"Shock" is a song by American heavy metal band Fear Factory. It was the lead single from their 1998 album ''

Obsolete Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...

'' and the first track on the album. Its music was composed by guitarist Dino Cazares and

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

mer

Raymond Herrera Raymond Herrera is an American musician and entrepreneur, best known as the former drummer and founding member of the heavy metal band Fear Factory. He is the former drummer for his previous band Brujeria and for industrial metal band Arkaea. He ...

. The lyrics were written by vocalist

Burton C. Bell Burton Christopher Bell (born February 19, 1969) is an American musician and vocalist. He is best known as the co-founder and former frontman of the metal band Fear Factory. Until 2021 he was the only member to perform on all of the band's album ...

. The introduction of a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, "Shock" introduces its

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, a political prisoner known only as Edgecrusher, who declares his personal mission to destroy the totalitarian society in which he lives. The song was featured in the TV series Angel from season 2 episode 10 "Reunion".

Track listing

Personnel

;Fear Factory *

– vocals * Dino Cazares – guitar, mixing * Christian Olde Wolbers – bass *

– drums ;Additional *

Rhys Fulber Nowell Rhys Fulber is a Canadian electronic musician and producer. He is a member of Front Line Assembly and Delerium, along with Bill Leeb. He also records under his own name and under the name Conjure One. Biography Rhys Fulber was born in ...

– keyboards and programming, production, mixing 1998 singles Fear Factory songs Songs written by Burton C. Bell Roadrunner Records singles Songs written by Dino Cazares {{1990s-single-stub