subversion
Moderator
DIVINE HERESY- Bleed the Filth (Century Media)
Vocals- Tommy Cummings
Drums- Tim Yeung
Guitar/ bass- Dino Cezares
There was profound disappointment when Fear Factory disbanded only to reform without the spinal influence of guitarist Dino Cezares. Word has it that Cezares let ego engulf FF’s rise in metaldom, the acrimonious departure was a result of his prolonged tiff with vocalist Burton C Bell. Propelling his masterstrokes in outfits such as Excruciating Terror, Asessino & Brujeria, Cezares never did exhume his jaw-dropping Demanufacture guitar riffage until Divine Heresy.
Divine Heresy, completed by Cummings & Yeung, displays thrash’s latent hooks coupled with death metal’s dexterity. If you are looking forward to a Demanufacture spin-off per se, you would be disappointed as the music in general is rather devoid of that start-stop-start guitar arrangement that got dance fans hooked to the aforementioned FF’s release. Cezares still dispenses his extraordinary right hand guitar aptness but the overall album sensation still falls short of Demanufacture’s wisdom. What the album excels in is indeed some in-your-face metal thanks to pound master Tim Yeung’s very capable percussion which very much saw the foundation of Hate Eternal laid down in Conquering the Throne.
The parallel drawn to FF is probably (in addition to Cezares in the line-up) Tony Cumming’s clean vocals in tandem to his brash performances. This was (still is) the highlight of Fear Factory, Cumming’s match to this impression is more than apt. It wouldn’t be a shallow statement to opine that, should Cezares wish to start up a Fear Factory 2, Cummings would be more than an ideal match to Burton.
Bleed the Faith lacks the catchy hooks of Demanufacture simply because Cezares does not wish to tread the tried path. The sleek production here should have urged the guitar solos on to serve as a real highlight to the selected tracks (solos has no obligations in Cezares’ guitar philosophy) as the riffs, in the album’s entirety, are indeed a highlight through & through. Bleed the Filth is a successful outing for Cezares & company but it is still over-shadowed by the guitar man’s vast Fear Factory testimonial.
Rating: 82%
