DINO CAZARES Reveals First Details Of Long-Awaited New FEAR FACTORY Album: It Was 'Definitely A Huge Collaborative Effort Between All Of Us'

In a new interview with New Breed TV, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares spoke about the band's upcoming studio album, which is tentatively due later this year via Nuclear Blast. The LP will mark FEAR FACTORY's first release with the band's latest additions, singer Milo Silvestro and drummer Pete Webber, who have been part of FEAR FACTORY's touring lineup for more than three years. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Each song will have its own detailed synopsis of what each song's about — lyrically. It's something that we kind of did on [1998's] 'Obsolete'. 'Obsolete' was more of a story. This is more of a description of each song, the intention behind it, what the lyrics mean, and it's gonna be intense. It's gonna be great. You're gonna be able to get more details that we're gonna be releasing through our web site or through Facebook or all through social medias. And, of course, you guys will be getting some of that detail as well. Because I noticed over the years, when it's just streaming stuff, you don't get all the details of the song. Sure, you get some lyrics and maybe you get some song credits, but they don't tell you the whole story behind it, the intention behind the riff or the beat or the lyrics. You don't get all that extra stuff… So you're gonna be able to get all the information of what [each song] is about. So it's gonna be killer."

Regarding the lyrical themes covered on FEAR FACTORY's upcoming LP, Dino said: "Overall, the record is gonna have one concept that it all blends together, of course. It's just not gonna necessarily be — how do I say it? — like a book. It's gonna be a narration of each song. And, of course, it's always the battle between organic and digital. Obviously we are now into the future of what we've been singing about since the '90s. Now we are 35 years later, where we are now, and that's what kind of like what we're talking about. Of course A.I. has taken over in a lot of aspects, and it's forever evolving, and it's gonna keep evolving. And we're enthusiastic about where it's gonna go, but also very cautious at the same time. To where we are in this new record is where humanity is — humanity is only left in fragments, and there's very little hope, a little chance for humanity to come back. And when it does come back, it's gonna be a new living organism that we haven't even discovered yet."

Asked if the previously released FEAR FACTORY song called "Roboticist", which was made available as an instrumental version in 2023 to promote the virtual guitar rig plugin and standalone app Toneforge Disruptor, will appear on the band's new album, Dino said: "Yes. The arrangement slightly changed — for the better, of course. 'Cause it was originally written as an instrumental, and the ending part of the song is now the middle part of the song. And it sounds amazing. So you just gotta check it out when it comes out."

Cazares also talked about the lyrical contributions of Silvestro, whose addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in February 2023.

"Well, it's definitely a huge collaborative effort between all of us, which is me and [longtime FEAR FACTORY collaborator] Damien [Rainaud], our producer," Dino explained. "Of course Milo wrote a good portion of lyrics. Of course I helped out. And we have a bass player named Ricky Bonazza, who fills in for Tony Campos. He helps a lot with the lyrics as well. So we all have collaborated lyrically on where we're going with this stuff and the whole story behind it. Milo definitely — the three years definitely helped him understand FEAR FACTORY even more and where he fits in the band."

Dino went on to say that part of the reason FEAR FACTORY has taken so long to release new music with Milo is the fact that expectations are very high for the band's first album without original vocalist Burton C. Bell.

"A lot of people are, like, 'Well, put out the record, put out the record.' We don't wanna rush," Dino explained. "We want it to be the shit, because this record, when it comes out, it's gonna be forever. So I wanna be able to live with a dope-ass record than something that's rushed because somebody wants us to put it out quickly. Although I enjoy the enthusiasm with the fans because they pester me every day. But it's a good pester, and I enjoy it. So I really appreciate that, because it really tells me that they're ready for it. It's Milo's first record, so he has to shine on this record. So we're definitely taking our time. I think lyrically and conceptually, that probably takes the longest."

Highlighting the fact that Silvestro had the freedom to put his own musical stamp on the new FEAR FACTORY album, Dino said: "Milo wrote a song. He wrote the closing track, which is really good. It's along the lines of [the epic cinematic ballad] 'Expiration Date' [from 2015's 'Genexus' album]. That's exactly how this is. I'd love to tell you the title, but I can't. It's really good. It's kind of, like, as humanity, we are gone, humans are gone. All that's left is microorganisms, and somehow… It's kind of like how they rediscovered the dinosaur, and they can extract some prehistoric blood and clone a dinosaur and bring 'em back. That's kind of where we are at the end of the record. And, yeah, it's a great song. It's great title. Milo pretty much did it all himself. '[Longtime FEAR FACTORY producer/collaborator] Rhys [Fulber] contributed some keyboards on it, so that's great. [Rhys is] definitely involved in that song heavily."

As for Milo's overall vocal approach to the new FEAR FACTORY material, Dino said: "There are elements where it's, like, okay, he sounds very similar to Burt, but there's other parts where he just sounds like it's a whole new thing, which adds a whole new freshness to the songs. I mean, we still have everything that makes FEAR FACTORY what we are — aggressive verses, screams, growls, and, of course, the big melodic choruses. We still have all that. But sometimes I do a double take and I'm, like, 'That sounds a lot like Burt.' And sometimes I'm, like, 'This is a whole new thing.' And you're gonna notice that through the whole record."

Cazares added: "[Milo] understands FEAR FACTORY and the sound. He respects the past and what me and the rest of the guys have created. He loves all that, so, of course, it's only natural for him to have a lot of those elements in him, because that's what he learned from."

Last October, the Italian-born Milo was asked by Music On 11 With Jimmy Black if he ever thought, before he joined FEAR FACTORY, that he would one day be singing the FF songs on stage with Dino and the rest of the band. He responded: "Never. Dude, the crazy thing about this whole journey is that I've always been a massive FEAR FACTORY fan — I knew every song, every lyric; it was crazy — but I have never thought or even wished that this thing could become true because, to me, it was stupid to even dream about it. It's kind of, like, you go, like, 'Oh, my favorite band is METALLICA and one day I hope that I will fill in for James Hetfield permanently.' I'm, like, [get the] fuck outta here. So, when people go, like, 'You're living a dream,' I'm, like, I'm living something that wasn't even my dream. I'm living something that is way higher than what was my expectations, which my expectations were simply just to make a living with maybe my own band or my own music, whether if it's metal, possibly metal, because it's always been like the genre that spoke to my soul the most. But I've been a musician since I was 12, 'cause of my parents, and so this is way beyond what was my expectation. So, when Dino started messaging me during the pandemic back in 2020, I was just shocked — no pun intended. And the crazy thing is that the video that I put on YouTube wasn't even meant to be in an audition. I just put a cover on YouTube because I was, like, 'Okay, I think I wanna start to be active on social media and just maybe put myself out there and just start a channel.' So the first cover that I did was a medley of 'Soul Of A New Machine' [FEAR FACTORY's debut album] songs, and, and the first guy that commented was Dino, and the rest is history."

Dino chimed in: "[Milo] really didn't know we were looking for anybody. No one really knew we were looking for anybody. I actually had put it out there that I was looking for a vocalist for [Dino's long-running side project] DIVINE HERESY and not necessarily FEAR FACTORY. So he thought that it was for DIVINE HERESY and not FEAR FACTORY at that time."

In August 2025, Dino spoke to Metalshop TV about what it has been like working with Milo. He said: "Well, it's been almost three years that we've been working with Milo Silvestro. And yeah, definitely he brings a new element to the band. He is reminiscent of what Burton sounded like back in '95, '96, maybe even '98, '99. People wanna hear those songs sang properly live, and Milo definitely delivers every night."

Earlier in August 2025, Dino talked to Neil Jones of TotalRock about the fans' reaction to Milo's addition to FEAR FACTORY, saying the vocalist was "100%" well received by the band's longtime followers. "We took him through rigorous training 'cause he was pretty much fresh off the boat," Cazares explained. "And so, everything from how he performs live on stage, how to handle the media, how to handle the criticism online. I pretty much taught him everything I knew to get through all this and to be prepared for what's to come."

Asked when he knew that he definitely made the right choice by picking Milo to front FEAR FACTORY after a split with Bell, Dino said: "Right in the rehearsal room. He was the only guy that showed up that didn't have to look at his phone for the lyrics, what he sang. I had a P.A. I played instrumentals through the P.A. And whoever was auditioning, I gave him the mic. Everybody was, like, 'Oh…' Milo was prepared. And then he was so prepared, he was saying, 'What about this song? I'm, like, 'Oh, okay.' Put another song. And then through the course of three days, he did 15 songs. And he didn't have to look at the fucking lyrics."

In a separate interview with the Mike James Rock ShowMilo spoke about what it has been like spending most of the last three years on the road with such an internationally acclaimed metal act as FEAR FACTORY. He responded: "Yeah. I'm really thankful for all the fans that are accepting with open arms this new lineup of FEAR FACTORY because it's really not an easy thing… It's a really big legacy and we're trying to honor it as much as we can."

He continued: "I'm a really meticulous, picky individual when it comes to replicating something. We're playing 'Demanufacture' in its entirety [on the current tour], so I went back to the stems of the record and even listened to vocals closely and just tried to replicate every nuance that Burt did. So, yeah, we try to make it right and we appreciate that the fans are supporting this."

Elaborating on the way he approaches singing the parts which were originally written and recorded by Bell, the Italian-born Silvestro said: "I try to sneak in some bits of my vocal personality, but not too much to change it completely. I try to sound like the original singer, because his vocal legacy of the band is such an iconic vocal sound, and you wanna nail that style. I'm still working on playing a cappella and try to nail the sound more and more and more because I think this band deserves it."

Asked if he ever has to "take stock" and realize that he is now actually the vocalist of FEAR FACTORY, a band that he had been listening to for so many years, Milo said: "All the time. I've always been a hardcore FEAR FACTORY fan, and for me, this is beyond crazy. When people are, like, 'This is a dream come true,' I go, like, 'This wasn't even supposed to be a dream.' My dreams were right here [raises his hand to his nose level] — maybe having some kind of success with my own bands. But this is just right here [raises his hand way above his head] or maybe even higher. It's so crazy to the point of fucking with your brain… [It's] so surreal that it's kind of like a drug for my brain. Like, what's going on? I mean, I love it. Also, it wasn't like most of the bands, like Dino, all these artists, they progressively went higher and higher when they were young. In my case, I spent most of my life, up until I was 32, 33, as a local musician in Rome [Italy], and then all of a sudden — boom — big stages and festivals, interviews, being known. And I'm, like, what's going on? But it's cool — don't get me wrong — but sometimes it's just, like, 'Whoa.'"

Also in early August, Cazares told Slovakia's Tomketoviny about Silvestro and Webber: "The fans are reacting great [to the new lineup]. It's been all positive reaction. Milo, obviously, he auditioned 'cause we were looking for a vocalist. We got more than 300 submissions of a videotape of… This was during COVID, so a lot of people couldn't get on a plane and come see me. So a lot of it was just done online. And so we had a lot of submissions, and it was a lot of stuff to go through. But one stood out, and that was Milo. And that was pretty much how he got the gig. When the travel ban was lifted, he was able to fly into L.A. and physically auditioned. So that worked out. And Pete — we had another drummer at the time [Mike Heller], but our drummer had some prior commitments and he couldn't make it. And then Pete filled in and we decided to keep Pete. We liked his attitude, we liked the way he played, and that's really important."

FEAR FACTORY's current lineup features Cazares, Silvestro, Webber and Tony Campos on bass.

FEAR FACTORY played its first headlining concert with Silvestro and Webber on May 5, 2023 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, featured Cazares, Heller and Bell.

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, apparently referring to Cazares.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY had been 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."

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)