Ex-FEAR FACTORY Singer BURTON C. BELL Announces Rescheduled 'Obsolete By Word Of Mouth' Spoken-Word Events

Former FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell has announced the details of his rescheduled spoken-words events in Australia, dubbed "Obsolete By Word Of Mouth".

The two shows, which were originally supposed to happen in June, will now be held on the following dates:

Oct. 25 - Sydney, Australia @ Chuck Trailer's Basement
Nov. 01 - Melbourne, Australia @ Holy Diver Bar

Says Burton: "I am proud to announce that I have rescheduled my 'Obsolete By Word Of Mouth' spoken-word events, brought to you by Nite-Rite.

"Experience the 'Obsolete By Word Of Mouth' without a microphone or amplification. I will be giving first-hand insight into the making of the album, the concepts and origins behind the titles and lyrics, as well as reading the story within the album. part spoken, part performative.

"My intention is to create a prescient and intimate atmosphere. I am requesting this to be a NO CELL PHONE EVENT. NO RECORDING PLEASE.

"All attendees will have to relay their own personal experience by 'word of mouth'... which is an OBSOLETE form of communication."

In a recent interview with The Rockman Power Hour, Burton stated about "Obsolete By Word Of Mouth":  "My wife happens to be in Australia right now working on a film [as a payroll accountant]… But what I decided to do is that I'm doing two spoken-word events, one in Melbourne and one in Sydney. And I'll be reading and discussing and talking about the 'Obsolete' record. And I've titled it 'Obsolete By Word Of Mouth'."

Originally released in 1998, "Obsolete" remains the only FEAR FACTORY album to have achieved gold status in the U.S., driven largely by the success of its fourth single, "Cars", a Gary Numan cover that featured Numan himself on vocals.

This past May, Burton released the lyric video for his latest solo single "Savages".

Bell previously issued two singles in 2024 — "Anti-Droid" and "Technical Exorcism" — and a cover of RAMMSTEIN's "Du Hast" in 2023.

In June, Bell headed to Australia for a solo run.

Bell played the first concert with his solo band on June 13, 2024 at 1720 in Los Angeles, California.

Backing Bell at his recent gigs have been guitarist Henrik Linde (THE VITALS, DREN),drummer Ryan "Junior" Kittlitz (ALL HAIL THE YETI, THE ACID HELPS),bassist Tony Baumeister (ÆGES) and multi-instrumentalist Stewart Cararas.

Bell's discography includes multiple live and recorded collaborations with BLACK SABBATH icon Geezer Butler and JOURNEY's Deen Castronovo (as G/Z/R); industrial maverick Al Jourgensen and MINISTRY; and guest vocal appearances with PITCHSHIFTER, CONFLICT, SOIL, STATIC-X, SOULFLY and DELAIN, among others. He's the vocalist of ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS and CITY OF FIRE and, of course, the co-creator of FEAR FACTORY and the only musician to appear on every FEAR FACTORY release from 1992 through 2024.

FEAR FACTORY created a sound that revolutionized extreme metal, defined in no small part by Bell's innovative scream/sing dichotomy and the influences he brought from post-punk and industrial. Songs like "Replica", "Linchpin", "Edgecrusher", "Fear Campaign", "Archetype", "Cyber Waste" and "Zero Signal" are modern metal anthems. "Demanufacture" (1995) and the RIAA gold-certified "Obsolete" (1998) are genre-redefining works heralded by fans and critics as essential albums. Orwell, Bradbury, "Blade Runner", and sophisticated sci-fi and fantasy works fed Bell's lyrics and concepts.

The band toured the world with METALLICA, SLIPKNOT, KORN, MEGADETH and OZZY OSBOURNE, taking bands like SYSTEM OF A DOWN and STATIC-X out as support acts in their early stages. After years of behind-the-scenes band member turmoil and legal issues, Bell left FEAR FACTORY in the fall of 2020.

The 56-year-old Bell had been largely inactive on the musical front since officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY in September 2020. At the time he said that he could not "align" himself with someone whom he did not trust or respect, an apparent reference to FEAR FACTORY founding guitarist Dino Cazares. Bell has since been replaced in the band by the Italian-born singer Milo Silvestro.

Photo credit: Erica Vincent