Industrialism

"Australia has been really good to us and we're forever thankful to you guys for the way you helped us out over the years,” enthuses Fear Factory frontman Burton C. Bell. “From day one when we released Soul Of A New Machine, way back in the early 1990s, Australia gave us a level of support that was unmatched – radio play, album sales, you name it.”

Did the band realise what they had unleashed with Soul Of A New Machine, especially the way the album would be embraced warmly by industrial enthusiasts, metal traditionalists and death metal fiends alike?

“No, we had no idea that it would go on to have such a life of its own. We didn't sit down with some grand master plan. Basically me and Dino [Cazares, guitar] sat down to create the music we wanted to hear and it all snowballed from there. Because we had crossover appeal – death metal people, thrashers, the industrial crowd – all of them supported us. It meant that we were able to tour with a huge range of bands and that helped us grow.

“We've found over the years that Fear Factory fans stay Fear Factory fans for life. They keep coming to the shows, keep buying the records, and some of the older ones even bring their kids to see us as well. It's humbling to have that devotion in our fans and every time we put on a show we make sure that we give back that same devotion.”

Fear Factory's continuing longevity has been helped by their latest LP, The Industrialist, which has been rightly hailed as a return to form and the 'classic' Fear Factory sound after a number of years of turmoil (both stylistic and literal) and confusion for the band (more on that soon).

“We're really proud of that record,” says Bell. “It came out exactly the way we planned. We went into the studio with a really defined focus and came out having achieved what we want to achieve.”

Apart from a distinct uptick in the quality of the songwriting and its sleek yet massive sound, The Industrialist is also notable for being a fully-blown concept record that tells the story of a morphing megalithic automaton who eventually turns into a cataclysmic threat to mankind. Thing is, do concept heavy albums still work in this day and age? And more importantly why did Fear Factory choose to record one at this stage in their career?

“It represented a real challenge for us in a creative sense. We wanted to meld a concept together in both a lyrical and sonic sense to create one overriding theme,” explains Bell. “Ambition, and rising to a challenge is something that I think is missing in a lot of today's music where artists are content to play it safe most of the time. As music fans we all need something to be excited about again.

“We believed that there were enough people who enjoyed having a story in their music and enjoyed the ability of their favourite artists to create such a story. But even if you don't like that approach - just focus on the music itself - the songs work individually as well. Whatever way you look at it everyone wins!”

Bell is so enthused about the new album that he concedes it is possible that sometime in the future the band will decide to play the whole thing live and in sequence. But for the Fear Factory's upcoming Australian tour a more traditional set is planned.

“We give you guys three or four songs from the new album alongside a dose of stuff from Soul…., Obsolete, Demanufacture – you know, pretty much all our records. It will be a really balanced set that will hopefully cater for everyone.”

Although Fear Factory are back on track the turmoil in their recent past lives on in the memories of the band's legions of fans. This turmoil is of course the huge falling out that occurred between members that, at one stage, got so complex no one could figure out what the hell was going on. The simplest way to explain it all is to that in the fallout the band split into two diametrically opposed camps that stopped playing music and just snarled at each other via the press. On the one hand Burton C. Bell and Dino Cazares – the current core of Fear Factory who themselves were at loggerheads as late as 2008. On the other side, Raymond Herrera [drums] and Christian Olde Wolbers [bass/guitar], who in 2009 found themselves ousted and were none too pleased with it. So where does everything stand now?

“Dino and I are Fear Factory; it's that simple,” states Bell. “We have a drummer, Mike Heller, and bass player, Matt Devries, on tour with us and we'd like to keep them for as long as possible. Both of them are amazing musicians, and the fact that Matt was actually a guitar player has brought a whole new depth to our sound. It's what Fear Factory always needed – a guitarist playing bass,” he laughs. “It's meant that this band is tighter than it's been for a long, long time.”

And dare we ask about the status of Raymond Herrera and Christian Olde Wolbers? Do Bell and Dino have anything to do with them anymore? Is there any chance of a reconciliation? “We don't have any relationship with them at all,” spits Bell. “People talk about the band having a reconciliation but they don't want to reconcile with us – so fuck 'em. I can't put it any more simply than that.”

And to those fans who clamour for the 'classic' Fear Factory lineup, which would have to include the aforementioned gentlemen? “This whole idea of that lineup being some kind of 'classic' lineup doesn't really sit well with me,” offers Bell. “I mean we had five different bass players before we had Christian so what lineup are they actually talking about? Besides, as I said earlier the band is stronger now than it has ever been – Dino and myself are writing the best material of our career and the band as a unit is absolutely unstoppable. Why people would want us to go back to a situation that just wouldn't work is beyond me. Fear Factory will never be some nostalgia act content to live on past glories – that's just not how we do things. People should come to the shows and then they'll see that Fear Factory in 2012 is continuing to push the envelope of what this band is capable of.”

Fear Factory will be playing the following shows:

Wednesday 26 September - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD
Thursday 27 September - The Hi-Fi, Sydney NSW
Friday 28 September - The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 29 September - Uni Bar, Adelaide SA
Sunday 30 September - Capitol Theatre, Perth WA