Fear Factory
- DAY: Warm Up Day
- STAGE: Park Stage
- GENRE: industrial metal
- COUNTRY: USA
If it weren’t for them, Goldflesh, and Ministry, the blend of metal and industrial, which was much beloved in the 90s, might not have ever entered the mainstream. Meanwhile, the extreme and piercingly cold metal of Fear Factory got quite far – today it’s hard to think of a band that could be considered more important than them in the industrial metal world. Dino Cazares’s paint-stripping riffs and the rhythmic substructure of surgical precision ensured this ensemble’s fame, but, what’s more, their continuously intense sound.
History:
The beginnings of Fear Factory were quite unassuming. It all started when in 1989 the future drummer of the band, Raymond Herrera, met the future guitarist, Dino Cazares in a music shop, where the latter worked. They bonded quickly, and Raymond asked Dino to join Extreme Death, a band that within a year would transfigure into Fear Factory. At the same time, the two guys met the vocalist, Bell Burton. After adding the bassist, Dave Gibney, the band was complete.
The band quickly proceeded to record their first two demos, which today the band evidently thinks less than fondly of; their debut album, however, was a sensation all across Metal America. Released in 1992, “Soul of a New Machine” was then an absolute novelty, a previously unknown marriage of death metal butchery with the industrial clinical chill. Fear Factory generated quite the buzz and when three years later, they presented “Demanufacture” to the public, which saw them delve deeper into the industrial element, moving away from death metal, the band’s position only grew. The aforementioned record is perhaps still the most important in the band’s career.
The following albums, “Obsolete and Digimortal”, were also met with favourable reception (the former went gold in the USA and Australia), but internal friction between band members grew. This led to Cazares’s exit from the band and the 2002 split. However, the band managed to release two more albums (although, still without Cazares in the ranks) and in 2009 Dino and Burton made up and started playing together once more.
Since then, Fear Factory, despite many line-up changes, has released five more records, the most recent of which is “Re-Industrialized” from 2023.
Discography:
Studio albums:
Soul of a New Machine, 1992
Demanufacture, 1995
Obsolete, 1998
Digimortal, 2001
Concrete, 2002
Archetype, 2004
Transgression, 2005
Mechanize, 2010
The Industrialist, 2012
Genexus, 2015
Aggression Continuum, 2021
Re-Industrialized, 2023
EPs:
Fear Is the Mindkiller, 1993
Demanufacture, 1995
Remanufacture, 1997
The Gabber Mixes, 1997
Burn, 1997
Revolution, 1998
Resurrection, 1998
Cars, 1999
Live on the Sunset Strip, 2005
15 Years of Fear Tour, 2006
Demos:
Demo 1, 1991
Demo ’91, 1991
Singles:
Replica, 1995
Dog Day Sunrise, 1996
Machines of Hate, 1997
Remanufacture, 1997
Resurrection, 1998
Shock, 1998
Edgecrusher, 1998
Cars, 1999
Descent, 1999
Digimortal, 2001
Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies), 2001
Linchpin – Interactive CD sampler, 2001
Linchpin, 2001
Cyberwaste, 2004
Archetype, 2004
Bite the Hand That Bleeds, 2004
Moment of Impact, 2005
Spinal Compression, 2005
Super Nova, 2005
Powershifter, 2009
Recharger, 2012
Soul Hacker, 2015
Protomech, 2015
Dielectric, 2015
Splits:
Los Angeles Death Coalition, 1991 (z Demolition, F.C.D.N. Tormentor i Resistant Culture)
Breaking Barriers, 1992 (z Atrocity, Star Star, Gruntruck, Optimum Wound, Profile i Sick of It All)
The Breed Beyond, 1993 (z Cynic, Pestilence, Believer i Treponem Pal)
Roadrunner Rules Ozzfest!, 1997 (z Machine Head, Type O Negative, Coal Chamber i Vision of Disorder)
Limited Edition Tour CD, 1998 (z Spineshank)
Roadster Music Vol 1, 2001 (z Annihilator)
Carmageddon Soundtrack, 2012 (z Lee Groves)
Cold Waves Live Album Sampler, 2014 (z Front 242, 3TEETH i Caustic)
Sounds of Evil, 2015 (z Lamb of God, Slayer, Fear Factry, Soulfly i Biters)
Compilations:
Remanufacture, 1997
Messiah, 1999
Hatefiles, 2003
The Best of Fear Factory, 2006
Linchpin, 2019
Recoded, 2022
