Fear Factory is an American death/industrial metal band that has toured with Black Sabbath, Pantera, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Dream Theater and Rammstein; performed at three Ozzfests and the inaugural Gigantour; and had singles in the Mainstream Rock Top 40 and albums in the Billboard top 40, 100 and 200.
Fear Factory was formed under the name Ulceration in 1989 in Los Angeles, California by ex-guitarist Dino Cazares and drummer Raymond Herrera. "Ulceration" was not picked for any real reason other than that Burton C. Bell and/or other members thought it would "just be a cool name" for the band. They then renamed to Fear Factory in 1990. Characterized by a mix of thrash metal/groove metal guitar riffs, roaring vocals that make way for melodic singing, pulse driven drum beats, and powerful basslines, Fear Factory have been making waves in both the American death metal and industrial metal scenes since their debut album, Soul of a New Machine (1992). The album was not successful in the mainstream. Undeterred, the band embarked on extensive touring across the U.S. with Biohazard, Sepultura, and Sick Of It All and over Europe with Brutal Truth. It is important to note that only "Soul of a New Machine" can accurately be classified as death metal, subsequent albums saw lead singer Burton C. Bell change his style and so did the band's musical style.
The following year, they hired Front Line Assembly member Rhys Fulber to remix some songs to create Fear Is the Mindkiller (1993). In 1994, bassist Andrew Shives was forced to leave the band. In the same year, bassist Christian Olde Wolbers met the band whilst vacationing in LA and agreed to assist them with their next recording, Demanufacture (1995), which went on to become a highly successful album. The album received much critical acclaim receiving the maximum five k's rating kerrang! magazine.
Fear Factory spent the next few years touring with such bands as Black Sabbath, Megadeth and Iron Maiden. They also appeared at Ozzfests '96 and '97, amongst other festivals. The band released a new album composed of Demanufacture remixes by artists such as DJ Dano or Junkie XL (now known as JXL) called Remanufacture in May 1997, closely followed in July 1998 by their new album, Obsolete, cancelling an appearance at the Dynamo Open Air Festival to finish the album sooner. Wasting no time, they hit the road with Slayer and then began another tour with Rammstein. They then headlined the second stage at Ozzfest '99 as last-minute replacements for Judas Priest.
Fear Factory songs tend to explore the idea of "Man versus Machine". This is most clearly exemplified in the album Obsolete, which is itself a story taking place in a world where mankind is rendered "obsolete" by the Machines. Concerning this album, lead singer Burton C. Bell explained:
"The concept of this record is that man is obsolete. The idea is still man versus machine - man versus the system machine... man versus the government machine. Demanufacture told a story, Remanufacture was another chapter in the story and Obsolete is another part of the Fear Factory concept. We're up to the point in the story where man is obsolete. Man has created these machines to make his life easier but in the long run it made him obsolete. The machines he created are now destroying him. Man is not the primary citizen on Earth. However I personally like cars."
Demanufacture deals with the concept of Man versus Machine; Obsolete continues the theme (as a story); and Digimortal looks at the end-product (Man and Machine having become merged and unable to be separated without immense harm being caused). The latest two full-length albums have mostly abandoned the direct Man versus Machine theme, instead dealing with Religion and Corporatism.
The band started to build success on the album charts. Soul of a New Machine failed to chart anywhere. Demanufacture made the top 10 of the Billboard Heatseekers charts and Remanufacture made the Billboard 200 album charts as well as the Heatseekers Chart in 1997. Obsolete reached the top 100 on the Billboard charts and spawned a couple of songs that made the Mainstream Rock Top 40 in 1999 in "Cars" and "Descent". In 2001, Digimortal made the top 40 on the Billboard album charts, the top 20 in Canada and the top 50 of the Australian album charts. "Linchpin" off the album again reached the Mainstream Rock Top 40.
Following some personal differences between band members, Bell announced his exit in March 2002, and the band disbanded immediately thereafter. However, the band reformed later that year minus guitarist Dino Cazares. Bassist Christian Olde Wolbers took over guitar duties and they hired Byron Stroud on bass, currently bassist of the bands Strapping Young Lad and Zimmer's Hole. The band made their live return as the mystery band at the Australia/New Zealand Big Day Out festival in January 2004, followed by their first American shows since reforming on the spring Jägermeister tour along with Slipknot and Chimaira. The new lineup's first album Archetype was released on April 20th 2004 through new record label Liquid 8 Records based in Minnesota. Their second, Transgression, was released on the 22nd August 2005 in the United Kingdom, and on the following day in North America.
In May 2006, Wolbers joined Korn to replace backup guitarist Rob Patterson. However, it is not known if he will be staying in the band permanently. According to posting at the metal news site Blabbermouth, Christian will not remain in Korn due to his lack of preparation for the shows. Rob Patterson (ex-Otep) will rejoin Korn and be the touring guitarist
