Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares has told Metal Hammer that his band’s next singer could potentially be a woman.
Following the departure last year of Burton C. Bell, the LA industrial-metal band’s vocalist for 31 years, for the first time, there is currently a lead singer vacancy in Fear Factory. And Dino Cazares says he’s entirely open-minded as to who might assume the role ahead of the June release of their tenth studio album, Aggression Continuum.
Having made it known that he’d be conducting open auditions to find the next singer for his band, and invited interested parties to apply via video submissions, Cazares admits to feeling “overwhelmed” at the level of interest that’s been shown in the role, and reveals that he’s had “at least a couple of hundred” videos to sift through.
That number, he says, has now been whittled down to just a “handful” of candidates, before revealing that gender “would not play a role” in his decision.
“It's an open game,” he insists. “It's for whoever can handle the job, whoever we get along with, and whoever can go out there every night and bring it.
“I’m saying it could be anyone. It is kind of weird for some people to grasp at that, but I think it's very exciting. I think we have a very big opportunity to open the door and create something different, and go somewhere different.
“I'm not saying I’m gonna change what Fear Factory’s about,” he added, “but adding a different voice and a different element could bring some new life into it as well. It would just be another chapter in the Fear Factory story.”
Earlier this week, Fear Factory offered up a taster for their forthcoming album in the form of new single, Disruptor. Aggression Continuum is set for release on June 18 via Nuclear Blast.
