FEAR FACTORY: Australian Headlining Shows Announced

FEAR FACTORY — the newly revamped band featuring original FF members Dino Cazares (guitar) and Burton C. Bell (vocals) alongside bassist Byron Stroud (who was credited on the last two FEAR FACTORY albums in addition to touring and recording with STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and ZIMMERS HOLE) and legendary drummer Gene Hoglan (DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARK ANGEL, DEATH, TESTAMENT) — has scheduled two headlining shows in between dates on the 2010 Big Day Out festival tour of Australia and New Zealand. The details are as follows-

Jan. 18 - Manning Bar - Sydney, Australia
Jan. 27 - The Prince Bandroom - Melbourne, Australia

Big Day Out will have day-long events running in Auckland, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth from January 15 to January 31.

The dates are as follows:

Jan. 15 - Auckland MT Smart Stadium
Jan. 17 - Gold Coast Parklands
Jan. 22 - Sydney Showground
Jan. 23 - Sydney Showground
Jan. 26 - Melbourne Flemington Racecourse
Jan. 29 - Adelaide Showground
Jan. 31 - Perth Claremont Showground

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

BLOWFLY
BLUEJUICE
CALVIN HARRIS
DEAD PREZ (NZ & East Coast)
DECODER RING
DEVENDRA BANHART
DIZZEE RASCAL
DJ CHUCUCHU
ESKIMO JOE
FEAR FACTORY
GIRL TALK
GRINSPOON
GROOVE ARMADA
GRRILLASTEP (East Coast)
HILLTOP HOODS
ITCH-E AND SCRATCH-E
JET
KARNIVOOL
KASABIAN
KISSCHASY
LADYHAWKE
LILY ALLEN
LISA MITCHELL
MAGIC DIRT
MASTODON
MAYA JUPITER
MDX
MIAMI HORROR
MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS
MUSE
PASSION PIT
PEACHES
PHRASE (East Coast)
POIRIER feat. MC ZULU
POWDERFINGER
RISE AGAINST
SAM LA MORE
SASHA
SILENT DISCO
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO
SUGAR ARMY
TAME IMPALA
TELEPROMPTER
THE DECEMBERISTS
THE HORRORS
THE MARS VOLTA
THE MIDDLE EAST (East Coast)
THE SCARE
THE TEMPER TRAP
TUMBLEWEED (Syd 2, Mel)
WAGONS

For more information, visit www.bigdayout.com.

The new FEAR FACTORY lineup played its second show ever this past Sunday night (December 6) at Teatro Teletón in Santiago, Chile.

Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below (courtesy of "Ansuz793").

FEAR FACTORY will release its new album, "Mechanize", in the U.S. on February 9, 2010 via Candlelight Records and February 5, 2010 in Europe via AFM Records. The CD, which was co-produced by the band with Rhys Fulber (FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, PARADISE LOST),was recently mixed by Greg Reely (PARADISE LOST, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, SKINNY PUPPY).

Regarding the new album's lyrical approach, Bell stated, "In the past, the lyrical concept was of a futuristic, 'sci-fi' nature. An attempt to protect the ideas and logic of those involved in FEAR FACTORY; because those who incite progressive thought are always chastised and persecuted. By placing the 'story' into a futuristic, fictional narrative, the words and ideas may not have seemed threatening. Not so for 'Mechanize'. These are the words of a reality that once seemed distant, that are now apparently, and evidently real. These are the words of the world in which we live; for what once seemed like a story of another time, has come to be our reality today. Welcome to the world of 'Mechanize'."

Regarding "Mechanize"'s musical direction, Bell told Sergio Alvite of Mexico's Search & Destroy, "It has the raw aggression of what 'Soul Of A New Machine' [1992] was but it has... I would say it has the maturity of 'Obsolete' [1998]. When I say 'maturity,' I mean that it has the songwriting skills that 'Soul Of A New Machine' did not have whereas 'Obsolete' did."