Freax play dark metal that mixes hard riffs with a disturbed industrial edge for a result that is somewhere between Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails. Originally formed in Brazil in 1983, the first version of Freax achieved notoriety touring with Sepultura and Ratos de Parao. But the band imploded due to a seemingly insurmountable tragedy -- the guitarist was electrocuted on a set of train tracks and died. Over a decade and a half later, drummer Lou Ferriera heard guitarist Kevin Lysen playing in a club in Key West, Florida, and started on the path to forming an entirely new incarnation of Freax. After recruiting Thomas Hatcher on bass and Travis Cook on synths, the group secured Life of Agony singer Keith Caputo as their vocalist. The new Freax debuted their self-titled album in 2003. With simmering industrial guitars, gloomy ambience and tortured vocals, the record finds the band working a downtempo set of melancholy electronica that hints at the outfit's metal roots. ~ Charles Spano