Dino Cazares: Our New Singer is “More of a Musician Than I Am”

Lineup changes are hard, but it seems like Fear Factory‘s hunt for Burton C. Bell‘s replacement has been especially time-consuming. After all, it’s been more than two years since Bell up and quit the industrial metal mainstays.

And while that search for a new singer may be over now, we still don’t know who they are. Keeping that information close to his chest, guitarist Dino Cazares said in an interview with Heavy Debriefings, as transcribed by Blabbermouth, that the person they picked will allow the band to bring some old songs back into the mix that haven’t been played live in a long time when they hit the road to support Static-X.

“We’re definitely gonna be throwing in our biggest, most streamed song, which is ‘Linchpin’; we’re gonna be able to finally put that in the setlist. And we’re gonna be able to do a lot of songs like that, stuff that we haven’t been able to do in a while. [The new singer has] got an amazing voice, which definitely opens doors for us to be able to go and pick and choose any song that we want and add it to the setlist.

“When we’re doing this tour with Static-X, we’ve only got 50 minutes, so we’re gonna be trying to squeeze in as much from our catalog as possible — at least doing two songs or one main song from each record. Of course, you can’t do ‘Shock’ without ‘Edgecrusher’. You can’t do ‘Demanufacture’ without ‘Replica’. ‘What Will Become?’ and ‘Linchpin’ from the ‘Digimortal’ era. So there’s a lot of songs for us to choose from — ‘Powershifter’, ‘Dielectric’; there’s a lot of songs. So we’re gonna try to squeeze ’em all in there and try to not talk as much, just so we can get another song in there.”

Again, being very cagey about who’s actually going to be behind the microphone, Cazares dropped a couple hints here and there. He’s already been on record saying we won’t know who’s actually fronting the band until February, when they release the first single off their forthcoming studio effort.

“The singer that we have now, he’s a multi-instrumentalist; he can play more than one instrument — guitars, bass, drums, keyboards — and he sings. Yeah, he’s a multi-talented guy, and I can’t wait to introduce him to the world. And it’s gonna be killer. It’s gonna be great… He’s much more of a musician than I am. [Laughs]”

Those are some interesting details about the incoming vocalist. Maybe it’s someone we’re all familiar with in the metal community, but it would be equally awesome if they got someone who’s either new to the genre or has been a relatively unknown singer. So with those details in mind, do your work internet sleuths! Let’s figure it out.

If you’re looking to get a grasp on some of those older songs that may make their way into the set, you should check out the limited edition box set for Fear Factory’s Soul of a New Machine. In it, the box set includes three LPs, alternate mixes, and an exclusive poster, serving as a sonic reminder that the band was absolutely killer. You can learn more about the box set over at our MetalSucks store.

Fear Factory will be touring with Static-X starting next February. Some dates will also include Twizted, while others will include Mushroomhead. For more details about the tour or to see when Fear Factory will be playing near you, check out the list of dates below.

2/25 – San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore
2/27 – Portland, Ore. @ Roseland
2/28 – Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox
3/01 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Rickshaw Theater
3/02 – Spokane, Wash. @ Knitting Factory
3/03 – Boise, Idaho @ Revolution Concert Hall
3/04 – Reno, Nev. @ Virginia Street Brewhouse
3/05 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Ace Of Spades
3/07 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Van Buren (w/ Twizted)
3/08 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ El Rey Theater (w/ Twizted)
3/09 – Oklahoma City, Okla. @ Diamond Ballroom (w/ Twizted)
3/10 – Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues (w/ Twizted)
3/11 – San Antonio, Texas @ The Aztec Theater (w/ Twizted)
3/12 – Houston, Texas @ House Of Blues (w/ Twizted)
3/14 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Buckhead Theater (w/ Twizted)
3/15 – Orlando, Fla. @ Plaza Live (w/ Twizted)
3/16 – Charlotte, N.C. @ Underground (w/ Twizted)
3/17 – Baltimore, Md. @ Soundstage (w/ Twizted)
3/18 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ T.L.A. (w/ Twizted)
3/19 – New York, N.Y. @ Irving Plaza (w/ Twizted)
3/21 – Boston, Mass. @ Big Night Live (w/ Twizted)
3/22 – New Haven, Conn. @ Toad’s (w/ Twizted)
3/23 – Montreal, Quebec ! Corona (w/ Twizted)
3/24 – Toronto, Ontario @ Phoenix (w/ Twizted)
3/25 – Detroit, Mich. @ St. Andrews Hall (w/ Twizted)
3/26 – Cleveland, Ohio @ House Of Blues (w/ Mushroomhead)
3/28 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Roxian (w/ Mushroomhead)
3/29 – Cincinnati, Ohio @ Bogarts (w/ Mushroomhead)
3/30 – Columbus, Ohio @ The King of Clubs (w/ Mushroomhead)
3/31– Ft. Wayne, Ind. @ The Clyde (w/ Twizted)
4/01 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ The Rave (w/ Twizted)
4/02 – Green Bay, Wis. @ Epic Event Center (w/ Twizted)
4/04 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Intersection (w/ Twizted)
4/05 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Del Mar Hall (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/06 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Vogue (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/07 – Chicago, Ill. @ House Of Blues (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/08 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ The Fillmore (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/09 – Lincoln, Neb. @ Bourbon Theater (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/11 – Denver, Colo. @ The Summit (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/13 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ House Of Blues (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/14 – San Diego, Calif. @ House Of Blues (w/ Mushroomhead)
4/15 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Belasco Theater (w/ Mushroomhead)