FEAR FACTORY's DINO CAZARES: AC/DC's ANGUS YOUNG Is 'The Reason I Wanted To Play Guitar'

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares was asked to name the first band he ever became a fan of. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "AC/DC. [AC/DC guitarist] Angus Young is the reason why I wanted to play guitar. The minute I saw him, I was nine years old, I saw him on TV. It was about 1976, '77, around there, and I saw him and I just instantly knew that's what I wanted to do."

Regarding whether there are other bands he was a fan of when he first started playing guitar, Dino said: "Well, it wasn't necessarily being a fan of the bands. Once I saw Angus Young play, I became a fan of the guitar. So anybody who played guitar, like [VAN HALEN's] Eddie Van Halen, [METALLICA's] James Hetfield, of course [PANTERA's] Dimebag Darrell, and Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King of SLAYER. I became a fan of guitar and I learned a lot of things from those type of guys. Like for instance. James Hetfield did a lot of down picking, so I learned my down picking from him. Then you've got Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King doing like the staccato picking. And, of course, you've got IRON MAIDEN to do the gallop. So I learned picking from all those different guitar players. And so, yeah, I was a fan of the music, but I was also a fan of the style of playing and guitar, the sound, the tone, all that stuff."

Asked if he still takes influence from other musicians or if he is "doing all just" him at this point, Dino responded: "I'm definitely doing just me, because — but in theory, you never stop learning, because you're always gonna learn. But it doesn't necessarily have to be from guitar. It could just be from music in general or just life in general. Life's inspirations sometimes can trigger something for you to write in a certain style or a certain way. And I take all those life experiences like that and I apply it to my music. And that's been from the beginning. Even if you're going through something sad or a heartbreak, you're doing dark chords. Or for some bands, you're summoning the dark Lord and you're gonna be playing that death note. But for me it's, like, all those types of different things I learned from. And I apply it to my music."

Asked what inspires him right now, Dino said:  "What inspires me right now is, well, we have a new vocalist. His name's Milo Silvestro, and he sings amazing. He's an amazing vocalist. He's multi-talented. And right now he kind of inspires me because he brought… We've been writing a new record, so he brought a little bit of a new character. And I was, like, 'Wow, okay, let's go with that.' 'Let's try that.' 'Let's go with this.' And he's brought that kind of inspiration into the band that really helped take it to somewhere new, but without being too far new to where people are not gonna recognize who we are."

He added: "Sometimes, you could play with other musicians and they inspire you. Maybe you're a fan of their bands, but when you get 'em in a room together and you start collaborating together, sometimes that can really spark an idea and that could spark a different flavor that maybe you wanna apply to your music. But I love it all."

Silvestro replaced FEAR FACTORY's original singer Burton C. Bell more than two years ago.

FEAR FACTORY recently completed a European tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band's classic second album, "Demanufacture".

FEAR FACTORY's current lineup features Cazares, Silvestro, drummer Pete Webber and bassist Tony Campos.

Ricky Bonazza (BUTCHER BABIES) played bass for FEAR FACTORY on the road in Europe while Campos was busy touring with STATIC-X.

Silvestro's addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in February 2023.

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.