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In a brand new interview with “The Garza Podcast”, hosted by SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Chris Garza, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares opened up about his band’s seek for a brand new vocalist following the departure of Burton C. Bell almost two years in the past.
“Lots of people are calling me out for not asserting our new singer,” Dino stated (as transcribed by Phoosi.com). “[They’re saying] ‘What’s up? You had been gonna announce a brand new singer? What occurred?’ What I used to be gonna do is announce the brand new singer simply earlier than the STATIC-X tour [with FEAR FACTORY] that was purported to occur proper now. So I used to be gonna announce it, I used to be gonna launch a observe simply earlier than the tour, simply to get some hype for the tour [and] introduce the particular person. However the tour acquired postponed, and I went on tour with SOULFLY [as a guest guitarist] after which all this different stuff.
“The factor is that if I announce his identify proper now, everyone’s gonna assault — increase! They have not even heard him but, they usually’re gonna assault him,” Dino defined. “So I wanna do the place I launch a observe. Everyone’s, like, ‘Launch a observe proper now.’ Nicely, there’s planning concerned. I do not wanna put a track out simply to place it out and nothing behind it. So, in different phrases, what I am making an attempt to say is what most followers do not perceive is you wanna create hype for one thing. In different phrases, simply earlier than a tour, I’d launch a track with the brand new singer, and folks would get excited — increase! — you’ve got acquired one thing to tour on. It will hopefully assist generate extra ticket gross sales, generate extra curiosity for the band, blah blah blah blah. But when I launch a observe now, there’s nothing behind it and it is simply no matter. That is what most followers do not perceive — there’s planning and there is timing concerned. So I am withholding who this particular person is until the time is correct… In order that’s my factor that I am saying to everyone proper now, is that.”
When requested by Garza if the brand new FEAR FACTORY singer is “emotionally” able to deal with the inevitable pushback from some followers that he’ll get as soon as his id has been revealed, Dino stated: “I believe that they are prepared. Relating to expertise, they’re very prepared. However ‘tour prepared’ is totally totally different. Let’s hope that… Nicely, the person who we now have has completed some touring, however not touring like we do touring. Like, a full U.S. tour could be wherever from 4 weeks to 6 weeks to no matter, then you definitely fly over to Europe and do one other 4 to 5 weeks, come again to the States, do one other tour, then you definitely go to South America and do one other few weeks there, then you definitely go to Australia and do one other few weeks there, and then you definitely plan for subsequent yr. I believe one of many different issues, too, is when this particular person is introduced, they’re gonna have to have the ability to deal with all of the criticism. That is gonna be the onerous half. ‘Nicely, it did not sound like Burt.’ Nicely, in fact not. I would like this particular person… They do truly sound like Burt — they will deal with all of the previous stuff like Burt — however so far as transferring ahead, I would love them to have their very own id. We’re nonetheless gonna have the components of what makes FEAR FACTORY — for certain — however I would like this particular person to considerably have his personal id as nicely.”
Pressed about what occurred to trigger Burton to depart FEAR FACTORY, Dino stated: “Good query. I do not know. I believe he simply misplaced curiosity in… I can solely assume, as a result of we went by way of some actually heavy lawsuits for 4 years, and it financially crippled us — personally as nicely — and I simply consider that he misplaced curiosity. I believe that probably all of the stuff that we went by way of in FEAR FACTORY was simply, like… He is a type of guys, ‘Fuck it. I am out. I give up. Fuck it.’ He does not come throughout as a fighter — as any person who’s gonna be, like, ‘Fuck it. We went by way of it. Let’s undergo it and let’s simply proceed.’ I imply, I left the door open for him for some time to return again into the band, however he just about stated fuck me, Raymond [Herrera, former FEAR FACTORY drummer] and Christian [Olde Wolbers, former FEAR FACTORY bassist] — everyone. Fuck everyone.
“I am not gonna push it,” Dino added. “I am not gonna push him or nothing like that. Followers ask me on a regular basis: ‘Hey, name him up. Simply name him up.’ Nicely, in case you noticed the stuff he stated when he left, he is not precisely a telephone name away… He left fairly bitter, and that is just about the place… It appears like he is having an excellent time being free. So I am not gonna pressure anyone to return again or [any] stuff like that.
“Some folks need change of their life, however typically followers simply cannot settle for that. Followers are, like, ‘He was the singer for 30 years. Come again.’ That was his resolution. Nobody pushed him out; nobody pressured him to depart — none of that stuff. That was his resolution.”
Two months in the past, former NIGHTRAGE singer Antony Hämäläinen, who just lately unsuccessfully auditioned for the vocalist slot in FEAR FACTORY, claimed in an interview that the brand new FF frontman is “an individual from Italy.” He additionally added {that a} feminine vocalist who’s “in a band with any person who’s a widely known producer/musician” auditioned for the place as nicely however did not get the gig.
Requested about his earlier remark that he was open to hiring a feminine vocalist for FEAR FACTORY, Dino advised Bucketlist TV: “That was true. I auditioned a number of girls, sure. But it surely did not work out — not as a result of they had been feminine or something like that. As a result of I wished to select whoever was greatest for the place, and it turned out to be a man.”
Dino additionally addressed his assertion from final yr that he wished to provide an “unknown man a shot” at fronting FEAR FACTORY. He stated: “Nicely, it wasn’t like I used to be solely in search of any person that no one knew. I used to be in search of all totally different [types of singers]. Positive, if the man turned out to be, or the lady turned out to be, somebody that no one knew and I gave ’em that shot, yeah, nice. I used to be open to all of it, is what I am saying. Male, feminine, no matter, recognized, unknown — I used to be open to all of that.”
In September 2020, Bell issued an announcement formally asserting his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he “can’t align” himself with somebody whom he doesn’t belief or respect.
Bell‘s exit from FEAR FACTORY got here greater than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe marketing campaign to help him with the manufacturing prices related to the discharge of FEAR FACTORY‘s newest LP.
Bell later advised Kerrang! journal that his break up with FEAR FACTORY was a very long time coming. “It has been on my thoughts for some time,” he stated. “These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] simply drained me. The egos. The greed. Not simply from bandmembers, however from the attorneys concerned. I simply misplaced my love for it.
“With FEAR FACTORY, it is simply continually been, like, ‘What?!’ You’ll be able to solely take a lot. I felt like 30 years was an excellent run. These albums I’ve completed with FEAR FACTORY will at all times be on the market. I am going to at all times be a part of that. I simply felt prefer it was time to maneuver ahead.”
In October 2020, Dino issued an announcement by which he stated that the door for Burton to return again to FEAR FACTORY would not “keep open eternally.” The guitarist additionally revealed that Burton “misplaced his authorized rights” to the FEAR FACTORY identify “after an extended court docket battle” with Herrera and Olde Wolbers. “I had the chance to do one thing proper, and I felt that getting the identify in full was the best factor to do for the each of us, so after almost 4 years we will proceed as FEAR FACTORY, to make extra information and to tour,” he stated. “That’s the reason it’s unhappy to listen to that he determined to give up and, for my part, for no matter points he has it looks like it might’ve been labored out.”
FEAR FACTORY‘s newest album, “Aggression Continuum”, was launched in June 2021 by way of Nuclear Blast Data. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, options Cazares and Bell alongside drummer Mike Heller.
