By Lord Randall
Say what you will about the emergence of or legitimacy of “industrial metal” in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, no one band has made as much of an impact on the genre as Fear Factory. Three classic albums gave shape to the world of Fear Factory, influencing a legion of bands from Sepultura to Meshuggah. A few lackluster years in the ‘00s did nothing to sate vocalist Burton C. Bell’s desire to make the band the best it could be, yet it is with Mechanize and the return of original guitarist Dino Cazares to the fold that the band is again firing on all cylinders. Burton C. Bell speaks…
Lord Randall: When did you and Dino hook up again? For the longest time after the split there was clearly and “us vs. him” mentality between the rest of the band and Dino. Was there a certain instance that rekindled the relationship, or did time really heal all wounds in this case?
Burton C. Bell: Exactly! Time certainly healed all wounds as far as he and I. Dino and I were really good friends before the band, and we started Fear Factory together, so it’s always been Dino and I at the core of things. No matter what we said in the past, we stayed brothers, and I think our relationship has come out the stronger for having gone through this. As they say though, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”, and when you’re together for so long with zero breaks, naturally things are gonna chafe. Over the years, it got to the point that I couldn’t even remember why I was mad in the first place [Laughter]! I was on tour as part of the Ministry lineup in 2008, and he came to a show. I just walked up and said “Hi.” to him, and things picked up from there. We spent a couple months just talking on the phone and in person, working things out and putting certain things to rest, so after that it was just natural to want him on board again.
Lord Randall: From the start of the sessions for Mechanize, was this geared towards being a Fear Factory album? Was there ever any thought to stepping out under another name?
Burton C. Bell: No, it was always my intent to have this be a Fear Factory album, and anyone who listens to the end result couldn’t mistake it for anything other than that. When myself (and Dino as well) are in this mode, virtually anything we do can’t help but have that signature sound that we’ve developed over time.
Lord Randall: Let’s get this out of the way first – and I understand there may be certain things you’re legally prevented from discussing, and frankly anything anyone wants to read about that issue has already been said. Knowing that Byron Stroud’s been in the band for 7 years now, had he basically earned himself a spot in Fear Factory 2010?
Burton C. Bell: Ah, yeah. To me, he’s not only a great bass player, but also a good friend, and when it came to the point that Fear Factory with Dino was going to be a reality, Byron was the perfect choice. I do want to let you know, though, I did reach out to both Raymond [Herrera, drummer] and Christian [Olde Wolbers, bassist/guitarist], because I wanted this to be as close to the classic lineup as possible. Ray declined, and Christian never responded to me.
Lord Randall: Was Gene Hoglan your initial choice when it came to drumming on Mechanize? Is he an full-on member or working in his well-known capacity as a session musician?
Burton C. Bell: He’s as much a part of Fear Factory as anyone in the band now, and one of my favorite things about Mechanize is the work he did. I wasn’t sure what to do about a drummer, but Byron had obviously worked with him in StrappingYoung Lad for a long time, and said “Hey, why don’t you ask Gene?”. I was like, “Really?”. There was no worry that he’d be able to do the songs, but in my opinion he’s a perfect fit.
Lord Randall: You’ve spoken before of Fear Factory as a “business” and the lineup shifts as a “reorganization”. As much fun as it is being in this band, as influential as you’ve become over time, many fail to see that there is a point when you reach the level at which you operate that the “rock and roll band” and business aspect have to come nearer to each other than farther.
Burton C. Bell: Absolutely. Once money gets involved, and as money keeps going out and coming in, it’s a business. A lot of fans and younger bands don’t realize that. At that point it’s also not only about the “four against the world” mentality, there’s an organization behind you, and you have to keep people around you that you can trust to have your back in all scenarios. When there’s a cancer in a company, same as in a band, you have to remove it as painful as that may be.
Lord Randall: Acting without management or a good support group watching your financial interests and investments when you’re a garage band from Topeka, KS may be fine, but it’s a little different once you’ve moved up in the ranks.
Burton C. Bell: That’s so true. I mean sure this is fun, otherwise why do it to begin with, but once you reach the point that we are as a band – and not to sound conceited at all – there are a lot of people counting on you; it’s not just the band anymore. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the best with money as far as accounting and all that comes with it goes – so I hired the guy who is. Everybody wants to get paid, from techs to booking agents to the guy selling your merch out front. You’ve got to be smart and stay on top of your game.
Lord Randall: Hey, guess what? You have a new album out! Would you consider Mechanize a true new beginning, though in truth, the name Fear Factory never really died away aside from less than a year during 2002/03? I see it as kind of a chrysalis period.
Burton C. Bell: Yeah, that’s a good way of putting it! It’s a new era, and to me it’s a true Fear Factory album, and it’s strong. Over 20 years, we’ve gone through peaks and valleys – [Laughs] a lot of valleys! We’ve found a cohesiveness here though, and it’s a…it’s a mature album as well. To be honest, I don’t think a band that’s only been together 3 to 5 years could’ve put out Mechanize. We needed that history and experience behind us to produce, and it worked.
Lord Randall: Do you foresee another multi-album opus in the style of Demanufacture, Obsolete and Digimortal?
Burton C. Bell: Sure, why not! Sounds like a good idea, and things are rolling really well. There’ll definitely be another album, and with things gelling like they are within the structure of the band now, if the inspiration hits to do another series of albums, I don’t see why we should limit ourselves.
Lord Randall: That said, what’s the basic concept behind Mechanize? And what steps did you take to ensure that the album lived up to both your standards and that of the aforementioned trio?
Burton C. Bell: Having Dino back in the band definitely helps a lot. Also, we started discussing not only sounds again, but ideas, concepts, themes, lyrics… the whole package. Getting Rhys and Greg back on board was for sure a step in the right direction. I certainly didn’t want any other engineer or co-producer touching this album. Mechanize had to have all systems at full power.
Lord Randall: What would you say was the best moment in Fear Factory’s history to date as far as you’re concerned?
Burton C. Bell: My personal best moment was in 1999. We were headlining the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, and it was a full sold-out show. Walking out on stage, that was the first time I really felt overwhelmed at what we’d done, at the enormity of it all. Honestly, at first I had to turn my back to the audience because I’d gotten a little choked up; it just kind of hit me then.
Lord Randall: Having read Future Shock [by Alvin Toffler], yet not The Third Wave, I skimmed over it in preparation for this interview. He makes the assertion that during this Third Wave, information and knowledge will become far more viable currency than monetary wealth. One could almost say that the recent alleged hacking by the Chinese government into Google due to their refusal to censor access to certain information is a prime example of this coming to fruition.
Burton C. Bell: Yeah, information is a powerful tool, and because of the internet and the world wide web, information has become power. Monetary currency’s important of course, but I think the real reason China doesn’t want their citizens having access to certain information is because the informed are truly powerful. When I think that that book was written in 1980…it’s mind-blowing, really. It opened my mind so much. For decades now, the industrial complex has been training specific people to perform specific tasks; it’s very much a bee colony/drone mindset that’s being bred here, with the attempted removal of the soul as a goal, be it subconscious or not.
Lord Randall: You’ve worked with Rhys Fulber [Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Delerium] before, but he’s much more present on Mechanize than in the past. Having got into FLA kinda late in the game with Gashed Senses & Crossfire, I’m glad to hear him become part of the songs themselves instead of in a simple remix function. Did you present him mostly-finished material? How involved was he in what became Mechanize?
Burton C. Bell: He became deeply involved when we started writing and planning the structure of the album. As soon as we’d finished writing we started demo-ing the songs as fast as we could and got them to him so he could start doing his thing. He was very integral to the entire process, and though we didn’t literally work hand in hand with him, Rhys was involved much more so than in the past. When we were writing the album, I knew I didn’t want anyone involved other than him. Rhys understands Fear Factory, he gets it, and you need to know that a collaborator is on the same page on many levels. He is.
Lord Randall: I was a big fan of Killing Joke early on and bands like Pitchshifter and Optimum Wound Profile for successfully blending that cold industrial throb with scathing metal riffs. That’s definitely a sound that’s missing from much of today’s music. Do you see it as part of Fear Factory’s job to legitimately fill that void?
Burton C. Bell: Well, not our job per se, but it’s a niche we’ve been basically alone in filling for quite some time now, and we’re ok with that. This is what we do, and there’s no band that sounds exactly like us anywhere. Sure, there are certain aspects of our sound that other bands will adopt or attempt to varying degrees of success, but there is an independent entity created when you get the creative force of Fear Factory together that simply can’t be duplicated. To me, the current evolution of industrial music is Meshuggah. It’s all about the rhythm with that band, and while I’d enjoyed a good bit of their music, when I got to watch it happen live I understood what they were trying to do, and how well they were succeeding at it.
Lord Randall: What’s next for Fear Factory?
Burton C: Bell: Next week we leave to the UK for a tour with October File.
Lord Randall: That’s Darren from Plastichead’s band, yeah, they’re cool. Wasn’t Gaz from Killing Joke on their last album?
Burton C. Bell: Yep, that’s the one. I’m really looking forward to playing with those guys. We’ll do about 2 ½ weeks there, then some other stuff and end up doing a Stateside run soon as we get the support solidified.
