Will we see a “resurrection” in Fear Factory?

by | Oct 4, 2019 | Editorials, News | 0 comments

source: http://fearfactory.com/media/

There’s a lot happening with Fear Factory and if you’re confused, you should be. This week alone, guitarist Dino Cazares revealed via Twitter that there’s no new Fear Factory album and Metalsucks picked up on the hefty lawsuit the band has been involved in for quite some time now. At some point, you may want to ask if there’s still a Fear Factory over wondering when a follow-up to 2015’s Genexus will be released. Obviously, for those who are fans of these industrial metal giants, no one wants to see them call it quits. However, we do want to know what’s really going on with the band.

We’ve been collecting quite a few puzzle pieces and based on what we’ve found, our guess is Fear Factory could potentially have a new moniker. Therefore, statements from frontman Burton C. Bell citing a new album is happening as well as Dino’s claiming no Fear Factory record could essentially both be true.

The confusion began roughly three years ago when Fear Factory’s new album was rumored for a 2017 release. This news sparked when Dino himself hinted on a tenth studio album when he said the following during the 2016 Bowl 4 Ronnie charity event:

“We’re writing already and in the process of doing a new record, but it probably won’t be out until late summer of next year or maybe even October. I’m not exactly sure.”

Less than a year later, shortly after Fear Factory were announced to be part of 2017’s Blackest of the Black festival and instantly pulled from it, former bassist and guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers mentioned the group were done for when he posted on a since-deleted(?) Instagram post with the following comment:

“RIP Fear Factory #fearfactory #rip #metal #sadshit #itsawrap #1990 #2017 #grownassmenthatcantworkoutshit”

 

Dino instantly denied these rumors. However, over a year later, Wolbers went to Instagram again to reveal the band’s potential bleak future:

“blowing how such a groundbreaking incredible force is ran into the ground by incompetent people with no business sense and ego. The reason you haven’t heard any new music is clear. It’s sad and a shame.

RIP Fear Factory

On the other hand a new project will be born with one of the best and fasted drummers in the business and a guitarist from one of my favorite Death metal bands.

I will be handling guitars and vocals.

It’s time…

#deathmetal #metal #blast #heavyasfuck #oldschooldeathmetal #morbidangel #aborted #fearfactory #grindcore #blastbeats #brutal”

A few weeks later, Bell was optimistic on the band’s next album, stating:

“We haven’t recorded it yet, but all the new songs, I say, in my opinion, are even stronger than ‘Genexus’, ’cause it just seems even more tight. We’re on a groove, and it’s kicking ass.”

 

Therefore the group went from “breaking up” to “stronger than ever,” within two weeks. The band didn’t make any headlines until over a year later when Bell revealed they completed the new album and looking for a 2019 release:

“Fear Factory has a record done. It’s delivered to the label. We’re just waiting for some legal technicalities [to be sorted out]. And the record will be out next year.”

 

Earlier this year, Bell revealed the cover artwork, and title for the band’s new album Monolith. Meanwhile, Dino wasn’t aware of the announcement. 

With roughly three years of confusion, we are now left with Dino confirming there’s no new Fear Factory album:

“There is no new FF album”

However, this confusion makes sense knowing now that the band has been involved in a lawsuit. Considering the posts from Wolbers over the last two years, it seems there’s been some ongoing unsettled business between him and the current members of Fear Factory. Metalsucks has obtained an extensive legal document, which the band has been battling with behind the scenes for nearly a decade. 

The gist of the settlement involved Bell and former members Raymond Herrera and Christian Olde Wolbers. The two former members agreed to let Bell use the Fear Factory trademark and rights via merchandise, etc. in exchange for a licensing fee. This agreement happened back in 2011. However, Bell and his wife filed for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania later that year and were granted a “discharge Injunction.” 

Metalsucks explained:

“Meaning creditors couldn’t come after them for money owed. They listed Herrera and Wolbers are creditors in that filing, but neglected to mention the settlement made just months prior. Thus, Herrera and Wolbers stopped receiving payments.”

 

Since Wolbers and Herrera weren’t receiving their payments based on the said agreement, they returned to court in California resulting in Bell to pay over $900,000 in damages and legal fees. This bounced back to Bell and his PA filing stating that the lawsuit was in violation of his “discharge injunction.” 

The judge ended up ruling Counts I, II, and III of the 2014 California lawsuit were in violation of the discharge injunction but Counts IV and V didn’t since the name also belonged to Obers and Herrera. While the result remains unclear, it makes sense why Fear Factory have been unable to move forward.

As we’ve previously mentioned, Bell did state last year that there have been a few “legal technicalities” to be sorted out. With that being said, and if you followed us this far, here’s what we think. Dino has been sharing quite a bit lately on Instagram and Twitter using the following Hashtags: #fearcampaign #monolith and #fearofthemachine.

Since Bell have previously revealed the band’s new album title as Monolith, we can only think Fear Factory could possibly be changing their name due to legality reasons to Fear Campaign (which is a Fear Factory song) or Fear of the Machine. 

Lastly, both Fear Factory and Dino have recently responded via Twitter to the ongoing lawsuit:

 

Fear Factory commented and deleted it before we were able to complete this article:

“Not his fault, other reasons”

Dino responded with:

“The Great Lemmy Kilmister once said “there are three things that could cause the demise of a rock/metal band: Drugs, Alcohol and Women “but he forgot one the thing Lawsuits”

 

Based on Dino’s recent updates, it’s only a matter of time until an announcement is made. Or at least, we hope. 

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Zenae Zukowski
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