This Saturday (February 25), FEAR FACTORY will hit the road with headliner STATIC-X on the “Rise Of The Machine” North American tour. The 42-date trek will also feature DOPE as well as selected dates with MUSHROOMHEAD and TWIZTID.

In a recent interview with Australia’s Wall Of Sound, Cazares once again opened up about his band’s search for a new vocalist following the departure of Burton C. Bell more than two years ago. Regarding how he is preparing the new singer for the inevitable barrage of criticism once his identity has been revealed, he said: “I had a lot of preparation with him because he’s gonna have to be able to not only fill some big shoes, which he can vocal-wise, but he’s never been inside in that arena, where you’re gonna have the media, you’re gonna have Internet trolls coming after you. So that’s one of the main things I’m getting him prepared for, because some people just can’t handle that emotionally.

“If you’re in a small band growing to be a bigger band, yeah, eventually you grow into all the Internet hate that you’re gonna get, but he’s gonna get it instantly and it’s gonna be bombarded on him,” Dino explained. “But I understand where some people are coming from, ’cause some people are not always adaptable to change. And Burton C. Bell definitely did have the legendary voice for FEAR FACTORY. But things change, people’s lives change, and sometimes you’ve just gotta move on. And that’s exactly what we’ve both done.”

Cazares previously told RichardMetalFan, that Bell “always had one foot out the door” during his time with FEAR FACTORY. “He originally quit way back in 2002, and he ended up coming band into the band and restarting the band with the other guys without me,” the guitarist said. “At least that’s what I thought. But I don’t know. I never really got the full story of why they did what they did. But to me, it always seemed like he always had one foot out the door, and I think that this was just his time to exit, for whatever reason. I mean, you have to ask him, really, to get (the full story of why he left). But he pretty much left me to handle the rest of the duties for (FEAR FACTORY‘s latest album) ‘Aggression Continuum’. And so now I’m moving forward without him, and the band’s gonna go on without him, and that’s just how it is. He’s moved on, and so have I. Fans can cry all they want and people can want what they want. And I get it; I understand. He was in the band for many years, and he was the only vocalist on the record, even though he had quit the band two or three times before that. But he’s gone, and I’ve moved on, and so has he.”

Dino also talked about FEAR FACTORY‘s new vocalist, saying: “There’s gonna be big shoes to fill. But I’m not afraid. I’ve been there before. I’m ready to move on forward. I look forward to it. I think it’s gonna be fucking ripping. It’s gonna be killer. I’m gonna put out some more heavy shit. So I don’t think anybody needs to worry. The vocalist I got is amazing. He’s younger; he’s in his mid-30s. He’s at his vocal peak, I think. He’s there and ready to go.”

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he “cannot align” himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. “It’s been on my mind for a while,” he said. “These lawsuits (over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name) just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

“With FEAR FACTORY, it’s just constantly been, like, ‘What?!’ You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I’ve done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I’ll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward.”

Pressed about whether there is any chance of a reconciliation with FEAR FACTORY down the line, Burton said: “I’m done. I haven’t spoken to Dino in three years. I haven’t spoken to Raymond (Herrera, drums) and Christian (Olde Wolbers, bass) in longer than that, and I have no intention to. I’m just moving forward with my life.”

Cazares recently confirmed that he and the new FEAR FACTORY vocalist have begun work on material for the follow-up to 2021’s “Aggression Continuum” album.

In February 2022, former NIGHTRAGE singer Antony Hämäläinen, who unsuccessfully auditioned for the vocalist slot in FEAR FACTORY, revealed in an interview that the new FF frontman was “a person from Italy.”

“Aggression Continuum” was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and Bell alongside drummer Mike Heller.