Vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares are never getting back together. Ever since Bell split from Fear Factory in 2020, the two haven't had much nice to say about each other in the press. That remains true in 2025. In a recent interview with Rock Hard With Phil And Tish, Bell said he felt that Fear Factory "locked ourselves in a box" when it came to their sound and not branching out much.
"I feel, as a band, we locked ourselves in a box," said Bell. "And the label was expecting a certain sound, certain members were expecting a certain sound and, to be honest, a lot of fans were expecting a certain sound. Releasing anything else would have been — what's the word? — would have just been heresy, like, 'What are doing? That doesn't sound like Fear Factory.' 'Well…"
Bell also cited Fear Factory's 2005 album Transgression as one time he felt the band did change things up, which is funny considering it's one of the Fear Factory records with Christian Olde Wolbers on guitar and not Cazares.
"We did a record called Transgression," said Bell. "And the title in itself was a transgression of the actual sound of what Fear Factory was. Instead of being an industrial metal band, on that record we were like a hard rock band almost. And fans treated it as such. So we did it to ourselves. But now as a solo artist, I don't feel that [kind of pressure] at all. I feel the sky's wide open."
Of course this all came back to Cazares, who refused Bell's claims on social media, saying: "Fear Factory didn't 'lock themselves in a box.' , we destroyed the box and evolved while maintaining a core sound. It's a choice driven by passion not pressure. I live, die, and regenerate Fear Factory, loyal to the end."
Responding to a fan, Cazares later added: "It's just 2 different people's perspective on when they were in the band. One felt like he was boxed in,like he was doing it because he had to not because he wanted to, the other(me) did it out of love and passion it genuinely matters to me it's a choice, driven by passion not by pressure."
And I guess the war of words between the two doesn't really mean much in the end anyway, considering Bell is launching his own solo career and Fear Factory just entered the studio.
