BURTON C. BELL Has 'No Interest' In Hearing FEAR FACTORY's New Single 'Roboticist': 'I've Moved On'

In a new interview with Pierre Gutiérrez of Rock Talks, former FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell was asked for his opinion of FEAR FACTORY's recently released single "Roboticist", which marks the band's first release with FEAR FACTORY's latest additions, vocalist Milo Silvestro and drummer Pete Webber. Bell said: "I have not heard it. I got no comment… I have a feeling it sounds like FEAR FACTORY. So that's all I'm gonna say."

As for his opinion of Silvestro as a live performer, Bell said: "I've never seen any videos [of FEAR FACTORY with Milo]. I don't watch that stuff. So I have no comment. I really have no interest to. That's the honest truth. I've moved on."

After Gutiérrez opined that FEAR FACTORY hired a singer who "does exactly the same work" as Bell, "meaning [Milo] sings the same, he dresses the same, the haircut is the same, he says, he says the exact same words, words between songs, he introduces the band the same way" and is basically a Burton "copycat", Bell said: "There's no accounting for taste and what people like. I mean, I understand what you're saying, and I've heard some rumblings from friends and stuff about what's happening over there, but, honestly, I don't care. I've heard rumblings — mumblings. But my friends, they know how I feel, so they don't really tell me."

Bell was featured on FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", which was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, also included fellow original FF member Dino Cazares (guitar) alongside drummer Mike Heller.

During an April 2022 appearance on "The Ex-Man" podcast, Burton admitted that "it was difficult" for him to leave FEAR FACTORY. "Stepping away from FEAR FACTORY was not an easy decision by [any] means," he said. "But what I experienced for the 10 years before that, the lawsuits, the acrimony, that was the one that killed me. And I just had to step away to realize, you know, they can take all this stuff from me — they can take the money, they can take the royalties, they can take the trademark away from me — and I realized that didn't define me. They can take that, but I'm still Burton C. Bell, motherfucker, and whatever I have they can't take. So I'm just kind of moving forward and doing new things."

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.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

"With FEAR FACTORY, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."

Bell is currently working on his debut solo album after releasing four singles over the past three years: "Savages", which came out in May 2025; "Anti-Droid" and "Technical Exorcism", which arrived in 2024; and a cover of RAMMSTEIN's "Du Hast" in 2023.

Earlier this month, Bell announced "Obsolete By Word Of Mouth", a rare and deeply personal spoken-word experience celebrating the 30th anniversary of FEAR FACTORY's "Obsolete" album and offering audiences the opportunity to hear the story behind the landmark LP directly from the artist whose voice, lyrics and vision helped define it. Three exclusive October events have been announced for San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

For tickets and more information, visit www.burtoncbell.com.

Last month, Dino was asked by Poland's Strefa Music Art what made him realize, more than three and a half years ago, that  Milo was the right person to become the new voice of FEAR FACTORY. Dino said: "Well, I didn't realize instantly. But I was very attracted to the way he sang and the way he sounded like what FEAR FACTORY fans know what the vocalist should sound like. Of course, people say, 'Oh, you replaced him 'cause he's a replica,' and, yeah, definitely. Because that's how the songs were made, that's how the songs were sung, and that's the tone of the vocals. And so Milo had it nailed down. And, obviously, we were one of his favorite bands. We're pretty much in the top five. And he knew the band. He knew what effects Burton used. He was definitely a fan of Burton and he definitely knew his technique on how he created tones, and he fit right in. So, right when I saw his video, I was, like, 'Wow, this kid sounds just like him.' And some people complain that he sounds too much like him, but if he sounded not like him, then people would be, like, 'Well, it doesn't sound like FEAR FACTORY.' So it's, like, you can't win or lose with it, so I ended deciding to go with what fit best for the sound that we were trying to go for. So it's a very familiar sound, tone, technique that people are used to. So when people go and see the songs live, if they close their eyes, it sounds exactly the same. So that's exactly what we were going for."