When Fear Factory had released their groundbreaking second album “Demanufacture”¹⁹⁹⁵ they have inadvertently spawned a whole slew of imitators, although, Initially, only the known acts such as Darkane and Soilwork started incorporating the clean/growl dynamics in their sound but soon brand new outfits cropped up, Scar Symmetry and Threat Signal most notable among them. The Canadian symphonic melodic industrial death metal duo, The Design Abstract, promoted courtesy of Jon Asher and Asher Media Relations, is another notworthy Fear Factory spawn, one with enough individual fiber to be called innovative and two albums (both remarkably released last year) to prove themselves a worthy act on the “cyber metal” market. This review concerns the first of those, “Technotheism”, the second in their discography (practically their fourth) with the review of the third, “Metemtechnosis” coming soon.

 

The Design Abstract (TDA) was created as Design, in 2011, by Voiicide (vocals, bass, scoring, sampling, programming) and Logan Mayhem (guitars, modular synthesis) releasing “Apotheosis”²⁰¹³ and “Catharsis”²⁰¹⁶ before expanding the name for “Emanate”²⁰¹⁷ LP and two EPs: “Corrupt”²⁰¹⁹ and “Esoteric”²⁰²⁰, making “Technotheism” practically their fourth full-length overall. The album still shows an overwhelming dominance of synth and keyboard arrangments whereby five out thirteen tracks are instrumentals and three of them have trace amounts of guitars. However, when TDA combines the symphonic layers with melodic death metal something akin to latter Heaven Shall Burn effaces yet with a Burton C. Bell’s Fear Factorish cleans mixed in with the growls and the excellent “Deus Est Machina”, which also recalls Into Eternity, is one of primary examples how it all works to their strength, even if some of the transitions still feel a little haphazard or at least awkward. Not so for the favorite “Parallel Projection”, a kind of “Atoma” Dark Tranquillityian 90s Depeche Mode with huge riffs, one track where all the pieces fit together with pure perfection. The half-ballad with a soaring melodeath riff, “Voidwalkers” may ring a strong Fear Factory/Ascension Of The Watchers B.C. Bell (pun very much intended) but the track is an example of unique songwriting, while the very deathly “Data Shield Attack” has the symphonic power of latter Dimmu Borgir or Behemoth.

 

However, “Technotheism” suffers from inconsistent songwriting, at times as if its creators overwhelmed the content with form (as we would put it in Poland). Examples abound but the most frustrating is “The Resistance” which may have a great epic catchy sing along ending but it comes almost as a reward for a generally meandering, one dimensional track of the kind Heaven Shall Burn has a lot of in amidst their more accomplished work. The almost needless violence of “Annihilation” is another example, cyberpower to the point of near unlistenability and with strong deathcore tendencies (which two tend to go together), as well as the short tease of the overall nonsensical “The Apotheosis”, the superfluous short instrumental “Elucidate” existing solely for the purpose of reprising the ending melody from “The Resistance”, to say nothing further of the aforementioned instrumentals except that the closer “A World Of One”, would snuggly fit on a Jean Michelle Jarre album were it not for the almost gratuitous riff toward the end, and, finally, the production tends to favor the techno and keys over the guitars in the mix which is very telling of the design (pun very much intended).

 

“Technotheism” is a good record but it is merely a foretaste of what The Design Abstract can create when they seriously focus on their craft, namely, “Metemtechnosis” released nine months later that same year, but for that you’ll have to wait a little longer. Meanwhile, sweeten the waiting time with “Parallel Projection” “Deus Est Machina”, “Voidwalkers” and “Data Shield Attack”.