Recently, there seems to be now way but up in the world of Fear Factory (not that they started out in a bad place either)!
With the recent release of their seventh studio album Mechanize, and the great live show we had just witnessed in Malmö less than a week ago, I was impatiently awaiting their arrival on the stage of Pumpehuset; a place which interior looking like an old factory fit the band like a glove.

The place was swarming with people by the time the main act took the stage after a well played support from Swedish band M.A.N, and everybody was warmed up and ready to go.
As soon as the musicians entered, and the first parts of the song Mechanize filled our ears, the crowd went wild and threw itself in and out of the massive moshpit which quickly had formed in the middle of the floor, and for those of us not participating in this event, the old headbang and shout at the top of your lungs worked quite well as a replacement.
The band was once again filled with an indescribable energy, the likes of which is seldom seen, at best!
The one who really shone through, and impressed me the most this night was newly returned guitarist Dino Cazares who effectively took command of the stage, whilst keeping a great connection with the crowd. He seemed to be in the best of moods, and even threw in some nice variations in the music, like a high-pitched squeaky noise in Edgecrusher, just for the heck of it.

Burton C. Bell was also on the top of his game; I was once again impressed with the level of control he had gotten on his vocals, and the pure discharge of rage and harmony left us blown away.
Of course, both Byron Stroud and Gene Hoglan were great to watch as well, and even though there was nothing wrong with the level of intensity they brought to the equation, they still held a little more anonymous role all things considered. Everyone got their time to shine though, as towards the end of the night, Bell had added a little time before Replica to introduce us to the new line-up of the band.

I know I praised the show in Malmö without end, but even though this night had a few minor technical drawbacks such as a not as impressive lightshow and that the sound came off a bit noisy and blurred, I still rank this night even higher than the previous; mainly because of the even higher level of intensity and also the fact that Cazares stepped more into character than previously and gave us a great concert, something to remember...

Setlist:

Mechanize
Shock
Edgecrusher
Smasher/Devourer
Industrial Discipline
Acres Of Skin
Linchpin
Powershifter
Fear Campaign
Martyr
Christploitation
Resurrection
Final Exit
Demanufacture
Self Bias Resistor
Zero Signal
H-K (Hunter-Killer)
Replica