Fear Factory Reunite for Live Tour : History and Background

Powerhouse Industrial Metallers Reform for Shows this Summer

May 7, 2009

Four years since their last album, Fear factory announce their return, and are billed to play at Sonishpere Festival and Bloodstock in the UK this coming August.

Alongside frontman Burton C Bell, who has remained the only constant throughout Fear Factory’s 20 year lifespan, will be original guitarist Dino Cazares, Death and Strapping Young Lad drummer Glen Holgan, and co SYL bassist Byron Stroud. They are set to play a number of shows including the Sonisphere and Bloodstock festivals in the UK later this year.

Since their origins in the early nineties, Fear Factory have been an influential force in the world of metal, paving the way for newer more technological sounds with their breakneck down tuned guitar riffs, pounding mechanical drumbeats, eerie futuristic keyboard synths and growling/ operatic vocals.

The Early Years

Fear Factory’s first album Soul of a New Machine, was released in 1992 with founding members Burton C Bell and Dino Cazares and founding drummer Raymonnd Herrara. It was a breath of fresh air in alternative metal, and was praised by many metal artists including Sepultura’s Max Cavelera.

The album’s arsenal of sound included not just heavy guitars and keyboards, but an abundance of samples from films such as Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket. The simulation of voices and sound effects have been a common occurrence in Fear Factory’s music ever since, as has the theme of war and the potential future annihilation of mankind.

These political/ science fiction elements became more elaborate in their arguably best album Demanufacture, released in 1995. This record demonstrated a tighter well polished display of tight heavy riffs and acutely timed drumming that made listeners feel like they were listening more to the heartbeat of a mechanical entity rather than a thrash metal band.

With its headbanging breakdowns and haunting keyboard overtones, this time including samples from films such as Terminator 2 Judgment day, Fear Factory showed themselves to be a band like no other, in terms of originality as well as in musical showmanship.

Fear Factory’s sound took more experimental turns in the late 90’s with their conceptual release Obsolete. In this album, the band opted for slower songs, some of which played out more as ballads than real metal tunes. Though an engaging and well made album in it’s own right, Obsolete alienated itself from a number of long term fans, and was regarded as being far from their best work.

By their 2000 release Digimortal, which also received mixed reviews, the band found themselves rapidly loosing the respect and popularity they had so well acclaimed during the previous decade. In 2002, Dino Cazares quit, which swiftly led to the group's overall disbandment.

To the delight of long term fans, the band reunited in 2004, this time without Dino Cazares. This time, former bassist Christian Olde Wolbers, who joined Fear Factory in the Demanufacture years assumed guitar duties, allowing Strapping young Lad member Byron Stroud to become their new bass player. The band then released Archetype a bone crunchingly heavy album that harkened back to their early years. The brutal and old-school sound this new record provided was received with delight by critics and fans alike, and Fear Factory were set for greater things in the new decade.

Unfortunately, their new found success was not sustained as their rushed and pressured 2005 follow up Transgression brought Fear Factory almost back to square one with their already mixed reputation. Until now, this album viewed as the final forgettable chapter in the bands long lasting life.

With this new powerful line up of founding members and talented newcomers- drummer Glen Hogan being their latest addition- a potentially gratifying new horizon has opened for a band who has had more than it’s fair share of ups and downs in the past.

Fear Factory are a group proven to have the potential to astound and impress, given that previous errors are taken into account. In the upcoming seasons, if they play their cards right and learn from their mistakes, this could be the triumphant rebirth of a band which, all things considered, the metal music industry is greatly indebted to.

The copyright of the article Fear Factory Reunite for Live Tour : History and Background in Metal Music is owned by Ashley Jacob. Permission to republish Fear Factory Reunite for Live Tour : History and Background in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.