• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

FEAR FACTORY's 'Demanufacture' Is One Of 'Ten Greatest Covers In Roadrunner History'

March 22, 2010

Since 1910 musicians have associated visual arts with their sonic output in the form of the almighty album cover. And since 1987, Roadrunner Records has been a source of some visually stunning and visually disturbing images in the wide world of album art, nevertheless honoring the tradition. Whether using an image to set the tone for what's to follow on your speakers, or as a means of branding in forever associating a picture with a title, there is no question as to the power of the album cover — which is why the label took a look at every album released on Roadrunner Records U.S. to find the greatest covers in its celebrated history.

Voted on by the Roadrunner worldwide staff, showcasing the iconic vs. the blasphemous, the painted vs. the photographed, as well as the found art vs. the commissioned art, we give you the "Ten Greatest Album Covers in Roadrunner History" — one at a time.

Feast your eyes on #4 below, and check back at RoadrunnerRecords.com every day as the label counts down to number one.

#10: KING DIAMOND - "Abigail"
#9: MACHINE HEAD - "The Blackening"
#8: TYPE O NEGATIVE - "Slow, Deep And Hard"
#7: SEPULTURA - "Chaos A.D."
#6: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - "The End Of Heartache"
#5: NAILBOMB - "Point Blank"

#4: FEAR FACTORY - "Demanufacture"

Marking the Los Angeles-based metal band's first foray into redefinition, this 1995 sophomore album marks the industrialized crew's move from their aggro death metal roots into a more groove-oriented, techno-infused "futuristic" style, thus producing "Demanufacture" — an album heralded by many as the band's quintessential work.

Both catchy and crushing, the concept of man governed by machine featured within the 11 tracks of this classic, genre-defining album were said by frontman Burton C. Bell to be largely influenced by "The Terminator".

As for the album's art, the stark simplicity of a bar code (the actual bar code of the album for purchase) melded into a human spine signified the man-made machine, machine-conquers-man theme prevalent in FEAR FACTORY's lyrics and sound.

Roadrunner Records Senior VP of A&R Monte Conner on FEAR FACTORY's "Demanufacture":

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).