When an established band changes vocalists for any reason, the pressure and expectations from the public are equally high. In the case of Fear Factory , it was no different: there were long months of waiting and speculation, but guitarist and founder Dino Cazares found a replacement capable of silencing the skeptics and thrilling longtime fans, who will be personally introduced to the Brazilian public next week.
In preparation for Fear Factory's only show in Brazil in 2023, scheduled for next Tuesday, June 6th, at Fabrique Club, Cazares spoke with Wikimetal about the band's new phase and future plans.
Dino's journey to find a replacement for Burt C. Bell , the only voice in the band's history, was long and involved around 300 candidates from all over the world, who submitted video tests before starting in-person auditions – all amidst a pandemic and travel restrictions, as well as Cazares' side projects.
Amid bitter statements from his former bandmate , in which he said he was " drained " by the lawsuits involving the rights to the Fear Factory name , criticizing the "egos" and "greed" of band members and lawyers involved, the selection process lasted almost a year and the name remained a secret until February of this year, when Milo Silvestre was finally announced as the new vocalist of Fear Factory .
Wikimetal: The audience's reception to Milo was great. Did that surprise you?
Dino Cazares: Yes and no. I had to prepare him for a possible negative reaction, right? Because we were with the previous vocalist for over 30 years, we did a lot together and it was wonderful, wasn't it? But he left and I had to move on.
And a lot of people were talking nonsense, you know, 'When are you going to announce the guy? What the hell is taking so long? He's lying. Dino is making up stories, blah, blah, blah.' So you hear all these negative comments, but in reality, I was just strategically giving myself time to make sure I was doing the right thing.
And now everyone who talked trash can hear him sing and they're eating their words because he's great. Now everyone's saying, "OK, he sings really well live, but what about new songs? He's probably bad at that, blah blah." You know, it's like they're never satisfied.
WM: Are you guys already working on a new album?
DC: We're not going to start putting everything together until July. So, sometime in July, we're going to start making a new album. I just wanted to sort out this touring issue first. So, right after this tour, we're going to go into the studio and start working on a new album so we can release a song this year and people can hear how it sounds recorded too. And once again, they're going to shut up.
WM: And has this pressure affected you negatively, or do you not even care?
DC: It's not that I don't care. I listen to people and pay attention, and yes, I care about what they say, but I don't really let it affect me because they're just talking nonsense because they want to support the band, they're just being impatient. They just wanted me to hurry up and do everything right. And that was a good thing.
WM: You analyzed hundreds of candidates, what made Milo Silvestre stand out?
DC: First, I saw a video where he played all the instruments—guitars, bass, drums, keyboards—and sang, and I was impressed. Then, he made another video where he did a medley of all the songs from our first album, which is 17 songs. I contacted him and asked him to record some songs, he nailed them all, and I invited him for an in-person audition. What impressed me most was that he sang about 18 songs, more or less. I'd ask, "And this song?" And he'd sing it. "And this one?" He'd sing it. And we continued like that for two or three days. And I thought, "OK, this is the guy."
WM: And Milo is a big fan of Fear Factory, what has he brought that's different to the shows?
DC: Well, obviously, hitting the right notes definitely brings something new. It makes a huge difference when you hear the songs as they were intended on the album, someone singing in the correct key and sounding incredible. It's simply overwhelming. And I see the reaction of the people in the audience, they're like, "Oh my God." I see people crying, you know, when we play "Resurrection" and certain songs.
WM: Artificial intelligence is a recurring theme in Fear Factory's lyrics. Do you think these AI-generated versions of songs will replace the original tracks?
DC: I believe that, at some point, we, the fans of this type of technology, secretly want to see where it's going. People are getting lazier. If it means pressing a button and it writes an amazing song that I can sell, people are going to seize that opportunity. They're going to want to use it to make money, they're going to take advantage of it and they're going to use it. And that's where things are heading.
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