Vocalist Burton C. Bell has finally launched his post-Fear Factory solo career with the single "Anti-Droid". And with lyrics like "I severed the machine that no longer served me" and "I'd rather be dead than a slave to the factory," you gotta wonder if this is pointed toward any of his former co-workers.
"I'm starting my solo career," Bell said enthusiastically. "I'm working with different producers and co-songwriters, making music that I love, with full control of the music and creative direction."
Bell continued, saying the song is "a statement about breaking free. Breaking the bonds of what I felt was a prison in many ways. Not just financially or contractually but creatively, as well. I felt constrained to this format we'd written ourselves into. The 'factory' doesn’t have a capital F. It's the factory of the music industry, a certain form of business, and priorities. Being a slave to an established way of thinking is not really freedom. I am moving forward."
Stay tuned for more Bell solo stuff, which I'm hoping is more of this down-tempo industrial heaviness. This is pretty cool. As for Bell's upcoming (and unannounced) solo shows, he revealed back in 2023 that he'd still like to perform his work with Fear Factory.
"People will hear those [old Fear Factory songs] again. When I get back on the road, I'll be playing… I'm proud of 99 percent of the songs we did [with] Fear Factory. Not every song is a winner, but I'm proud of all the work I did with Fear Factory, The Watchers, GZR, City Of Fire, Ministry, Hateface. There's all these bands I've been part of.
"So when I go on the road, I will be playing music from all of these bands. Obviously, a lot from Fear Factory, 'cause I got 30 years of that. But it's not gonna be all about Fear Factory. It's gonna be Fear Factory, Watchers, classic GZR, City Of Fire — just do all of it. It's gonna be fun. And I'm jamming with some guys right now. We're working on it and making those steps to make that happen."
Bell quit the band in 2020, later saying that he has zero interest in ever rejoining. Bell would eventually clarify that leaving Fear Factory wasn't an easy decision, but also made it known that he wasn't keeping up with the band's new lineup either.
