FEAR FACTORY's First Album With MILO SILVESTRO Is Coming Together Really Well: 'It's A Badass Team At Work Right Now'

In a new interview with "Reckless" Rexx Ruger of Pod Scum, FEAR FACTORY's new singer Milo Silvestro was asked what the experience has been spending most of the last couple of years on the road with such an internationally acclaimed metal act. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, it's going great. It's been an interesting, crazy journey and [I'm] so stoked to be here still. It's been two years and a half almost. We toured the world. We [had] crazy experiences, had the privilege of playing with a lot of favorite bands of mine, and it's crazy."

Asked if it is correct to say that FEAR FACTORY is working on a new album right now, the band's first with Silvestro on vocals, Milo said: "Yes, correct. So we are currently working. I'm here at Dino's [Cazares, FEAR FACTORY guitarist and main songwriter] to record the vocals for the new album. So, we're currently working on it."

Describing his involvement in the songwriting process for the new FEAR FACTORY material, Milo said: "Well, fortunately enough, I'm so thankful to Dino for the fact that he has given me a lot of creative space into the album. So, not just vocally, but instrumentally speaking. I'm laying down a lot of ideas for keyboards and synths, which is part of my background. I have a background of like electronic music composer, soundtrack composer, so I'm using a little bit of that skill of mine. And vocally, yeah, of course, I'm writing all my lyrics and stuff, and of course we discuss concepts with Dino, because, of course, he also has a lot of ideas about concepts and stuff. So watch a lot of movies and we talk about, 'We should talk about this. We should talk about that.' So it's a really cool collaboration of different minds. Pete [Webber], our drummer, he's recorded two tracks on drums so far, and he is laid down some cool flavors and fills here and there. Tony's [Campos] playing bass on the album as well, so it's a badass team at work right now."

Regarding what the reception has been like so far from fans to the fact that he replaced original FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell, Milo said: "Well, fortunately enough, the very majority of the fans are loving this new lineup of FEAR FACTORY. And I'm so thankful to all the fans for being this supportive, because it's not something you take for granted for sure, because you are replacing not just an iconic singer, but an iconic lineup in general. Every member in the classic FEAR FACTORY lineup [was] iconic in their own way. So, it's kind of like trying to — I don't wanna say rebrand, but literally giving different faces to an established brand. So, it's definitely not easy.

"The comments that make me the most happy are the ones from the skeptical people, people going, like, 'I used to be skeptical, like, who the fuck is this new guy? But then I heard him and I'm, like, oh, I'm all in,'" Milo continued. "So, that makes me so happy, 'cause it means that they didn't accept you just because it's FEAR FACTORY. They listened to it, they maybe went to the show and they liked it and we changed their minds. So I feel really accomplished [when they say stuff like that]. Of course, the hating is always gonna be there, but we are lucky that we have like a very minimum part. It's literally, like, 30, 40 people in the whole world, and mostly on Facebook. We rarely get hate on Instagram. For some reason, Facebook, it's becoming a platform of hating."

Silvestro also talked in more detail about how FEAR FACTORY songs come together, particularly as it relates to his vocal approach. He said: "Dino is very musical. He has really musical ideas. The rhythms he has in his mind, rhythmic patterns, they're really inspiring for not just drums, of course, that are typically locked with the guitars, but a lot of other things. Sometimes his riffs can inspire my vocal rhythmic patterns. And being myself primarily a percussionist and a drummer, I love to write syncopated, groovy vocal patterns for screaming vocals. I wouldn't say 'rap', but because, of course it's not the FEAR FACTORY style, but still groovy, heavy vocals. Even PANTERA and bands like that, they're called groove metal because there is some groove aspect in the vocals. So, I feel like I added a little bit of that in the new album, which is definitely the style I always [gravitated toward]. If you listen to [my previous band] DEAD CHANNEL, there's a lot of that. I grew up also with singers like Dez [Fafara] from COAL CHAMBER and Corey Taylor from SLIPKNOT. They have crazy flows when they do heavy vocals. So, there's definitely a little bit of that, without straying too much from Burton C. Bell's style rhythmically. But most of it, it came out from my ideas, most of it came out from inspiration from Dino's riffs. So, yeah, most of it starts from Dino's riffs. So, when he writes the chorus, I start writing melody to it. Sometimes I even pick up the guitar and I'm, like, 'Oh, I have this chorus in mind that could fit this melody that I have in mind.' So it can start from everything."

Last June, Cazares told Primordial Radio about the chemistry of the musicians in FEAR FACTORY's current lineup: " At the moment, [it's all] smooth sailing. And it's been great. Everybody's on point. Pete Webber's on drums. He's sick. He came from a thrash metal band called HAVOK. Killer drummer. We call him Pete The Feet. Milo Silvestro — new kid on the block. He came straight from Rome, Italy. He sounds like a young Burton, you know what I mean? [He sounds like Burton did] back in the day. He sounds amazing. He's probably the most musically talented in the band. And then Tony Campos, my old friend. He's been with the band since, like, 2015. He comes from a band called STATIC-X. He's been my mate for 30-plus years, and it's always good to play with him, and I'm glad he's with us."

Dino continued: "It's a great place right now. We are trying to avoid any of that drama. And luckily we have for the past year and a half since we came back."

Asked what is left for FEAR FACTORY to do, Dino said: "New record with Milo Silvestro. That's what we're gonna do next. New record. And then conquer the world again."

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

In a separate interview with Brutal Planet Magazine, Dino was asked whether Milo is a "good lyricist". Cazares responded: "Oh, yeah. He's got some other little projects that he works on and the lyrics are really good. So we're not gonna have any issues with that. That was one of the main things that a lot of people have been complaining — not complaining, but the Internet type of bitching. It was, like, 'Okay. Yeah, he could sing great live. He could do all the songs great live. But what's it gonna be like when he does the record? How's his lyrics gonna be? How's this gonna be?' Relax. It's all gonna be good. Don't worry."

In the fall of 2023, Dino told Nyva Zarbano that Milo "brings obviously a freshness that FEAR FACTORY needed. The last singer that we had [Burton C. Bell], obviously he had a lot of vocal issues and he really couldn't sing or do any of this kind of heavy touring," he explained. "It just was a big setback for us. So bringing Milo into the band, obviously he's got a great voice, he's very talented, he's a multi-instrumentalist. He could play more than one instrument. The kid's very talented. Of course, the story is I found him on the Internet. He was releasing videos of him doing FEAR FACTORY covers and he was posting them on all the FEAR FACTORY fan sites. And I saw him there, and I was, like, 'Okay, that's really got my attention.' But we had many people audition, but he was the one that really stood out. And he's a huge fan of FEAR FACTORY. And he pretty much learned from listening to our older vocalist. So he learned a lot of his stuff. And so, I mean, if you close your eyes, you think it's the original singer."

Speaking to Australia's "Everblack" podcast, Cazares was asked if Silvestro was "getting more comfortable" with his position as the frontman of the long-running California metal act. Dino responded: "Oh, yeah. I mean, from the first day, we talked about a lot of stuff. Before the tour started, we rehearsed, and we were, like, 'Okay, these are the kind of things that we've done before. And I think you need to do this, this, this.' And he goes, 'Okay.' So then the first day [of the tour] comes, he just goes wild. And I'm, like, 'Oh, shit.' I was, like, 'Calm down.' I go, 'You don't need to go insane everywhere. Just focus on singing, focus on getting everything, giving the crowd all equal attention,' blah, blah. There's certain things you just gotta teach him a little bit, right? And so he pretty much nailed it the first day."

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

Earlier in 2023, FEAR FACTORY completed the "Rise Of The Machine" U.S. tour as the support act for STATIC-X marked the Cazares-led outfit's first run of shows with Silvestro and Webber.

Prior to being named an official member of FEAR FACTORY, Webber had been filling in for FEAR FACTORY's longtime drummer Mike Heller who was unable to play with the band due to "scheduling conflicts."

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, Bell and Heller.

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