New FEAR FACTORY Singer MILO SILVESTRO: 'It's A Compliment' When People Say I Sound Like BURTON C. BELL

In a new interview with RichardMetalFan, FEAR FACTORY's new singer Milo Silvestro addressed the fact that a lot of people think he sounds very similar to the band's original frontman Burton C. Bell. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, either if they mean it in a good or in a bad way, for me, it's a compliment, because first of all, Burt is my idol and I love him, I love his artistic job and legacy as a vocalist. And second, I'm singing for a band that it's iconic, and everything in FEAR FACTORY's sound — guitar, vocals, the synthesizer, the drums, the bass — everything is iconic. If you could listen to FEAR FACTORY stems, the separated tracks, you know that's the FEAR FACTORY guitar, you know that's FEAR FACTORY vocals. Everything is so iconic about FEAR FACTORY. And I think, and Dino [Cazares, FEAR FACTORY guitarist and leader] thinks also, that if you need to replace such an iconic singer, you have to nail the style. So it's not that I want to sound like Burt just because I like Burt and I want to — like some people say in a more hateful way — be a Burt copycat, which to me is still a compliment, by the way. I mean, it is what it is. They miss him and I get it. But it is what it is. There are people that enjoy having FEAR FACTORY moving on with a new guy."

He continued: "The thing is it's not that I want to be Burt copycat, but it's a matter of nailing the style. It's like if you came to filling in for, let's say, for Dino, for such an iconic guitar tone and playing style, of course you're gonna use his sound, his guitar, his pickups. You wanna create that tone. And the same thing goes with vocals. Dino was sending me a cappellas during the audition process. He sent me a cappellas from [the songs] 'Resurrection' and 'Timelessness'. And he's, like, 'I'm gonna send you a cappellas.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, okay, cool. What am I supposed to do with them?' And he was, like, 'Just listen and study his style.' Because, of course, he started to hit me up because he noticed that I have studied [Burt's] style, but he wanted me to study even more, like you have to nail it, not just sounding like him, but having his nuances, his leaks. Burt has a lot of leaks, a lot of typical Burt leaks and things he did with melodies and his voice, even the slide-off notes you hear in the records, that's all part of his sound. The beauty of his vocal is that he wasn't super precise and technical, but it was true, though. It had soul, and you have to nail that soul, not just with the technical aspect, but with the emotional aspect. You have to feel what he's singing. I think that's the very most hard, difficult part about singing FEAR FACTORY. You have to sing with that passion and that soul. And that's something that you can study as well. And I think that's the reason why — and I'm really glad that people are saying that — but that's the reason why people are noticing this similarity with Burt's voice. We don't have very similar voice when we talk, but we're baritones, so that, of course, that matters because you wanna pick up a guy that has the same vocal range. And I went through a lot — I studied surgically all his nuances on the records and with those a cappellas. So, I guess that's the reason why. I really studied his style because that's what I was asked to do, of course. And I think that is perfectly right and fair because you wanna pay justice to the vocal legacy of this band. You don't wanna just throw a completely different vocal style."

Milo also talked about when fans might be able to hear new FEAR FACTORY music with his vocals. He said: "We've been talking with Dino about new songs. Of course, fans want it and we want it, and it's gonna happen. We have laid down some scratch ideas with just Dino's riffs and programmed drums during spare time, and Dino has recorded with Damien [Rainaud], his producer, I think seven, eight songs. But it's just programmed drums and guitars on top of it, like demo guitars. So it's scratch ideas, but we have to really… Hopefully — I mean, don't quote me on that — but hopefully we should be able… Once we get back from Australia, because, as you probably know, we have a tour coming up with MACHINE HEAD starting January 18th, and it's gonna be USA and Canada first. Then, shortly after that, there's gonna be seven shows in Australia and New Zealand. So then after that, I believe in April, we'll be back in Dino's home in L.A. And that's probably the moment where me and him are gonna have some spare time to take care of those songs and maybe keep working on those songs. But then we have Sick New World fest in April, which is just one show, but it's gonna take a few days to drive to [Las] Vegas. Then in May, we have three shows, at least three shows — probably there are gonna be even more by that time — in South America. And in June, we have a bunch of festivals in Europe. So we'll probably have time to finish a single, I guess. It's all assumption right now; it's nothing sure. But we do want to finish at least one single and put out a new album by 2025."

In October, FEAR FACTORY kicked off a European headlining tour with support from BUTCHER BABIES from the USA and IGNEA from Ukraine. The 44-date trek marked FEAR FACTORY's first European shows since 2016.

FEAR FACTORY and MACHINE HEAD will join forces for the "Slaughter The Martour North America 2024" tour in January and February. Additional support on the trek will come from Sweden's ORBIT CULTURE and Louisville, Kentucky's GATES TO HELL.

Dino recently confirmed plans for FEAR FACTORY to make a new studio album in 2024. The effort will mark FEAR FACTORY's recording debut with the Italian-born Silvestro, whose addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in late February.

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

Earlier in the year, 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.

Webber has been filling in for FEAR FACTORY's longtime drummer Mike Heller who is unable to play with the band due to "scheduling conflicts."