New FEAR FACTORY Singer MILO SILVESTRO Says He Had The 'Right Sound' And Vocal 'Style' For The Gig

In a recent interview with Czech Republic's Metalshop TV, Milo Silvestro reflected on how he landed the job as FEAR FACTORY's new singer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That was completely random, because three years ago, like shortly before the lockdown, the COVID and all that shit kicked in, I put out a cover of a few pieces of [FEAR FACTORY's debut album] 'Soul Of A New Machine' songs. And it was just for fun. And I put it on YouTube, I put 'em on a Facebook page called New Breed Of Fear Factory, which is the biggest FEAR FACTORY fan page on Facebook. And much to my surprise, Dino [Cazares, FEAR FACTORY guitarist] was on that page, and he commented on it and he liked it. And then fast forward to the next month, I think we were in a lockdown already in Italy and pretty much all of Europe and I did another cover of 'Resurrection' and 'Timelessness'. And he liked it again. He commented on it again. And the next day he sent me a private message, and the rest is history. It just snowballed into what it is today, basically."

Milo continued: "It was shocking in a positive way. It was really surreal, and still is surreal. But when Dino first sent me a private message, it was really shocking. He was, like, 'I like your covers. I wanna know a little bit more about you. Can I send more covers to you to record for me?' And that was basically the start of the audition. But he didn't tell me that he needed a singer. It was all really like a little bit of a mystery, because they were still going through a legal suit back then. And I guess, even though Burt [C. Bell, original FEAR FACTORY singer] [hadn't] left FEAR FACTORY yet, Dino was kind of sensing that Burt had one foot out [the door] already. So when, in September 2020, Burt left, Dino told me, 'Yeah, you're auditioning for FEAR FACTORY.' I'm, like, 'What the fuck?" So, yeah, that's the FEAR FACTORY audition story in a nutshell."

Regarding what it was that Dino saw in his vocal delivery that stood out compared to everyone else who auditioned, Milo said: "Well, what I would say is that I never considered myself an extremely technical singer, even though I have a huge luck having my mom being a singing coach, professional vocalist and vocal teacher. So she gave me some tips every now and then, but I don't consider myself like a hyper-technical vocalist. I think when it comes to sing[ing], FEAR FACTORY is more about having the right feel, I guess, and having the right sound down, like the right vocal sound, either for harsh vocals or clean vocals. Because Burt was all about sound, and it was really unique. And that's the reason why a lot of fans were skeptical at first, because it was unique. Not the most technical singer on Earth, but one of the most unique, for sure, and really difficult to nail that vocal style. But thanks to my — I don't know — OCD or whatever you call it, I was just so obsessed with his style that I guess… I don't wanna make myself great, but I just guess that I embedded that vocal sound to the point that Dino noticed that. And he told me, 'Out of 300 guys all over the world that I auditioned, you had the right sound.' So it's not necessarily a matter of being the best vocalist out of all those 300-plus guys he auditioned, which a lot of them were really great. But I think it's more a matter of having the right style. So, I guess that's the reason why. Also, the thing that I'm so obsessed with the band to the point that I knew pretty much almost all lyrics. Not all of them, but let's say nine out of ten, probably. And every song he was throwing at me during the audition — he was playing instrumental in his phone connected to the PA: 'What about this one? What about this one?' And I knew all the lyrics because I'd always been so obsessed with FEAR FACTORY to that point. And he was impressed. He was, like, 'What the fuck, dude? You know more lyrics, FEAR FACTORY lyrics than I do.' And I think also the thing that I knew… I'm obsessed with checking out all things related to my favorite bands, like interviews, what's their favorite food, shampoo — I'm that kind of guy. So I knew all the history of FEAR FACTORY. What happened that day with that past member? Blah, blah, blah. So Dino is, like, 'You're not just the perfect guy as far as vocal style goes. You have the style down and you know all the lyrics, but you even know the band history. So it's almost like you have always been a distant member, like you already know the band. It's like you've been in the band for all this time, even if you weren't.' So I think that that's pretty much it."

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 group's latest addition, 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."