Fear Factory's latest comes with heavy expectations upon it, especially when considering it now follows on the heels of a gold album in the form of their prior effort, "Obsolete". Yet though such conditions can usually tear a band apart, it would seem as though the pressures only motivated them in the creation of this album because for the most part, these 10 year veterans stick to the tried and true Fear Factory formula they've pioneered. A concept album in nature, "Digimortal" is essentially the next chapter in the futuristic struggle the band have so colorfully depicted through their past works and as always, where the lyrics lay down the story line, the mortar like programmed bass hits, stampedes of double kick percussion and crunchy groove laden riffs become the action packed special effects.

Band frontman Burton C. Bell is at his smoothest yet on this effort, showing off a mature approach that finds him bellowing out his now near trademark guttural screams and backing them up with the ever so melodic Ozzy Osbourne reminiscent crooning. Driven lyrically by plots similar to those in recent movies like "The Matrix" and "The Sixth Day", the epic struggle of man and machine, cloning, the implications of digital immortality and more seem to be the topics of the day. The end result tends to be somewhat of a novelty as songs can progress and build upon each other with the intricate techno paranoia lyrics and though if ever attempted by other bands, it would undoubtedly be considering campy, this Los Angeles quartet somehow manage to pull it off gracefully as usual. Guitar wise the record is filled with the customary shredding riffs laced with distortion and in your face pugnacity, backed by the occasional experimental sonic voyage. Bass playing is as competent as ever with its gritty downtuned demeanor chugging out chunky notes that closely work with the drums and guitar to make a tight net of sound, while percussion is furious and crushing, filled with the near mechanical double kick that can literally pulverize the listeners chest into a bloody pulp. Defined and full of precise heroics, drummer Raymond is at his best as always. The standard industrial styled samples of spacey sounds and caustic programming make their way into the mix here as well and though their incorporation is still integral to the groups sound, it seems that they have started to take more of a back seat to the actual instruments this time around, serving the roles of ambiance and the occasional electronic flourish.

After a few listens, there's no doubt this is a very snugly produced effort that shows the band at a crossroads of sorts between the experimental tones and textures found on "Obsolete" and the in your face sharply tipped songs of "Demanufacture". Each sound is rich and colorful and nearly every song is firmly dedicated at progressing forward with increasing momentum, making the album fly by with its concise song format that has few tracks clocking in at over 4 minutes. But as unfortunate as it may be, all this cleanliness and concentration of the bands efforts doesn't come without a price. Repeated exposure to the disc, makes it not hard to see that the band are arguably trying quite hard to package their sound into a more commercial format that could help them go on to attain the success that so many of their peers have before them. It's without question one of the most refined records they have under their belt and the musicianship is as expected, top notch. But its also their most streamlined record to date, leaving little time for dynamic breathing room and climaxes and instead tearing through each song as efficiently as possible. There's a few moments when the creativity flows or something jarringly different is thrown in, such as the hypnotic mid tempo "Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies)" or the guest appearance from Cypress Hill's B-Real on the rap metal tinged "Back The Fuck Up", but for the most part each song is perhaps too meticulously crafted, bearing little surprise or ingenuity. Still, as a whole this is still the Fear Factory many have come to know and love, only with the main course and none of the appetizers or trimmings to help build up the anticipation.