It took until 2002 for Factory of Art to return with their next, and so far last, album, ‘The Tempter’. There had been a reset during this period, with the departure of both Gunter (vocals, keyboards) and Wolf (drums), being replace by Petri (vocals), Ekky (keyboards) and Ralph-Marcel Dietrich (drums). Although they were still using keyboards, they were being somewhat relegated to the background as the band started to push their power metal credentials and guitars more to the fore. They also now had a significantly better drummer which allowed them to have a much-improved platform while in Petri they had a singer with a much superior edge and style. We now have much more gravel and a band who were now looking closer to home for inspiration, coming through as a more melodic and sanitised version of Rage.

However, even though the performance was much better, there is still the issue of the songs themselves just not being strong enough, and perhaps that is the reason this is the last release from the band so far. It appears they broke up in 2006, but reformed in 2019, but while they are touring there does not appear to be any sign of new material on the horizon. Of the three releases this is obviously the best, but whether it is worth attempting to seek it out is another matter altogether.

Rating: 6/10

Links:
https://factory-of-art.band/
https://www.facebook.com/ccprecords