FEAR FACTORY recruited LIONS AT THE GATE‘s Stephen Brewer to play bass on the veteran Los Angeles-based act’s recent shows in Australia and Japan.
Brewerwho also previously played guitar for WESTFIELD MASSACREwas filling in for FEAR FACTORY‘s longtime bassist Tony Camposwho was on the road with STATIC-X.
Fan-filmed video of the November 9 concert at the Froth & Fury festival in Adelaide, Australia can be seen below.
In a recent interview with Germany’s MoreCore.TV, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares was asked what the response has been to the live performances so far with the band’s new lead singer, Milo Silvestro. He said: “Well, the funny thing is we missed [what was supposed to be] our first show [with Milo in February 2023]. Because in California we got some really bad snow weather, so we got stuck in the snow. So we missed our first show. And it was really unfortunate because a lot of people from other parts of the world flew in to see him at his first show — people from Holland, people from Germany. So they were very upset. But luckily, we went back and made it up. But we missed our first show. But the reaction has been 100 percent positive ever since.”
milo attended, saying: “We were all very grateful to the fans that they accepted this new era, because you don’t take such a thing for granted, because you’re replacing a member, a singer in such an iconic band. It’s always almost like a Russian roulette. Dino was, like, when we were doing the audition, ‘Get ready for some backlash,’ and stuff like that. Fortunately, the majority of the fans were, and still are, super happy about it. And I’m so thankful to them.”
Added Dino: “I think people are happy just in general for us to be back. And because of miloto get these opportunities, and, of course, the legendary status of FEAR FACTORY that we’re able to come back and do these well-established, legendary festivals.”
Asked about what fans can expect from FEAR FACTORY in the future, Dino said: “Classic FEAR FACTORY record. Next year. For sure. We’ve been touring since February of 2023. We’ve been touring non-stop. And I think we’re very lucky that a lot of the promoters and a lot of fans are happy to have us back, and we’re excited to get out there and play for them.”
At this past summer’s Download festival in the United Kingdom, hunters told Primordial Radio about how things are going with the band’s current lineup, also featuring Sylvester, Fields and Pete Webber on drums: “At the moment, smooth sailing. And it’s been great. Everybody’s on point. Pete Webber‘s on drums. He’s sick. He came from a thrash metal band called HAVOK. Killer drummer. We call him Pete The Feet. Milo Silvestro —new kid on the block. He came straight from Rome, Italy. He sounds like a young Burton [C. Bell, original FEAR FACTORY singer]do you know what I mean? [He sounds like Burton did] back in the day. He sounds amazing. He’s probably the most musically talented in the band. And then Tony Camposmy old friend. He’s been with the band since, like, 2015. He comes from a band called STATIC-X. He’s been my mate for 30-plus years, and it’s always good to play with him, and I’m glad he’s with us.”
Dino continued: “It’s a great place right now. We are trying to avoid any of that drama. And luckily we have for the past year and a half since we came back.”
Sylvester‘s addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in February 2023.
In a recent interview with Brutal Planet Magazine, Dino was asked whether milo is a “good lyricist”. hunters responded: “Oh, yeah. He’s got some other little projects that he works on and the lyrics are really good. So we’re not going to have any issues with that. That was one of the main things that a lot of people have been complaining — not complaining, but the Internet type of bitching. It was, like, ‘Okay, he could sing great live. But what’s it gonna be like when he does the record? his lyrics gonna be? this gonna be?’ Relax. It’s all gonna be good. Don’t worry.
In the fall of 2023, Dino told Nyva Zarbano that milo “obviously brings a freshness that FEAR FACTORY needed. The last singer that we had [Burton C. Bell]obviously he had a lot of vocal issues and he really couldn’t sing or do any of this kind of heavy touring,” he explained. “It just was a big setback for us. So bringing milo into the band, obviously he’s got a great voice, he’s very talented, he’s a multi-instrumentalist. He could play more than one instrument. The kid’s very talented. Of course, the story is I found him on the Internet. He was releasing videos of him doing FEAR FACTORY covers and he was posting them on all the FEAR FACTORY fan sites. And I saw him there, and I was, like, ‘Okay, that’s really got my attention.’ But we had many people audition, but he was the one that really stood out. And he’s a huge fan of FEAR FACTORY. And he pretty much learned a lot from listening to our older vocalist. So I have learned a lot of his stuff. And so, I mean, if you close your eyes, you think it’s the original singer.”
In a separate interview with Australia’s “Everblack” podcast, hunters was asked if Sylvester was “getting more comfortable” with his position as the frontman of the long-running California metal act. Dino responded: “Oh, yeah. I mean, from the first day, we talked about a lot of stuff. Before the tour started, we rehearsed, and we were, like, ‘Okay, these are the kind of things that we’ve done before. And I think you need to do this, this, this.’ And he goes, ‘Okay.’ So then the first day [of the tour] you eat, he just goes wild. And I’m, like, ‘Oh, shit.’ I was, like, ‘Calm down.’ I go, ‘You don’t need to go insane everywhere. Just focus on singing, focus on getting everything, giving the crowd all equal attention,’ blah, blah. There’s certain things you just gotta teach him a little bit, right? And so I pretty much nailed it the first day.”
FEAR FACTORY played his first headlining concert with Sylvester and touring drummer Pete Webber on May 5, 2023 at the Whiskey A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.
Earlier last year, FEAR FACTORY completed the “Rise Of The Machine” US tour as the support act for STATIC-X marked the hunters-led outfit’s first run of shows with Sylvester and Webber.
Webber had been filling in for FEAR FACTORY‘s longtime drummer Mike Heller who was unable to play with the band due to “scheduling conflicts.”
