by Jason BirchmeierSoul of a New Machine ushered in the '90s alternative metal era, even if few realized it at the time. Fear Factory were quite ahead of their time in 1992, the year Roadrunner Records released Soul, their debut album (though not technically their first, which would be the later-unearthed, Ross Robinson-produced Concrete demo album). The band didn't fit neatly into any of the metal camps of the day: thrash metal (Pantera, Slayer, Sepultura), crossover metal (Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy), industrial metal (Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Godflesh), death metal (Morbid Angel, Death, Obituary), grindcore (Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, Lawnmower Deth), and so on. This fact alone made Fear Factory an anomaly among the market-driven metal field of the day. That Roadrunner even gave them a chance regardless goes to show how much promise Fear Factory exhibited at the time -- market or no market, Roadrunner sensed there was something special about this band and decided to take a chance. And indeed there was something special about Fear Factory, as Soul of a New Machine went on to demonstrate. One of the top two death metal producers of the day, Colin Richardson, flew from England into Los Angeles (only days after the 1992 riots had ravaged the city), and for the next four weeks, he produced what would become a downright groundbreaking metal album. ... Read More...