Former Fear Factory vocalist Burton C. Bell recently discussed the creation of the band’s landmark 1998 album Obsolete. He also explained why he will not perform the record in its entirety with his own band.
Released in 1998, Obsolete became Fear Factory’s most successful album. It peaked at No. 77 on the Billboard 200 and has sold over 406,000 copies in the United States. The album was certified gold in both the U.S. and Australia. It is a full concept album set in a dystopian future. The story centers on the character Edgecrusher, who leads a rebellion against an oppressive machine-controlled society.
Bell left Fear Factory in September 2020 after 31 years with the band. The current lineup features guitarist Dino Cazares, vocalist Milo Silvestro, bassist Tony Campos, and drummer Pete Webber. That lineup has been performing material from Obsolete.
When asked about the pressure of following up the massive success of 1995’s Demanufacture, Bell detailed the high expectations from management and the label.
“You’re not wrong,” Bell said. “There was a lot riding on it. There was a lot of pressure — not just pressure we were putting upon ourselves, but pressure from management and the label. The success that ‘Demanufacture’ had was pretty much unexpected for them, and they loved it, of course. It did wonderful things not just for us but for Roadrunner as well.”
“So the pressure going in was insurmountable, for sure,” Bell continued. “But going in, we wanted to make the best record possible, but we did not want to reiterate or reinvent ‘Demanufacture’. We had to move forward, not just in sound but in concept as well. Where ‘Demanufacture’ has a cold, very technical, mechanical and precise sound, ‘Obsolete’ is the opposite. It’s warm and organic sounding, but still maintaining that metal industrial sound. They’re two completely different records, but the big difference was, where the concept of ‘Demanufacture’ was more skin deep, ‘Obsolete’ was a full-on concept from start to finish.”
When asked if he would ever consider performing Obsolete in its entirety with his own band, Bell made his position clear.
“No, not really,” Bell responded. “Fear Factory is already doing it, so I don’t need to. That’s why I’m doing something different. Instead of hearing the music, I’m focusing on the story, and I’m focusing on the concept and the creation story behind it, which is also something people are interested in.”
Bell is currently focusing on presenting the narrative and concept behind the album in a different format.
