FEAR FACTORY are at the forefront of mixing Industrial sounds with Death Metal, their innovative approach paving the way for a series of imitators. Based in Los Angeles, the band was formulated underv the banner ULCERATION by guitarist Dino Cazares, a former member of THE DOUCHE LORDS and Grind act EXCRUCIATING TERROR, and drummer Raymond Herrera.Singer Burton C. Bell, of HATE FACE, was to join ULCERATION before the title FEAR FACTORY was adopted in 1990.

FEAR FACTORY first came to attention with two tracks on the 1990 'L.A. Death Metal' compilation. These songs were produced by FAITH NO MORE bassist Bill Gould who also shared a brutal Death Metal 'Mexican' project band BRUJERIA with Cazares. Ademo cassette from these sessions was distributed through Regurgitated Noise Records in March 1991. Three more tracks were laid down with producer John Fenton that August. However, after Raymond Herrera had suffered a hand injury due to a motorbike crash, drum programming was utilised on these songs.

In 1991 the group utilised producer Ross Robinson to cut demos at a Los Angeles studio owned by Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. Max Cavalera of SEPULTURA heard the songs and instigated a label deal with Roadrunner Records. However, the Robinson tracks were deemed unsatisfactory and the debut 'Soul Of A New Machine' album was to be produced by Colin Richardson. Just upfront of the release in September 1992, FEAR FACTORY pulled in bassist Andrew Shives for live work. Although Shives appeared on the album cover, it was in fact Cazares that put down all the bass tracks in the studio.

FEAR FACTORY undertook a foray into Europe opening for BRUTAL TRUTH prior to American dates with SICK OF IT ALL and BIOHAZARD. To capitalise on this progress and the warm reception afforded the debut album, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Canadian industrial merchants FRONTLINE ASSEMBLY remixed tracks for the April 1993 mini-album 'Fear Is The Mind Killer'. Live dates were rounded off by support slots to SEPULTURA.

In 1993 FEAR FACTORY released a 7" vinyl single under their Spanish name FACTORIO DE MIEDO called 'Sangre De Ninos' on the Pessimisser label. This is the only material that was ever recorded in a studio with Andrew Shives on bass. Internal disputes resulted in the exit of Shives in late 1993, the ex-member going on to play with COOL FOR AUGUST and PAPERSTREET.

Bassist Christian Olde Wolbers, a native of Belgium and actually a lead guitarist at the time, had been spotted by BIOHAZARD's Evan Seinfeld performing upright bass in a Belgian club. Seinfeld recommended Olde Wolbers for the FEAR FACTORY bass position, which he took up officially in December 1993.

For their sophomore full-length 'Demanufacture' album, a record that was upon its release to be heralded as a groundbreaking effort, the band began recording in Chicago until it was realised the technical specification was not up to scratch. FEAR FACTORY relocated to New York's Bearsville studios to complete the opus. The album includes a HEAD OF DAVID cover 'Dog Day Sunrise' and AGNOSTIC FRONT's 'Your Mistake' that featured MADBALL main man Freddie Cricien on backing vocals. Upon it's release European Digi-Pack versions added three extra tracks in 'Your Mistake', '!Resistancia!' and 'New Breed (Revolutionary Designed Mix)'. American versions came with these tracks plus 'Replica (Electric Sheep Mix)'.

Supporting the 'Demanufacture' album, FEAR FACTORY acted as openers on OZZY OSBOURNE's November 1995 'Retirement Sucks' UK dates.

In downtime for FEAR FACTORY Bell was to record vocals for BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler's G/Z//R debut album. Herrera would session for the infamous PHOBIA, appearing on the 'Return To Desolation' EP.

FEAR FACTORY issued the 'Remanufacture' opus in May 1997, a set of electronica remixes from the previous 'Demanufacture' release by the likes of Kingsize, Junkie XL and Rhys Fulber.

'Obsolete', released in July 1998, included a cameo appearance on 'Cars' from pop star GARY NUMAN. The band had for some time been covering Numan's TUBEWAY ARMY track 'Cars' as a live encore. The band also covered MOTORSLUG's 'Where Evil Dwells' on a mainly conceptual album dealing with the armageddon creating character Edgecrusher. Japanese variants hosted two extra songs, a cover version of WISEBLOOD's 'O-O (Where Evil Dwells)' and the original 'Soulwound'. Upfront of 'Obsolete's release a free album 'Revolution' was given away at selected record stores. A single, 'Resurrection', was issued in September.

Backing up the release of 'Obsolete' FEAR FACTORY toured America as openers for SLAYER, ROB ZOMBIE and MONSTER MAGNET. European shows in December 1998 found them as headliners with label mates SPINESHANK as support. 'Obsolete' eventually surpasseed the 500,000 sales mark in the USA, gaining FEAR FACTORY a Gold sales award.

Burton C. Bell contributed guest vocals to British act APARTMENT 26's debut album, the connection being the band are led by Biff, son of BLACK SABBATH / GEEZER bassist Geezer Butler. Bell also spread his talents further adding vocals to British act KILL II THIS's third album 'Trinity' for a cover of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD's 'Two Tribes'. The singer also makes his presence felt on STATIC-X's 2000 album on a cover of MINISTRY's 'Burning Inside' and on ex NINE INCH NAILS man Chris Vrenna's concept album 'Tweakers'. Cazares meantime guested on guitar for German Techno-Punk act ATARI TEENAGE RIOT's 2000 album.

Both Cazares and Herrera would also be moonlighting with the notorious 'Mexican' anonymous Death Metal band BRUJERIA in collaboration with FAITH NO MORE's Jim Gould. BRUJERIA would issue a string of controversial albums throughout FEAR FACTORY's career. Meantime, guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers fostered a successful alternate career as a Hip Hop producer and programmer dubbed The Edgemaster', scoring high profile credits with the likes of SNOOP DOG, CHINGY, ICE CUBE, WEST SIDE CONNECTION, LUDACRIS and CYPRESS HILL.

The April 2001 'Digimortal' album would be issued in Japan with no less than four extra tracks namely 'Full Metal Contact', 'Dead Man Walking', 'Strain vs. Resistance' and 'Repentance'. 'Digimortal' notably featured B-Real from CYPRESS HILL guesting on the track 'Back The Fuck Up'. June would find Herrera and Wolbers joining forces with guitarist Stephen Carpenter of the DEFTONES and CYPRESS HILL's B-Real for an extracurricular live unit entitled KUSH.

The band would be back in January of 2002 with the DVD / CD package 'Digital Connectivity'. As well as live and video footage the release included 8 audio tracks including a new recording 'Frequency' together with 'Demolition Racer' and 'Machine Debaser' from the video game soundtrack 'Demolition Racer'. The last two tracks would contain familiar elements to FEAR FACTORY fans already, having had sections incorporated into existing tracks 'Hurt Conveyer', 'What Will Become?' and 'Acres Of Skin'. These three 'new' tracks had earlier been released as part of a lavish Australian released EP.

FEAR FACTORY's 'Evolution Through Revolution' American tour in May 2002 saw support from DRY KILL LOGIC, AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE, NO ONE and SPINESHANK. Previous to that run of dates Christian Olde-Wolbers loaned himself out to CYPRESS HILL for tour work in January. Wolbers, together with Herrera, would also figure as a guest on the 2002 NON PHIXION album 'The Future Is Now'. Meantime Cazares and Herrera embroiled themselves in yet another 'Mexican' BRUJERIA offshoot in late 2001 cutting the 'Cyco Maton' album for Roadrunner billed as ASESINO ('Assassin') which featured STATIC X frontman Tony Campos on vocals.

Fans would be shocked in early March 2002 that FEAR FACTORY were intending to split. Apparently artistic differences between Bell and Cazares were cited as the main cause of the band's demise. As a parting shot FEAR FACTORY announced plans to commit two brand new tracks to the soundtrack for a 'Terminator' game. As a parting shot Roadrunner released a previously shelved 1991 Ross Robinson produced album 'Concrete'. The record comprised of many tracks subsequently re-worked for later albums.

Subsequent rumours suggested Burton C. Bell was embarking on a Stoner project in league with his erstwhile colleagues Raymond Herrera, Christian Olde-Wolbers and keyboard player John Bechdel. During May strange reports linked both Cazares and Herrera to talks with Billy Milano and a mooted revamp of the infamous S.O.D.

Herrera and Olde-Wolbers would also assemble a separate project alongside Oscar Garcia from TERRORIZER. The duo, alongside KUSH partner guitarist Stephen Carpenter, would also guest on Rapper NON PHIXION's 'The Future Is Now' album appearing on the song 'The CIA Is Still Trying To Kill Me'. Herrera would also be found in action with notorious 'Puke-Grind' act PHOBIA and would lay down drums for a Grindcore 'solo' venture of NAPALM DEATH and LOCK UP bassist Shane Embury.

Cazares was soon be back in action, as part of his ASESINO project supporting STATIC X on American dates throughout June and reaping production credits on demos for E-RACE. The guitarist would also team up with SKUMLOVE, a Los Angeles band centred on PROFESSIONAL MURDER MUSIC drummer Justin Bennett and SX-10 and CYPRESS HILL bassist Frank Mercurio, and act as producer on demos for CROOKED.

By August the rumour mill was predicting a further FEAR FACTORY album release sans Cazares, a plan which was indeed soon put into action with Olde Wolbers reverting back to his favoured instrument of lead guitar. Indeed, by October new FEAR FACTORY demos of tracks 'Slave Labor', 'Corporate Cloning' and 'Archetype' were posted online. The latter track subsequently turned up as an inclusion on the 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' film soundtrack.

Burton C. Bell also unveiled a further musical project, collaborating with longtime FEAR FACTORY keyboard player John Bechdel, also citing credits with both KILLING JOKE and PRONG, in THE WATCHERS (Subsequently re-billed as ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS). A six track demo, entitled 'Iconoclast' arrived in December, amongst which was included a cover version of FLEETWOOD MAC's 'Hypnotized'. January of 2003 would see Dino Cazares uniting with ex-LIQUID GANG singer Jose Maldonado and DEVOLVED drummer John Sankey in a fresh band project.

FEAR FACTORY confirmed 'Archetype' as the new studio album title in November, also revealing that, although Christian Olde Wolbers had laid down both guitar and bass in the studio, the bass role was being handed to Byron Stroud of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and ZIMMER'S HOLE. Tour plans for February of 2004 put the band in partnership with KORN and STATIC-X for a run of Australian dates after which the band joined SLIPKNOT and CHIMAIRA for the fourth installment of the Jägermeister Music US tour, commencing 30th March in Orlando, Florida. 'Archetype', issued in April, would sell over 31,000 copies in its first week of sales in America to land at no. 30 on the Billboard charts.

US gigs for July had FEAR FACTORY partnered with MASTODON and SWORN ENEMY. October shows across the US had the band partnering with CHILDREN OF BODOM, LAMB OF GOD and THROWDOWN. That same month the group found time to record a new theme song for the Dudley Boyz of the World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., entitled 'Harder Than Hardcore'. The song marked the first time that FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell had sung someone else's words in a song; the Dudley Boyz penning their own lyrics.

The band launched a November single 'Bite The Hand That Bleeds And Related Archetypal Imagery' through Liquid 8 Records. The DVD EP included videos for 'Cyberwaste' and 'Bite The Hand That Bleeds' plus narrative, performance and anime videos for 'Archetype'. The package also came with a limited edition fold-out poster created by horror comic book artist Ben Templesmith. The band also revealed plans for a remix version of 'Archetype' as well as a covers album.

It would be learned in October that former FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares and ex-DIMMU BORGIR/CRADLE OF FILTH drummer Nick Barker had united in a new band project. Burton and Bechdel's ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS project made its live debut on 6th February 2005 at New York's famous CBGB's club.

FEAR FACTORY, working with producer Toby Wright, entered studios in early May to cut a new album entitled 'Transgression', this set including cover versions of KILLING JOKE's 'Millennium' and GODFLESH's 'Anthem'. Billy Gould of FAITH NO MORE contributed to the tracks 'Echo of My Scream' and 'Super Nova' whilst Mark Morton of LAMB OF GOD scored a co-composition credit on the song 'New Promise'. Limited edition digi-pack versions of 'Transgression' on Roadrunner Records in Europe added three music videos and a documentary. In addition, Best Buy versions of 'Transgression' added an exclusive track in 'Empire'. Two brand new songs would also be contributed to the game soundtrack 'Rainbow Six Lockdown'.

The band, still including STRAPPING YOUNG LAD bassist Byron Stroud, joined the 'Gigantour' festival trek, headlined by MEGADETH and DREAM THEATER, for US action in late July, cementing a bill also comprising THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, DRY KILL LOGIC, SYMPHONY X, and West Virginians BOBAFLEX and NEVERMORE. The 'Transgression' album saw a marked dip in expected sales, garnering over 19,000 first week US purchases to land at no. 45 on the Billboard charts.

The band would partner in the studio with MASTODON and STRAPPING YOUNG LAD to contribute their rendition of 'Joan Of Arc' to a 2005 MELVINS tribute album, 'We Reach: The Music Of The Melvins', through Fractured Transmitter Records. The band also had their tracks 'Lockdown' and 'Rainbow Six Theme' featured on the soundtrack to the 'Rainbow Six Lockdown' game issued by Raymond Herrera's 3volution Productions.

October 28th in Lawrence, Kansas, marked the start of a US headlining tour, the band heading up a bill comprising STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARKANE and IT DIES TODAY. Swedish act SOILWORK was added to the bill from 8th November. Christian Olde Wolbers also made time to see inclusion on the October released ROADRUNNER UNITED 25th anniversary album 'The All-Stars Sessions', laying down bass parts for the Robert Flynn compiled 'Independent (Voice of the Voiceless)', 'The Rich Man' and 'Army Of The Sun'.

FEAR FACTORY, supported by MISERY INDEX, embarked upon an extensive round of European and UK dates throughout April and May 2006. During this trek a first for the band came on April 9th at the Manchester Academy when Nick barker, of CRADLE OF FILTH, DIMMU BORGIR and BENEDICTION repute, guested on drums for the song 'Martyr'. With the tour wrapped up, Christian Olde Wolbers worked as co-producer on album material for Danish band MNEMIC. In May Wolbers, wearing a wolf mask, temporarily joined the touring ranks of KORN for three concerts in Europe. The band united with SUFFOCATION and Polish act DECAPITATED for US shows in November 2006.

In early 2007 Raymond Herrera laid down the drums tracks for a cover version of the IGGY AND THE STOOGES 'Gimme Danger', which also the PIXIES frontman Frank Black, released for the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 game on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Meantime, FEAR FACTORY frontman Burton C. Bell recorded a guest appearance on the MINISTRY album 'The Last Sucker'.

April 2009 brought in news that a brand new project had been formed featuring original FEAR FACTORY members Dino Cazares and Burton C. Bell with further suggestions pointing towards the inclusion of bassist Byron Stroud and drummer Gene Hoglan, of DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARK ANGEL, DEATH and TESTAMENT. As it transpired this quartet did gel and booked European tour dates that summer. However, just days after this announcement all of the publicised shows were cancelled, reportedly due to legal issues surrounding the use of the FEAR FACTORY name.

As 2010 opened, the group were late enrolments onto the Australian and New Zealand 'Big Day Out' festivals. It was subsequently announced that FEAR FACTORY were to embark on a U.S. headlining tour in late March. Support on the trek came from WINDS OF PLAGUE, DIRGE WITHIN, PERIPHERY and, on select shows, DIVINE HERESY, the band featuring FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares.

Garry Sharpe-Young