Song of the Week: "Slave Labor"

I have never been the biggest fan of Fear Factory, I'm more of a casual listener, and I didn't buy Demanufacture until a few years ago (I listened to it a lot when I was playing Wild Arms 4), but there's one thing I like about them, aside from the sheer force of their melodies. They have a consistent theme. I can't really explain it, but I think the sense is that the world around us is being slowly 'mechanized' and that the new battlefield is man vs. machine. Their lyrics make that point literally but I think it's more of an allegory for the disgust they feel at how ignorant and fake people act nowadays.

I think I've said this before, but rebellion has become the new conformity. That's why I can't stand Green Day's American Idiot. That's why I hate it when people brag about not being racist or homophobic. It doesn't take a lot of courage to stand up against something people already KNOW is bad, nor is it honourable to protest because it makes you look good to be a protester. It's like a school kid getting an award for good attendance. It might seem like a good idea but all you're really doing is patting someone on the back for behaving in a way they already aught to be. I chose this song, 'Slave Labor' as Song of the Week because it reinforces the weakness in doing things to 'fit in' rather than to be real, especially this line,

"Choke another product for the mass to consume,
The flocks of mindless sheep that have been corporately groomed"

That's straight-up Gospel, right there.