Open Air Burton Christopher Bell (born February 19, 1969) is a vocalist, lyricist, guitarist and keyboardist. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Dino Cazares, born September 2, 1966 in El Centro, CA, was the guitarist for Los Angeles-based metal/industrial group Fear Factory until 2002. ... An electric guitar An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... Audio mixing is used in sound recording, audio editing and sound systems to balance the relative volume and frequency content of a number of sound sources. ... Fear Factory is a Los Angeles, California based metal band. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Rhys Fulber was a member of Front Line Assembly and Delerium along with Bill Leeb. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... Computer programming (often simply programming) is the craft of implementing one or more interrelated abstract algorithms using a particular programming language to produce a concrete computer program. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Audio mixing is used in sound recording, audio editing and sound systems to balance the relative volume and frequency content of a number of sound sources. ... Raymond Herrera being interviewed at the 2006 Wacken Open Air Raymond Herrera (born Monday, December 18, 1972), is a drummer and one of the original members of the Industrial/Death metal band Fear Factory. ... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings, and with a set of snares (cords) stretched across the bottom head. ... For the video game programmer Garry Newman, see Garrys Mod. ... Bold text This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A modern day speaker addressing an audience through microphones Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Audio mixing is used in sound recording, audio editing and sound systems to balance the relative volume and frequency content of a number of sound sources. ... Christian Olde Wolbers performing at the 2001 Bizarre Festival Christian Olde Wolbers (born August 5, 1972 in Antwerp, Belgium) was the third bassist of the industrial metal band Fear Factory from 1994 to 2002 when the group disbanded. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce sounds for some types of music. ...

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ...

Singles - Billboard (North America) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ...

Miscellanea

• Dino Cazares made his debut with seven-string guitars on this album^[1].
• Gary Numan also appears on the cover of his song "Cars".

Dino Cazares, born September 2, 1966 in El Centro, CA, was the guitarist for Los Angeles-based metal/industrial group Fear Factory until 2002. ... For the video game programmer Garry Newman, see Garrys Mod. ... // In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... Cars is a 1979 song by Gary Numan, released as a single and on the album The Pleasure Principle. ...

References