were one of the first bands to fuse the loud, crushing intensity of death metal with the cold harshness of industrial electronics and samples, producing a more varied sonic palette with which to express their bleak, pessimistic view of modern, technology-driven society. The group was formed in Los Angeles in 1990 by vocalist
. Following their contribution of two tracks to the L.A. Death Metal compilation,
to play guitar on tour. The following year's
's willingness to experiment with their music and broaden its scope by placing tracks from their debut in the hands of remixers
joined the band as a touring keyboardist.
.
In 1995,
Fear Factory released their second full-length album of new material,
Demanufacture; it was followed two years later by another remix project,
Remanufacture (Cloning Technology), which this time featured contributions from a number of different remixers, including many techno-oriented artists, as well as more input from
Fear Factory themselves.
Steve Tushar replaced
Diego in 1996. The members of the band have performed in a number of side projects, the most notable of which is
Cazares' and
Herrera's
Brujeria; others include
G/Z/R (
Bell) and
Nailbomb (
Cazares).
Fear Factory reconvened in 1998 for
Obsolete, a record that found the band's well-established style fitting seamlessly into the growing alternative metal boom. As such, it became the band's biggest hit yet, hitting the Top 100 on the album charts.
Fear Factory's profile was further boosted by appearances on several film soundtracks and on the 1999 Ozzfest tour. Their next album, 2001's
Digimortal, entered the charts in the Top 40, but by the next year vocalist
Bell decided to leave the band.
Cazares was the one who eventually left the band, however, while Wolbers moved to guitar and Byron Stroud (Strapping Young Lad) was hired for the bass spot.
Amidst the lineup changes, Roadrunner dropped the band and, in 2002, issued their original 1991 recordings on the compilation
Concrete.
Fear Factory moved to Liquid 8 for 2004's Archetype. The equally merciless Transgression followed in August 2005. Disappointed with Transgression and feeling that they had been pressured into rushing the album out,
Fear Factory went on hiatus while the bandmembers pursued other projects. Eventually,
Bell and
Cazares reconciled their friendship, and in 2009 the pair re-formed
Fear Factory with Byron Stroud on bass and Gene Hoglan (who also played with Devin Townsend, Death, and Dethklok, among others) on drums, much to the surprise of
Herrera and Wolbers. Now fully operational,
Fear Factory began once again manufacturing records, releasing Mechanize in 2010, followed by the concept album The Industrialist in 2012.
–
Steve Huey, Rovi