“[We feel] fantastic,” he enthuses, regarding the band’s first time on Soundwave. “We’ve never had the chance to do it, but now is the right time, because this next lineup looks pretty damn incredible.
“Every band I know that has played it has had a great time. And there’s quite a few bands that I’m looking forward to catching. [I’m] looking forward to being a fan of music myself out there.” Fear Factory initially set an approximate date of late-2014 for the release of the new record; however Bell has some bad news for the fans on that front.
“It’s getting close. I’m starting to do vocals on the songs, and the songs are awesome,” he reveals. “The album will not be out until after Soundwave, unfortunately. But on Soundwave we’ll probably play at least one new song.”
Bell says the album should be a typical, intense but melodic industrial metal assault. In keeping with many of the band’s past releases, there should be a theme or concept running through the album, linking the songs together.
“I don’t know about the theme yet, but it’s definitely going to be conceptual,” he foretells. “It’s also going to have all the elements that the fans want to hear in the music. This time we’re really focusing strong on well-crafted songs. And so far, we have a lot of good tracks.
“I think we’ve also got an album title too, but we’re still sitting on that,” he teases. “So no hints on that just yet.”
Even after almost a quarter of a century together as a band, Fear Factory are still breaking new territory as far as the markets they’ve toured in are concerned. The rest of 2014 sees the band hitting some countries that they’ve never played before.
“We’re really looking forward to that,” he states, “We’ve never been to Shanghai, and we’re really looking forward to going to India. It’s going to be a good time, we’ve never been to either place.
“It’s even hard for me to believe that we’ve never been to those places in all this time,” he continues. “I’ve met a lot of bands that have been to those places, and it’s been like ‘Why the hell can’t we get there?’ I’ve never even played Hawaii, or Alaska. How do I get to play Alaska? What do I gotta do?”
2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the band’s formation, as well as the 20th birthday of their landmark second album, Demanufacture: the record that truly broke them on a worldwide scale. Bell tells us they plan to mark those momentous occasions in some way.
“Yeah, we’re definitely planning something, and it’s gonna be good,” he reveals. “It’s going to be a big mile-marker for a couple of different occasions. So we’re definitely planning something.”
Bell is the only member of the band who’s been there the entire ride. Even co-founding member and guitar player Dino Cazares took a hiatus from Fear Factory during the 2000s.
“I’m the face of the band. Everyone knows that I’ve been through different line ups, but I’m still here. It’s good to know that I have staying power. I’ve been in this band more than half my life now. It makes me feel like I’m very experienced and I’ve done a lot of good things. I’ve toured the world, and met a lot of people and played a lot of shows, so I’ve got plenty of stories.”
However, he’s still humble when asked to look back over the band’s career, and to take into consideration the untouchable influence that Fear Factory has had on heavy music overall.
“It’s an honour,” he says. “There’s a lot of great bands out there who have considered us an influence, and it’s great. And I’m proud to call these bands my friends as well. I’m glad that we’ve been able to offer something to a younger generation of different artists that they could take and be inspired by.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
