Archetype is the fifth studio album by Los Angelesindustrial metal band Fear Factory. It was released on April 20, 2004 through Liquid 8. This album is not a concept album like the previous three studio albums. The music on this album returns to the style of the Demanufacture era which pleased many fans. Archetype was also issued in a Limited Edition Digipak with a bonus DVD. Depending on where the digipak was obtained, the bonus DVD is either for their "Australian Tour 2004" and the video for "Cyberwaste" or one based around The Making of Archetype. Some, though not all, versions of the bonus digipak also included a gold ticket that gave the owner a chance to meet Fear Factory live.
"Slave Labor" contains references to the self-immolation of a person against the corporate world, e.g. Kathy Change.
"Cyberwaste" contains references to anonymous Internet users who express haughty opinions only because they are "safe behind the cyberscreen"1.
The title track "Archetype" is directed at ex-guitarist Dino Cazares: "The infection has been removed/The soul of this machine has improved." Frontman Burton C. Bell has said in an interview that "'Archetype,' defines what Fear Factory is, completely. It has classic Fear Factory parts, and the heavy /melodic vocals, but without being forced or contrived."2
In pop culture
"Bite the Hand That Bleeds" was used in the film Saw and the music video is a bonus feature on one of the versions of the DVD.
The album and its title song are referenced in the game Fallout 3 on one of the terminals, where a certain "B. Bell" reports on a terminal that the virus on the "Archetype FF06" mainframe has been cleaned, and that "the infection has been removed, the soul of this machine has improved". 3
