Woah man, that's freaky as hell. I got into not just Fear Factory the exact same way you did, it was that which got me into metal all those years ago.

Anyways, now that I'm done freaking out over that little fact - I quite like Archetype, I personally think it's better than either Digimortal or Obsolete for that matter. I don't think they'll ever top Demanufacture in my eyes, but they have sure like hell impressed me with the change of direction going more towards Deman again and less towards horrible nu-metal (ie: Digimortal). A few songs (especially the title track) were really dissapointing, but the likes of Slave Labour, Cyberwaste, Default Judgement and a few other tracks far outweigh 1 or 2 crap tracks. All in all, a really good album, especially for people like me who were left pissed off and bitter after Digimortal (I liked 2 measly tracks on that album, Acres of Skin and Hurt Coveyor).

Edit - And I'm so glad they didn't end their career with that travesty of an album Digimortal. Now they have a chance to wrap it up on a good note assuming they keep going the way they are. I was really pissed off when I realised Digimortal was the last thing FF would ever do (atleast I thought so at the time they broke up).

Well like Matt aka Forevergrey aka Deth-Blooms, I got into FF with Demanufacture. And yes it too is still my top Factory album. With that said on to Archetype.

With Dino out of the picture Fear Factory definatly shows that they are a better well-oiled machine. I'm going to credit most of Archetype to Christian who surprisingly dith BOTH guitar and bass and the new album. Byron joined AFTER the album was done (I learned this little tibit from watchin the DVD). Knowing that Christian was originally a guitarist before he even joined the band I wasn't that surprised to see him switch from bass to guitar. Raymond definatly stepped up on this album too. The drums have never been so crisp, hard, and fast. Burton's vocals on Archetype aren't what they were on Demanufacture, but damn were they close on some tracks. It's understandable after 12 years of being the "Dry Lung Martyr" his vocals are starting to show some strain, but they are phenomanal none the less. I have yet to hear Byron on bass (once again he came onboard after the album was down) but from his stint with Strapping Young Lad, I think he fits in just fine. About the only thing I found a lack of was the really dark and heavy death tracks from the past (ex. 0-0, Big God/Raped Souls). But other than that, definatly a solid album. It's no Demanufacture (and no album will be) but it's a leap out of the grave the dug with Digimortal.

Here's how I'd rate the albums:
-Demanufacture
-Archetype
-Obsolete (Just as good as Archetype IMO)
-Soul of a New Machine
-Hatefiles (Starts off good, but too many repeating tracks and the last few techno tracks aren't that great)
-Digimortal (First few tracks were good, but as it goes on it gets worse and worse)
-Remanufacture (techno remix of Demanufacture, and only two tracks are decent)

And if you haven't got the Digital Connectivity DVD, it's worth a veiw simply for the live performances at the biginning.

**Watches the DVD** and is now in Awe of Christian

Heh. You know, it's true. I told a friend about it, and the first thing he said was OMG DINO WAS THE MUSIC!!!

It's good to see that they can prove themselves without him.

I saw them on the Obsolete tour, wonderful stuff. My first concert, in fact. I look forward to seeing Byron in action there.

Here's my ranking:

-Demanufacture
-Obsolete
-Archetype
-Soul of a New Machine
Digimortal

I thought Archetype was wonderful, but IMO a couple of the tracks just seemed to sort of blur into one another. I was listening to it with another friend on the subway (maybe that's why) the day I got it, and I said "This is a great song." He goes "you already said that". "yeah, but that was for the last one." He didn't even know it had switched from one to the next...

And what the hell's up with "Ascension"?