Re:aktor's, Zero Order, Um Conto Preventivo?

I first heard of this Portuguese band, Re:aktor, from their track "Damage Zone" on the compilation Monsters of Metal Vol. 2 on "Nuclear Blast Records." Well, after hearing that the band was similar to Fear Factory (check them out if you haven't already) in their Electronic/Cyber/Groove/Hard Rock/Industrial/Metal/Thrash (if you should tag music.) The band has split up, hopefully not permanently, because the band's only album Zero Order is a solid work of Metal. And if that doesn't get you interested, maybe you have heard of the band Ramp from Portugal? Well, Rui Duarte or R.A.D. was vocalist in that fairly popular band.

The lineup on the album is:

= R.A.D. (Rui Duarte, Ramp vocalist) - Vocalist and he did the arrangements

= [Nexion] (Sirius guitarist & Corpus Christi live guitarist, Nexion K. also goes by Draconiis, but is named Carlos) - Guitarist, bass, programming, and samples

= D.Void (Pedro D. S. Ferreira, Carnificina lead guitarist) - Guitars, samples, and bass

= Sérgio "Animal" Duarte (R.C.A. & The Coven vocals) - Bass, but later vocals

= Ca-2 (Cato Bekkevold, Enslaved drummer) - Drums

1. "Zero Order" - Decent intro song, it is very industrial and lyrics push the idea that there is a technological revolution going on, the album is all about machines in the future. There are breakbeat samples in this song which (as a drummer) I really dig Breakbeat. It ends with the vocalist singing which is a good foreshadowing as the album itself has some good clean vocals throughout. There is the feeling of the struggle of man vs. machine throughout.

2. "My Own Fear" - (this song was also on the Monsters of Metal Vol. 1, or so) the band does a great job with their samples; they are not over bearing over the metal and enhance it. The vocals are of the cyber nature at first and then the vocals get heavier. The vocalist does like to use end rhyme but that goes well with the Groove metal idea. The chorus is very human in this song and the song itself is based on a very human emotion. The song like all of their songs will keep you entertained and headbanging. This might be my second favorite from the album.

3. "Damage Zone" - (This song has a pretty cool video for it.) This song has a pretty relevant message that humanity is being taken over by machines and people become more fake everyday due to technology be it plastic surgery, etc. That is, perhaps that a computer is running everything in our lives; (at least that is how I interpret it). This song has a pretty good guitar solo in it. So, I would have to say this one is my favorite off of the album.

4. "See" - this song is perhaps the most human on this album and also the most like the band Ramp, it injects a good bit of emotion into the album alone. However, this song serves as a decent Hard Rock song if you are not too into the machine-like thrash metal of the previous songs. It could also serve as the ballad of the album. This may be my third favorite song from them.

5. "Stellarator" - This song has some screaming unlike the previous songs which had some lower yells. This song also has some lyrics that are religious based, there are the lyrics "I'm your 21st century cosmic Jesus." This song really pushes that humanity worships machines, which may be in fact true.

6. "Sektor X-Lr8" - This is the may be the fastest song on the album. This song does have a "thrashy" guitar solo as well. 

7. "Disclosure" - This may be my fourth favorite song on this album. This song seems to be a bit based around the chorus and what may be the bridge.

8. "Impact" - Here is another thrashing song with heavier vocals. This song must have been pretty good live when they wanted a moshpit. This one is pretty straightforward with a really "thrashy" and the coolest solo on this album in my opinion.

9. "Datascape Assembler" - This song is another pit worthy "thrashing song," if you listen to the lyrics then they may seem a bit too technical and scientific. But, it appears that as the album progresses it goes farther from human and more to machine in theme. However, it might have been nice for them to give some kind of explanation as to how some of their songs play into the story they are creating.

10. "AS>D<EX" - Not entirely sure if the name of the song is referring to a program, or something one would input when programming a computer? But, the song is a pit worthy song with a one of the best solos on the album. They do scream a bit more on this than some of the previous.

11. "Out There" - This song is mainly sample of dnb (drum & bass.) It seems that the album does not end on a positive note as the last words that were discernable were "Valuable plasma providers, human bodies." 

Overall, it kind of seems that the band should have spaced out the songs: "My Own Fear," "Damage Zone," and "See" but the album is really good in my opinion. The story may be an homage to Fear Factory? If not, it is very much something that band themselves would have put out in my opinion. The structures of the songs have more of a rock sensibility where there are repeated choruses. This does lend that the songs are a bit catchy. Whether one would listen to the lyrics or headbang along, this album does the trick also if you are a fan of Enslaved, well then check this album out if you are a fan of their drummer. While I am left wanting to know just what the lyrics mean, perhaps they wanted the listener to create their own back-story for this album. The album is great if listened to from start to finish and the songs are good enough that they can stand alone by themselves and tell a story, while also being metal enough that metalheads can mosh to them, etc. However, it appears that the band may have wanted this to be a cautionary tale?

(The pictures used were taken from the internet. The links to them can be provided if need be.)