Fear Factory released Genexus in 2015 and then largely went silent. Rumors of a new record called Monolith began swirling after then-vocalist Burton C. Bell said the label already had it, though guitarist Dino Cazares disagreed and said he had no idea what was going on with Monolith. Then in 2020, Cazares revealed there was a lawsuit within the band and that Fear Factory may very well be over.
Then finally, it happened – Bell quit the band in September 2020 and Fear Factory began the long, pandemic-hindered search for a new vocalist. Fear Factory announced yesterday that their new vocalist is Milo Silvestro, who you'll get to hear on tour later this month.
So how'd he get the job? In an interview with The Jasta Show, Silvestro said it all started when he tried out for Cazares' solo project when the future of Fear Factory was in doubt.
"At time there wasn't an audition yet because they were still going through the legal suit and stuff like that," said Silvestro as transcribed by Metal Injection. "So I think Dino just wanted at first to do a solo project, because Fear Factory couldn't do live [shows]. They couldn't do anything because of the legal suit. Later on he told me that he was auditioning people like me to do the solo project since he couldn't do anything with Fear Factory, but then around June 2020 he got over the legal suit [and got] the name Fear Factory back.
"So he was back in full control and he was like, 'okay, so I'm gonna do a Fear Factory.' Then you know, the singer Burton quit in September 2020. A few days after he announced the departure, Dino text me and was like 'okay, so I'm now gonna have you audition for Fear Factory [as the new] vocalist. Do you still want to try?' and I was like 'what?' I never, never ever imagined that I could run for the spot of the vocalist of Fear Factory. When he told me it was like 'that that can't be true. It just can't.'"
No word on when we'll get to hear Silvestro on some Fear Factory studio material, but we do know that the band was recently working on it with longtime producer Damien Rainaud.
Fear Factory, Static-X & Dope
2/25 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore [Tickets]
2/27 – Portland, OR – Roseland [Tickets]
2/28 – Seattle, WA – Showbox [Tickets]
3/1 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater [Tickets]
3/2 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory [Tickets]
3/3 – Boise, ID – Revolution Concert Hall [Tickets]
3/4 – Reno, NV – Virginia Street Brewhouse [Tickets]
3/5 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades [Tickets]
Fear Factory, Static-X, Dope & Mushroomhead
3/7 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren [Tickets]
3/8 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater [Tickets]
3/9 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom [Tickets]
3/10 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues [Tickets]
3/11 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater [Tickets]
3/12 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues [Tickets]
3/14 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater [Tickets]
3/15 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live [Tickets]
3/16 – Charlotte, NC – Underground [Tickets]
3/17 – Baltimore, MD – Soundstage [Tickets]
3/18 – Philadelphia, PA – T.L.A. [Tickets]
3/19 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza [Tickets]
3/21 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live [Tickets]
3/22 – New Haven, CT – Toad's [Tickets]
3/23 – Montreal, QC – Corona [Tickets]
3/24 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix [Tickets]
3/25 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall [Tickets]
Fear Factory, Static-X, Dope & Twizted
3/26 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues [Tickets]
3/28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian [Tickets]
3/29 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts [Tickets]
3/30 – Columbus, OH – The King of Clubs [Tickets]
Fear Factory, Static-X, Dope & Mushroomhead
3/31 – Ft. Wayne, IN – The Clyde [Tickets]
4/1 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave [Tickets]
4/2 – Green Bay, WI – Epic Event Center [Tickets]
4/4 – Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection [Tickets]
Fear Factory, Static-X, Dope & Twizted
4/5 – St. Louis, MO – Del 3/Hall [Tickets]
4/6 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue [Tickets]
4/7 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues [Tickets]
4/8 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore [Tickets]
4/9 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theater [Tickets]
4/11 – Denver, CO – The Summit [Tickets]
4/13 – Las Vegas, NH – House Of Blues [Tickets]
4/14 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues [Tickets]
4/15 – Los Angeles, Ca – Belasco Theater [Tickets]
