Fear Factory Biography

Fear Factory is an American death/industrial metal band that has toured with Black Sabbath, Pantera, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Dream Theater and Rammstein; performed at three Ozzfests and the inaugural Gigantour; and had singles in the Mainstream Rock Top 40 and albums in the Billboard top 40, 100 and 200.

Fear Factory was formed under the name Ulceration in 1989 in Los Angeles, California by ex-guitarist Dino Cazares and drummer Raymond Herrera. "Ulceration" was not picked for any real reason other than that Burton C. Bell and/or other members thought it would "just be a cool name" for the band. They then renamed to Fear Factory in 1990. Characterized by a mix of thrash metal (though they sound more in the vein of groove metal) guitar riffs, roaring vocals that make way for melodic singing, pulse driven drum beats, and powerful basslines, Fear Factory have been making waves in both the American death metal and industrial metal scenes since their debut album, Soul of a New Machine (1992). The album was not successful in the mainstream. Undeterred, the band embarked on extensive touring across the U.S. with Biohazard, Sepultura, and Sick Of It All and over Europe with Brutal Truth. It is important to note that only "Soul of a New Machine" can accurately be classified as death metal, subsequent albums saw lead singer Burton C. Bell change his style and so did the band's musical style.

The following year, they hired Front Line Assembly member Rhys Fulber to remix some songs to create Fear Is the Mindkiller (1993). In 1994, bassist Andrew Shives was forced to leave the band. In the same year, bassist Christian Olde Wolbers met the band whilst vacationing in LA and agreed to assist them with their next recording, Demanufacture (1995), which went on to become a highly successful album. The album received much critical acclaim receiving the maximum five k's rating kerrang! magazine.

Fear Factory spent the next few years touring with such bands as Black Sabbath, Megadeth and Iron Maiden. They also appeared at Ozzfests '96 and '97, amongst other festivals. The band released a new album composed of Demanufacture remixes by artists such as DJ Dano or Junkie XL (now known as JXL) called Remanufacture in May 1997, closely followed in July 1998 by their new album, Obsolete, cancelling an appearance at the Dynamo Open Air Festival to finish the album sooner. Wasting no time, they hit the road with Slayer and then began another tour with Rammstein. They then headlined the second stage at Ozzfest '99 as last-minute replacements for Judas Priest.

Fear Factory songs tend to explore the idea of "Man versus Machine". This is most clearly exemplified in the album Obsolete, which is itself a story taking place in a world where mankind is rendered "obsolete" by the Machines. Concerning this album, lead singer Burton C. Bell explained:

Although "industrial metal" is usually applied, the true "metal" genre of the South-Central LA based band has been subject to moderate discussion. Many important sources like AMG label Fear Factory as death metal, industrial, alternative, sometimes even nu metal.

Their first demos were strongly reminiscent of legendary British grindcore band Napalm Death, along with Godflesh, who were not only tourmates but influences brought up by the band as well. Ironically, some of Justin Broadrick's vocals are comparable to those of Burton C. Bell after he discontinued the death grunt. His vocal style was considered ground-breaking on Soul of a New Machine because of the combination of death grunts with melodic singing. He has never stated why he discountinued death growls.

Moreover, as other traditional death metal song structures began to fade, they incorporated more of a groove metal style into their sound, not so different to the style of Sepultura's 1993 release Chaos A.D. and this new direction put Fear Factory on the metal map. Some point out a Meshuggah influence in the band as well, and many alternative/nu metal bands were influenced by Fear Factory. Sometimes they release remixes of their songs in an electronic key (generally industrial, hardcore techno etc.).

In many ways, there was also a very limited industrial essence that made Fear Factory an industrial metal band. While Ministry were known for making industrial textures just as important as guitar riffs, Fear Factory were more conservatively heavy metal with some trance-like samples edited in to cyber-fast production, hence the term "Cyber Metal".

Regardless, the band has often been called a "stepping stone" leading mainstream listeners to venture into less-known/more extreme bands, and one of few heavy metal bands consistently appreciated in the most polarizing and bitter music genre.

In the Soul of a New Machine re-release, Machine Head vocalist Robert Flynn, Chimaira vocalist Mark Hunter and Spineshank guitarist Mike Sarkisyan cited Fear Factory as an influence in the liner notes. Robert Flynn stated his vocal style was influenced by Burton Bell's vocals and that Machine Head have been wrongly credited for the vocal style. Mark Hunter stated that Chimaira's drumming was heavily influenced by Raymond Herrera. Mike Sarkisyan stated the band's overall sound was an influence to Spineshank.