Tensions surrounding Fear Factory’s past continue to surface, but guitarist Dino Cazares insists he has no interest in revisiting old chapters.
Over the weekend (February 28), Cazares addressed recurring reunion questions in a Facebook post, making his position unmistakably clear: “I don’t hold any hatred toward any former members, but to be clear, I will not be working with them again, I’m sure the feeling is mutual. What’s done is done, and that chapter is permanently closed. I’ve moved forward and remain focused on the present and the future. I sincerely hope they have done the same. Respectfully.”
He later explained why he continues to respond to the topic at all: “The only reason I continue addressing this is because fans keep asking. I’ve already moved on and have said that many times. Unfortunately, some people get upset if I don’t answer the question and others get upset when I give an honest answer they don’t want to hear.”
Much of the lingering speculation traces back to the messy legal fallout that ultimately led to the 2020 departure of original vocalist Burton C. Bell.
Speaking on the Life Is Peachy podcast in November 2024, Cazares revisited the lawsuits involving former members Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera, emphasizing that he did not sue Bell — despite widespread belief to the contrary.
Cazares said: “[After] I [came] back with Fear Factory, we released four records. Me and Burton got sued by Christian and Raymond for monies owed. We owed them money. I ended up beating my lawsuit against those guys, but Burton ended up losing his lawsuit against those guys and has to pay them a million dollars. So Burton decides to quit the band. And he said a lot of things in the press, like he only did Fear Factory out of necessity, he only did Fear Factory ’cause he needed money, he didn’t believe a lot of the lyrics he was writing, and blah, blah, blah, blah. He said he felt restrained doing Fear Factory, he felt like he was pigeonholed doing Fear Factory. And that’s fine. I ended up winning my lawsuit against the guys, against Raymond and Christian.
He clarified further: “One of the biggest misconceptions is that people thought that I sued Burton, but that’s not true. It was Raymond and Christian who sued us individually. We had separate lawsuits. They sued us separately so they can get separate money. So if they would have won my lawsuit, I would have had to give them a million dollars. I won my lawsuit against them. I didn’t owe them anything. But, actually, Burton filed for bankruptcy, and when he filed for bankruptcy, he tried to get out of paying those guys. And, unfortunately, he lied in his bankruptcy. That’s a federal offense. Raymond and Christian took him back to court, made him open up the bankruptcy. The bankruptcy was null and void. So Burton had to pay back those guys, and they took all of Burt‘s assets. Assets, meaning whatever you own, whether it’s a house, a car, a trademark, copyright, business, so on and so on. They took all that away from him for lying in court.”
Cazares ultimately acquired full ownership of the Fear Factory trademark through a bankruptcy auction after purchasing Bell’s share. He said he had hoped to continue working together under a new arrangement, but financial complications made that unrealistic.
Explaining how touring income would have been affected, he stated: “If Burton would have come back to Fear Factory, whatever he earns from Fear Factory, a percentage of that would have to go to Raymond and Christian to pay back the million of dollars. So Burton didn’t wanna go out there on tour and [be] working his ass off and having to pay those guys a percentage of what he earns on tour. Basically, whatever money is earned from Burton Bell‘s name in Fear Factory, that goes to Raymond and Christian. So in other words, if the song ‘Replica’ earns money on Spotify, that money goes to Raymond and Christian‘s lawyers. It’s kind of like child support. If you’re a guy having to pay child support, but you happen to be that guy that doesn’t pay his child support, the court can go after your money that you’re earning from your job. They could take a percentage of that money and pay your kids. That’s basically what was happening to Burt. Now, Burt can go get a regular job. Let’s say he went got a job at [McDonald’s]. He wouldn’t have to give him a portion of that money, because that’s not being earned by Fear Factory. I could be wrong. There might be some technicalities where I’m a little wrong, but it’s basically what happened. So, in reality, me playing the Fear Factory songs live goes to pay back Burton‘s debt to those guys. But Burton doesn’t see that.”
