Origin:	Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres:	Death Metal

Page online:	November 6, 2007
Last update/review:	January 30, 2010

Divine Heresy

It was inevitable that guitarist Dino Cazares would re-enter the extreme metal scene with a new band, following his well-publicized acrimonious split from Fear Factory back in 2002. Divine Heresy is that band, and their debut, Bleed The Fifth, has been described by some as the album that FF should have recorded after '98's Obsolete. This is not a Fear Factory clone, but the similarities are there, especially with Cazares' precision guitar work, though Tommy Cummings' hateful screaming has a bit more of a hardcore feel, and the faint industrial tones that were always a hallmark of FF aren't really here. Arguably, the star here might be drummer Tim Yeung, as his intense double-bass work and general hyperactivity is impressive indeed, and his staccato-like interplay with Cazares is spot-on. This is pretty much non-stop aggression from start to finish ("Closure", featuring clean vocals from Cummings, is an exception), and while Cazares is slightly playing it safe here rather than branching out, Bleed The Fifth is nonetheless an impressive modern extreme metal album. Dino rejoined Fear Factory in April 2009 but has stated that this band will continue.