Pioneering a fusion of death metal's crushing force with industrial electronics' stark textures and samples, Fear Factory forged an expanded sonic range to convey their dark outlook on contemporary, machine-dominated existence. Their command of multiple subgenres peaked with the 1998 concept album Obsolete, which achieved widespread success through a metallic reinterpretation of Gary Numan's "Cars." Though the lineup shifted repeatedly across the years—with vocalist Burton C. Bell serving as the only unchanging presence until his exit in 2020—the band sustained its impact and intensity through forward-looking releases such as The Industrialist (2012) and Aggression Continuum (2021) that kept expanding extreme metal's frontiers.
The Los Angeles outfit began in 1990 when Burton C. Bell, previously of Hate Face, joined percussionist Raymond Herrera and guitarist Dino Cazares, formerly of Douche Lord. After contributing two songs to the L.A. Death Metal compilation, they secured a deal with Roadrunner Records and issued their first full-length, Soul of a New Machine, in 1992; new bassist Andrew Shives joined to free Cazares for live guitar duties. The 1993 EP Fear Is the Mind Killer revealed their experimental bent by handing debut tracks to remixers Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly, while also introducing keyboardist Reynor Diego, who later toured alongside Fulber. Shives departed in 1994 and Christian Olde Wolbers took the bass role.
Demanufacture, the second studio album of original material, arrived in 1995 and was followed in 1997 by the remix collection Remanufacture (Cloning Technology), which incorporated work from various remixers—many from the techno realm—alongside greater participation from the band itself. Steve Tushar succeeded Diego in 1996. Side projects included Cazares and Herrera's Brujeria, Bell's G/Z/R, and Cazares' Nailbomb. The group returned in 1998 with Obsolete, whose established approach aligned with the rising alternative metal wave and propelled it to the album chart's Top 100. Further visibility came from film soundtrack placements and the 1999 Ozzfest tour. Digimortal reached the Top 40 upon its 2001 release, yet Bell announced his departure the next year; ultimately Cazares exited instead, Wolbers switched to guitar, and Byron Stroud from Strapping Young Lad filled the bass position.
After Roadrunner released the band and compiled their 1991 recordings as Concrete in 2002, Fear Factory moved to Liquid 8 and delivered Archetype in 2004, then the equally ferocious Transgression in August 2005. Dissatisfied with the rushed Transgression, the members entered hiatus to focus on other work. Bell and Cazares later repaired their relationship, and in 2009 they revived Fear Factory with Stroud on bass and Gene Hoglan—known for stints with Devin Townsend, Death, and Dethklok—on drums, surprising Herrera and Wolbers. Active once more, the band released Mechanize in 2010 and the concept album The Industrialist in 2012. Late in 2014 they announced a Nuclear Blast signing and their ninth studio effort, Genexus, slated for later that year; Tony Campos, ex-Static-X, replaced Stroud on bass while Malignancy's Mike Heller assumed drums. Produced by longtime associate Rhys Fulber, the album appeared in August 2015. A series of legal disputes and creative and personal rifts preceded the tenth studio LP; recorded across five years, Aggression Continuum surfaced in 2021 and marked Bell's final recordings before his 2020 departure. Re-Industrialized, issued in 2023, offered a reworked take on the 2012 concept album The Industrialist, adding tracks and substituting live drums for the original programmed ones.
