FEAR FACTORY's DINO CAZARES On Pandemic-Era Touring: 'People Don't Understand The Cost That Goes Into Doing These Tours'

In a new interview with the "Vulgar Display Of Podcast", FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares opened up about the realities of post-pandemic touring, including increased travel expenses — gas, tour buses, hotels and flight costs. Speaking about FEAR FACTORY's upcoming tour with STATIC-X, which was originally scheduled to take place in 2022 before being postponed, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "So much has changed in those couple of years, because look how much the economy has gotten really, really over the top, with gas and even availability on certain things, even drivers; just getting a driver, it's hard. People really don't understand the cost that goes into doing these tours. Everything affects you, whether it's venues taking a big cut of the merch sales to insane diesel and gas prices. A lot of people don't realize that these buses take diesel, and diesel is more expensive than gas. So that adds up, when you're spending eight hundred to a thousand dollars just to fill up a tank of a bus. People don't realize the cost of all that. So it's getting harder and harder.

"It's really kind of weird, because when we first booked the tour, the economy was much lower than now," Dino continued. "And then we do these show contracts for 'X' amount of dollars, and all of a sudden we postpone the tour to a year or so later, and so much has changed. Now these contracts, it doesn't match to where the economy is at now. A lot of people don't realize that either, that a lot has changed so much. I wish we can go back and renegotiate our contracts, but it's too late — can't do it. It is what it is. We're just not gonna be making the money that we would normally make to do that tour, but we're still gonna do it; we're committed to it. We can't wait to get back on the road and just play in front of all those people."

When the interviewers noted that it's refreshing to hear Dino speaking so openly about the financial challenges faced by touring artists, he said: "I'm not the only one that really talks about that. There have been other people — Devin Townsend's been talking a lot about it; DARK FUNERAL and a few other bands as well, talking about what it's like out there. Of course a lot of people who follow me who are fans of the band, they don't really understand what it is, how it is out there. But in a way, they should, because, obviously, gas prices affect everything. Food prices — food prices have gone insanely high. So people should be able to relate to it in that way. Speaking in the third person, if it's hard for that person to pay rent or to buy food, imagine what it's like for us to be out there touring. People have this misconception, just because you're on the road, you're making big bucks and you're a rich guy. We are affected by it just as much as they are — as a matter of fact worse, 'cause we have more overhead."

FEAR FACTORY's upcoming tour will be the band's first with its new lead singer, whose identity has not yet been revealed. The 36-year-old musician, who is "basically unknown," according to Dino, joined FEAR FACTORY as the replacement for Burton C. Bell, who left the band more than two years ago.

Cazares recently confirmed that he and the new FEAR FACTORY vocalist have begun work on material for the follow-up to 2021's "Aggression Continuum" album.

In September, Cazares told "The Jasta Show" that FEAR FACTORY fans will have to wait a few more months to find out the identity of his band's new singer.

"FEAR FACTORY singer and music will be coming just before the [group's North American] tour with STATIC-X," he said. "End of February is the first show, so just before that we'll be releasing the single and the singer. And then boom — right on the road."

This past February, former NIGHTRAGE singer Antony Hämäläinen, who unsuccessfully auditioned for the vocalist slot in FEAR FACTORY, claimed in an interview that the new FF frontman is "a person from Italy."

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

"Aggression Continuum" was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and Bell alongside drummer Mike Heller.