In a new interview with Sonic Perspectives collaborator Rodrigo Altaf, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares confirmed that he and his bandmates have commenced work on the follow-up to 2021’s “Aggression Continuum” album. He said: “We started pre-production about a week ago. So right now we’re just demoing everything. And then we’ll be recording probably early next year. But then I’ve gotta go on tour… We’ve gotta go on tour starting in late February, and we’re gonna be on tour till at least June. So we probably be able to finish the production sometime until July, and then shortly after that hopefully get the record out as quickly as possible.”

Cazares also addressed the fact that FEAR FACTORY‘s upcoming album will be the band’s first to feature the group’s new vocalist, the identity of whom has not yet been revealed.

“You wanna take your time working with the new singer,” he explained. “You wanna make sure you find someone that best fits the job. It’s not anything new for me; I’ve started many other bands with other singers, and I’ve had to replace singers before. But not in a band like FEAR FACTORY. So, yeah, it’s definitely very challenging, and I’m definitely up for the challenge. I understand there’s probably gonna be some sort of backlash, but there’s a backlash with everything. So, yeah, I’m up for the challenge. I’m not planning on changing anything. I’m gonna pretty much keep what FEAR FACTORY is known for and try to honor the legacy of who we are.”

Asked if musical chemistry, stage presence and personality were all factors in his decision when selecting the new vocalist of FEAR FACTORY, Dino said: “All of the above, especially when you’re working with people that you don’t know. Especially someone like the singer, who I don’t know that well. When I hired him, I didn’t know him that well. Of course we’ve spent some time together and we got to know each other. You wanna make sure you’re not making a bad decision, ’cause this is gonna be something that’s gonna last a while. Plus, relationships are relationships. You can’t always control how things are gonna turn out. You try your best. And you put your right foot forward and you just keep moving.”

Cazares also confirmed that FEAR FACTORY is currently “label-less” after working with Nuclear Blast for the band’s last two albums. “We don’t have any record company. FEAR FACTORY doesn’t have any new record company right now,” he said. “We haven’t signed any new deals. And we are in the process also of negotiating and evaluating different offers that we have. That’s another thing too. I didn’t realize that this year that our record contract had expired with Nuclear Blast. But they still have the obligation to promote this record, ‘Recoded’ the recently released collection of remixes of the songs from ‘Aggression Continuum’. But now, moving forward, we’re exploring our options and it’s looking really good. So hopefully we’ll get some sort of deal done and be able to get this music out to you as soon as possible.”