FEAR FACTORY's BURTON C. BELL: 'All Our Lyrics Are Poems'

In a brand new interview with The Indian Express, vocalist Burton C. Bell of Los Angeles cyber metallers FEAR FACTORY was asked about how the group developed its sound and whether FEAR FACTORY considers itself purely an industrial band.

"Our sound was an early exploration through experimentation," he said. "Learning our tools, and developing our songwriting was truly 'trial and error.'

"Dino [Cazares, guitarist)]and I were always interested in the sounds of industrial. Dino and Ray [Herrera, former drummer] were in death metal bands, and I came from a post-rock sound of early-noise/industrial. Our style combined as we began writing. It was not until Rhys Fulber [producer] came into the mix with 'Demanufacture' [FEAR FACTORY's second album] that we settled with our sound.

"I consider FEAR FACTORY an industrial metal band due to the repetitive and rhythmic beats, much like a working machine with gears and cogs would sound."

Bell also spoke about the inspiration for his lyrics in FEAR FACTORY, which have always had an emphasis on science fiction, with concepts like "man versus machine" being explored over various albums.

"As a boy, I was fascinated with sci-fi," he explained. "My father was a reporter in Houston, Texas, and he was following NASA during the Apollo 11 launch. I remember watching 'Star Trek', 'Twilight Zone' and 'Night Gallery' on TV with him.

"In the early days of FEAR FACTORY, Dino and I watched a lot of movies which inspired and influenced us — 'Terminator', 'Blade Runner', 'Robocop' and 'Full Metal Jacket', to name a few.

"As a lyricist, I try to be poetic.

"All our lyrics are poems.

"My poems are about emotions that make us human: love, hate, fear, jealousy, and pain.

"Can androids feel these too?

"This concept was perfect for the direction Dino and I wanted to take.

"We were struggling to survive in Hollywood then. We experienced the L.A. riots firsthand. We remember the National Guard patrolling the roads of L.A., setting up post at the 7-11 across the street. This was not science fiction, this was pure struggle. But these are the experiences that create science fiction; because we were struggling, we were fighting the establishment; the machine."

FEAR FACTORY has inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Entertainment for the release of its next studio album, tentatively due in early 2015. The band will enter the studio in October with longtime producer/collaborator Rhys Fulber to begin recording the CD, which will be mixed by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT).