Fear Factory's history is a rollercoaster ride of artistic achievements and interpersonal conflicts. The band's innovative fusion of metal and industrial elements has left an indelible mark on the genre, making them a cornerstone of the industrial metal movement.
As the years rolled on, lineup changes became a recurring theme. Vocalist Burton C. Bell, departed the band in 2020, leaving Dino Cazares as the last original member. However, it seems Dino remains remarkably unfazed about that detail, not losing a minute of sleep over it.
In a recent interview with Sense Music Media Cazares was asked if he is at all worried with the fact that their upcoming album will have him as "the last man standing" from the original line-up.
"No, because when it came to musically, the majority of it was my idea. When I wasn't in the band, that's a different story, but when I was in the band, the majority of the music was my ideas. And then the concepts, me and Burton always discussed it. So nothing's really gonna change in that way, but we do need to have a little bit of change because if it's… I'm kind of in that middle ground where it's, like, if it's too much old school, then people are gonna say, 'Oh, it's still the same.' Then if it's too far different, 'Oh, they went somewhere different, and it's not the same anymore.' You know what I mean? So I'm kind of stuck in that middle ground."
Despite the band's new album has been pushed to 2024, it seems we'll get new Fear Factory music sooner than later, their studio debut with vocalist Milo Silvestro. And you know these guys, they will be writing about men, machines, technology, and how AI can impact humanity, themes which Cazares once again confirmed in the same interview.
"We've always talked about futuristic concepts, whether it's man versus machine or man and machine are getting along, or it's always a relationship between digital and analog. We've always talked about AI, cloning technology, certain things that are becoming obsolete because technology has taken over. And then we've also talked about where technology is here. Like automatons, basically robots are here. They're among us. We're working together. We've talked about the whole big relationship between the two. Now, obviously right now the big thing is AI 'cause AI is becoming a really big issue."
