As far as hard metal goes, Fear Factory is one of the few bands that I can tolerate.  Upon receiving Obsolete I found myself even more intrigued once I noticed that Rhys Fulber did all of the programming and additional production was performed by Greg Reely.  Not only that, but there is even an appearance by Gary Numan.  I'll begin with the most obscure piece, Timeless.  Written by Cazares and Fulber and featuring an actual 12 string orchestra, this piece is a far cry from your standard, grungy metal.  Aside from the orchestra, the only other elements are Dino's vocals, the occasional sample, and a wafting synth.  No intrusive guitars, no maniacal drumming, nothing…  Shock is the album opener and is also reminiscent of the overall Fear Factory sound.  Abusive guitar riffs, furious vocals, and maniacal drumming al pummel the listener into oblivion on this piece.  A few electronic elements shine through on Edgecrusher, a track that is a bit lighter by Fear Factory standards.  While not being entirely rooted within the hard-rock genre, Edgecrusher does come off as a roughed up coldwave piece.  Securitron (Police State 2000) begins with police scanner samples and gradually blends in truculent guitars riffs, swirling electronic sequences, and the acrimonious vocals.  The resurgence of Mr. Gary Numan does not stop with the release of his new CD, but continues on Obsolete with a guest spoken word appearance on the title track.  While the song itself is nothing fantastic, it was surprising to see these two musicians working together.  Hi-Tech Hate is another brutal guitar assault with subtle electronic elements and shouted vocals.  After listening to this album several times it occurred to me that the majority of the music on Obsolete sounds much like Front Line Assembly's Millenium, sans the most of the electronics.  I suppose if you preferred the rawer aspects of Millenium and could do without so much of the electro elements than Fear Factory's Obsolete is right up your alley.
    
ROADRUNNER                                        Fear Factory is:
536 Broadway                                            Burton C. Bell / Dino Cazares / Raymond Herrera
New York, NY 10012                                 Christian Olde Wolbers  w/ Rhys Fulber, Gary Numan
USA                                                             & Madchild
ROADRUNNER homepage:
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com