Conversation so far:
What is soul of a new machine?
Soul of a New Machine is considered by many as Fear Factory's final work death metal album.
Why is that?
because with each album, the band's style shifted away from the death metal subgenre.
Were they trying to get away from death metal?
the album never reached the level of popularity attained by their later, more accessible works.

Question: What direction were they going?
Self-contained rewrite: What direction were Fear Factory going?