Fear Factory's Dino Cazares confirms that the band have found a replacement vocalist for Burton C. Bell.
In a new interview with Bucketlist TV, Cazares reveals that the singer is "kind of known" within the metal sphere, however is not ready to disclose their identity. He explains:
"For those of you who don't know, our singer quit after 30 years, so I've been looking for a new singer. And I'm first here to tell you that I have definitely nailed it down to one person.
"I'm not gonna reveal who that is yet — not yet. Once I'm done [playing with Soulfly as a fill-in guitarist for the summer U.S tour], I'm gonna go back to L.A., back to the studio, and I'll be writing some new new Fear Factory songs with the new singer", adding – while referencing the mystery new member's pronouns – because I'd like to introduce him with a new song".
When asked about his previous remark that Fear Factory would be open-minded to hiring a woman — which would lead the band in an entirely new vocal direction —Cazares replies, "That was true. I auditioned a few women, yes. But it didn't work out — not because they were female or anything like that. Because I wanted to pick whoever was best for the position, and it turned out to be a guy."
Elaborating on another comment made a few months ago about wanting to give an "unknown guy a shot", he says, "Well, it wasn't like I was only looking for somebody that nobody knew. I was looking for all different [types of singers]. Sure, if the guy turned out to be, or the girl turned out to be, someone that nobody knew and I gave 'em that shot, yeah, great. I was open to all of it, is what I'm saying.
"Male, female, whatever, known, unknown — I was open to all of that. And it turned out to be somebody who is kind of known, I guess. Kind of known. He does have experience."
Bell departed from Fear Factory in September of 2020 due to personal difficulties with the band, admitting that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect. In a statement, the vocalist wrote: "The past several years have been profoundly agonizing, with these members bleeding my passion with depraved deceit.
"As a direct consequence of their greed, these three have dragged me through the unjust, judicial system, resulting in the legal attrition that has financially crippled me. In the end, these three members have taken possession of my principal livelihood. However, they will never take my 30-year legacy as the beating heart of the machine. A legacy that no other member, past or present, can ever claim."
Speaking to Kerrang, Bell revealed, "It's been on my mind for a while. These lawsuits [over the rights to the Fear Factory name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.
"With Fear Factory, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with Fear Factory will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."
A month after Bell's departure, Cazares issued a statement in which he said that the door for Burton to rejoin the group wouldn't "stay open forever", and declared that Bell had "lost his legal rights" to the Fear Factory name "after a long court battle". He continues: "I had the opportunity to do something right, and I felt that obtaining the name in full was the right thing to do for the both of us, so after nearly four years we can continue as FEAR FACTORY, to make more records and to tour. That is why it is sad to hear that he decided to quit and, in my opinion, for whatever issues he has it seems like it could've been worked out."
Listen to the full interview below:
