$112.99
Fear Factory’s 2001 release Digimortal went Top 40, but it’s only come out in Germany on vinyl back in 2007. And its reissue now couldn’t be more timely. Another in a string of concept albums that began with Demanufacture and continued with Obsolete, “Digimortal” was short for “Digital Mortality,” presciently exploring the theme of man and machine melding into one (spoiler: it doesn’t end well). Musically, the band simplified its sound and added a touch more melody, but make no mistake: this is nu metal/death metal at its most intense, with an interesting techno overlay. Maybe “cybercore” would be the best term to describe this album, now coming out on its 25th anniversary for Record Store Day in an expanded edition featuring four bonus tracks never before on vinyl and exclusive to this Record Store Day edition, remastered for the format, pressed on black & blue splatter vinyl, and housed in a gatefold jacket. Limited to 2000 copies, and reissued with the full support of the band!
Originally released in 2001, Digimortal was the album where Fear Factory pushed further into melody, groove, and a more accessible industrial metal attack without fully abandoning the mechanised heaviness that made them essential in the first place. That shift divided some listeners at the time, but in hindsight it is a big part of what makes the record interesting. This is still a Fear Factory album through and through. The guitars still grind, Burton C. Bell still moves between clean vocals and hostility with real force, and the whole thing still feels locked into that band’s man-versus-machine worldview. What changed was the shape of the hooks. Songs like “Linchpin,” “Digimortal,” and “No One”brought a sharper, more immediate edge to the writing.
For a Rue Morgue Records audience, Digimortal has aged better than its reputation sometimes suggests. It is not as savage as Demanufacture and it is not as towering as Obsolete, but it has its own identity. It is compact, futuristic, and loaded with tension between aggression and control. That makes this expanded anniversary edition a pretty attractive revisit, especially since the release notes stress that the album was a Top 40 release, that its only previous vinyl issue was a 2007 German pressing, and that this new version comes remastered and expanded with bonus material.
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