Album
Obsolete
Obsolete is the third studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released in July 1998 on Roadrunner Records. It was produced by the band with Greg Reely and Rhys Fulber, who wrote, arranged and played all the keyboard parts. It was also the first full album to feature bassist Christian Olde Wolbers, who had played on around half of the tracks on Demanufacture (1995).
The record loosens up the band's approach, with a more organic groove than its predecessor. It is also their first fully fledged concept album, built around "Conception 5", a story by vocalist Burton C. Bell set in 2076, when machines have taken over mankind. A cover of Gary Numan's "Cars", with Numan himself on vocals, became the fourth single and brought the band into the mainstream. Obsolete remains their highest-selling album.
Obsolete: tracklist and credits
10 tracks · 48:58Tracklist
- 1ShockCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell4:58
- 2EdgecrusherCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell, Madchild3:40
- 3Smasher/DevourerCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell5:34
- 4Securitron [police state 2000]Cazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell5:47
- 5DescentCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell4:37
- 6Hi‐Tech HateCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell4:34
- 7Freedom or FireCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell5:11
- 8ObsoleteCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell3:52
- 9ResurrectionCazares, Herrera, Wolbers, Bell6:36
- 10TimelessnessCazares, Fulber, Bell4:09
- Produced by
- Fear Factory, Rhys Fulber, Greg Reely
- Recorded at
- Mushroom Studios, Mushroom & Armoury (Vancouver)
- Recorded
- 21 February – 10 May 1998
- Mixed by
- Dino Cazares, Rhys Fulber, Greg Reely
- Labels
- Roadrunner Records, Roadrunner
- Length
- 48:58
Line-up
- Pat Hoed · vocals · guest
- Gary Numan · spoken vocals · guest
- Coco Collingwood · strings · guest
- Walter Creery · strings · guest
- Chelsea Devon · strings · guest
- El Feroce · strings · guest
- Falstaff Fallen · strings · guest
- Susie Hodge · strings · guest
- Pepé Lamoco · strings · guest
- Cleo Ledingham · strings · guest
- Narcissa · strings · guest
- Monty Washington · strings · guest
Singles
- “Shock” · 14 July 1998
- “Resurrection” · 14 September 1998
- “Descent” · April 1999
- “Cars” · 31 August 1999
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2002 | Gold |
| United States · 2001 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
70.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.9k
ListenBrainz listeners
40k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
9.8k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 28 July
Every year →
More from Fear Factory
Full discography →
Breaking Barriers
1992
Soul of a New Machine
1992
The Breed Beyond
1993
Fear Is the Mindkiller
1993
Demanufacture
1995
The Gabber Mixes
1997
Remanufacture (Cloning Technology)
1997
Revolution
1998
Messiah
1999
Linchpin: Special Australian Tour EP 2001
2001
Digimortal
2001
Concrete
2002
Hatefiles
2003
Archetype
2004
Transgression
2005
The Best of Fear Factory
2006
Mechanize
2010
The Industrialist
2012
Genexus
2015
Aggression Continuum
2021
Aggression Continuum (The Instrumentals)
2021
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1998-07-28 vs 1998-07-27 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 27 July 1998 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 28 July 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 1998 | |
| US release | 28 July 1998 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 27 July 1998 | earliest UK or European date |
14 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Roadrunner Records | 016861875299 | other |
| — | XW | Roadrunner Records | 016861875206 | other |
| 1998 | US | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | other |
| 1998 | AU | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Roadrunner Records | 016861875251 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Roadrunner Records | 016861875251 | other |
| 1998 | US | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | other |
| 1998 | JP | Roadrunner Records | 4988015077292 | other |
| July 1998 | NL | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | other |
| 27 July 1998 | XE | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | original |
| 27 July 1998 | NL | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | original |
| 28 July 1998 | US | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | other |
| 28 July 1998 | US | Roadrunner Records | 016861875220 | other |
| 23 March 1999 | US | Roadrunner Records | 016861865320 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×596 | upscaled |