Dino Cazares Disputes Burton C. Bell's Claims That Fear Factory Creatively 'Locked Themselves In A Box'

With relations between former Fear Factory bandmates Burton C. Bell (vocals) and Dino Cazares (guitars) having long been severed in the wake of decades of legal in-fighting and disputes, the two don’t exactly engage in much discussion these days. However, Bell, who has been a bit prickly in the press lately towards Fear Factory, recently elicited an indirect response from Cazares.

After taking a shot at Fear Factory several weeks ago, a new appearance on ‘Rock Hard With Phil And Tish‘ saw Bell throw a bit of shade towards his former band once again. When asked if he ever felt pressured to write in a certain style with Fear Factory, Bell, who is now pursuing a solo career under his own name, replied [transcribed by Blabbermouth.net]:

“I feel, as a band, we locked ourselves in a box. And the label was expecting a certain sound, certain members were expecting a certain sound and, to be honest, a lot of fans were expecting a certain sound. Releasing anything else would have been — what’s the word? — would have just been heresy, like, ‘What are doing? That doesn’t sound like Fear Factory.’ ‘Well…”

He did also bring up the group’s sixth studio album “Transgression“, which represented a stylstic shift for the group. Regarding that, he offered:

“We did a record [in 2005] called ‘Transgression‘. And the title in itself was a transgression of the actual sound of what Fear Factory was. Instead of being an industrial metal band, on that record we were like a hard rock band almost. And fans treated it as such. So we did it to ourselves. But now as a solo artist, I don’t feel that [kind of pressure] at all. I feel the sky’s wide open.”

Responding to Bell‘s assertion of Fear Factory ‘locking ourselves in a box’ on social media today, April 20th, Cazares stated:

“Fear Factory didn’t ‘lock themselves in a box.’ , we destroyed the box and evolved while maintaining a core sound. It’s a choice driven by passion not pressure.
I live, die, and regenerate Fear Factory, loyal to the end.
Machines Of Hate
Happy Easter”

Responding to a fan, he went on to add:

“It’s just 2 different people’s perspective on when they were in the band. One felt like he was boxed in,like he was doing it because he had to not because he wanted to, the other(me) did it out of love and passion it genuinely matters to me it’s a choice, driven by passion not by pressure.”

He later went on to offer:

“Innovation doesn’t come from following the map it comes from redrawing it completely. Revolutionizing a new path forward.”

Fear Factory have been in the studio as of late putting together their follow-up to their final studio album with Bell, 2021’s “Aggression Continuum“. Vocalist Milo Silvestro has since taken to fronting the band.