FEAR FACTORY Frontman BURTON C. BELL On Terrorist Attacks In Paris – "I Can Totally Understand Why Other Bands Did Cancel Their Tours"

Ireland’s Overdrive recently caught up with Fear Factory vocalist Burton C. Bell to discuss the band’s Demanufacture 20th Anniversary Tour, their new album Genexus, and Bell’s graphic novel, The Industrialist. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

Overdrive: Have you found that by playing the Demanufacture album that there has been a good mix of the older generation of fans as well as the younger audience?

Burton: “Everywhere we have gone we have been playing the same places for decades you know and in the front row I’m seeing people my age and kids that are so much younger, that were not around when the album came out, that really blows my mind! This really shows that the album is still very relevant in terms of the sound, the topics of the songs and what we are saying. The energy of that album still has meaning and is still connecting with the audience.”

Overdrive: This tour has been I’m sure, one to remember the unfortunate bus crash and the news of the terrorist attacks in Paris, did you guys have any thoughts as to cancelling the remaining dates, because that’s a lot to deal with considering your away from your families and friends?

Burton: “Personally, no. The bus crash looked way worse than it actually was. It was basically a fender bender and thankfully nobody got hurt. The only thing that got killed was the coffee machine and that was a tragedy in its own right (laughs). The events in Paris, were horrific and at that point, we were concerned that our shows woud be cancelled or postponed, because of those events. We did not want that to happen, because for selfish reasons that would work very expensive for us and more importantly, that would just mean that the people who carried out those cowardly attacks would win! If you let them create the fear that they want us to fear, then they win. Yeah, we experienced the bus crash that could have happened at any given moment anywhere and gun violence happens every single day in America, it’s almost becoming a common place event which is very sad and is something that we just need to expect in our daily lives. No one expects to get hit by lightning, but they do!”

“You can’t let fear of these things prevent you from going outside and living your life. If you fall off your bicycle, will you never get back on it again. You have to keep going with things, because that’s what life is. You can’t let fear rule you because you will have no life if you do. The Paris attacks were just so awful and it breaks my heart to even think about it. Although we didn’t cancel and had no intention of doing so, I can totally understand why other bands did cancel their tours, but that is not Fear Factory!”

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Fear Factory recently launched a video series documenting the Demanufacture 20th Anniversary Tour. The clip below features the last show of the European Demanufacture 20th Anniversary Tour in London, England at the O2 Forum on December 13th.

Check out the six previous tour diary installments below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6