DINO CAZARES 'Found Out Via Social Media' That BURTON C. BELL Was Leaving FEAR FACTORY

FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares says that he "found out via social media" that vocalist Burton C. Bell was leaving the band.

On Monday (September 28),Bellissued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, explaining that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

Bell's exit from FEAR FACTORY came more than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with the production costs associated with the release of FEAR FACTORY's long-awaited new album.

In a brand new interview with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast, which was conducted hours after Bell's departure was made public, Cazares confirmed that he learned about Burton's decision the same way everybody else did — via the Internet.

"Our singer for the past 30 years decided to leave the band," Dino said. "He released a statement. [I] found out [about it] via social media."

According to Cazares, Bell's explanation for why he was departing FEAR FACTORY failed to address some of the critical issues that caused a delay in the release of the band's new album.

"I don't really wanna get into what [Burton's statement] says, really, 'cause a lot of it's just a lot of nonsense," Dino said. "What I noticed [is] that he doesn't take responsibility for all the legal actions that went down.

"Most people know that we were in a legal battle for the last three-plus years, trying to sort out this FEAR FACTORY name situation. And him and I were sued separately, in separate courts. The other two ex-members decided to take us to court, which led to me and Burton going bankrupt in separate states — I was in California; he was out there in Pennsylvania. [A few months ago] Burton's [portion of the FEAR FACTORY] trademark ownership became available, so I ended up purchasing it," making Dino the sole owner of the FEAR FACTORY name.

"I don't wanna get into the gory details. I don't wanna have to throw anybody under the bus," he continued. "But if anybody wants to see the truth, they can go and Google the paperwork. Google our names and you'll find it. It's all there. It's all black and white. And you can see what happened and how it all transpired."

Dino went on to say that he hoped Burton would remain in FEAR FACTORY so they could go out and tour in support of the band's new LP, which was originally recorded in 2017 but has since been reworked with additional instrumentation and a new mix.

"For me, I didn't want him to leave the band," Cazares said. "I wanted him to stay in the band, and let's continue, and let's go work. That's how I look at it. We've got a record that's coming out next year. When the touring opens up, let's get out there and work. That's my whole thing: I got the name. Let's go work. What's gonna change? Nothing will change. The only thing that changed is the person who owns [the trademark]. [It was] both of us before [who owned the name]. And years before that [when drummer Raymond Herrera and bassist Christian Olde Wolbers were in FEAR FACTORY], it was all four of us… We finally got [the name back]. Let's get to work. That's just my attitude. Let's make some records that the fans wanna hear — the classic FEAR FACTORY stuff. We've got a great record coming out next year.

"It's too bad that he decided not to stick around, but the door is open for him," Dino said. "So whenever he decides to get past whatever his issues are, I'll be here waiting. But I can't wait too long, 'cause when things start opening up and I've gotta get back out there and work, I've gotta do what every other band does, and they've gotta move on — earn a living. But in the meantime, the door is open for him."

Cazares explained that the new FEAR FACTORY album will still feature Bell's vocals which were recorded in full three years ago.

"Andy Sneap is mixing the record right now, as we speak, and Nuclear Blast wants this record to come out," Dino said. "And that's exactly what's gonna happen. It'll be out next year. As soon as I find out the date, I'm sure everybody will find out too. But we're shooting for March next year. And we'll see what happens after that. Hopefully this world will open up soon and we can all get back to work."

In a statement explaining his reasons for starting a fundraising campaign, Cazares said that all donations will go toward covering newly incurred production costs involved with the making of the new FEAR FACTORY LP, including re-recording the drums, guitars, bass and keyboards, as well as mixing and mastering by Sneap.

FEAR FACTORY's fundraising campaign marks the first public activity from the band since it completed a 2016 U.S. headlining tour on which it performed its classic second album, "Demanufacture", in its entirety.