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BB: Well let's just say that we decided to stick to our roots. We have always been a heavy aggressive type band so we wanted to stick that way. We took sounds from Soul Of A New Machine and Demanufacture and put them together with elements of both re-mix albums that we did.
MoM: Who did the re-mixes on Remanufacture?
BB: Rhys did most of the songs, but we got DJ's from all around the world to make mixes as well.
MoM: Is Rhys still in the band?
BB: Yeah, he's basically our silent fifth member when it comes to the studio. Not only did he produce this record for us this time, he also did the keyboards and samples as well. We stuck with him for the studio, but he doesn't like to tour so we had to get John Backdel. We searched for him, and asked if he wanted to do an audition, and he said yeah. He's highly qualified for the position.
MoM: I heard that you might be doing a tour with Slayer.
BB: Yeah, actually we just got confirmed for it a couple of days ago. We're going to be supporting Slayer on tour in the states. Their record is going to come out, and we're going to be one of the opening bands and it's going to start August 4th.
MoM: Is it going to be East Coast, or West Coast?
BB: It's going to be all over America.
MoM: I heard that on your new album that there's going to be a 12-string orchestra or something. What's happening with that?
BB: On 2 songs, "Resurrection" and "Timelessness" Rhys had the idea of hiring a chamber ensemble to come in and play the string parts. He felt that the real strings would sound a lot better then the keyboard strings, so he arranged something with the ensemble. They came in and after 4 and a half hours of recording, it was done and it sounded killer.
MoM:You're on the European Ozzfest right?
BB: Well we just played at the English Ozzfest 2 days ago. It was really cool because it was the first one in England ever.
MoM: Oh, well I guess that gets rid of my other question.
BB: Which one was that?
MoM: I was going to ask what your plans are for after the Ozzfest.
BB: Oh, I tripped on acid after the Ozzfest.
MoM: How did you like being on it last year?
BB: It was really cool. Great exposure for the band and we had a great time. Every band on it was really cool. There was no egos except when Manson came on to it. But it was really great and a fun time was had by all.
MoM: Was it weird playing so early in the day?
BB: It was weird, but just part of the whole thing. In England we went on at 12:30 and there were 50,000 people all ready to see us. In America that would never happen. That was the really cool thing about it.
MoM: Yeah, when I went to the Ozzfest, you were playing and everyone still hadn't come in yet.
BB: Yeah, America sucks that way. They don't let the fans in early, and they have to start everything early, and it just sucks.
MoM: I also saw you guys with Kilgore a while ago. Do you think you'll be doing anything else with them?
BB: Yeah, that was a year and a half ago. I actually believe that they are on the Slayer tour too.
MoM: Oh, that's awesome! How did the band start?
BB: Well we all got together October 31st in 1990. I already knew Dino because we were room mates in a big house. He and I had a room. It was almost like a boarding house. I wasn't in a band and he wasn't either, but he was jamming with Raymond so he asked if I wanted to go down and check out what they were doing. Dino and I became good friends from that because we both have same interests in music. We both liked experimental music, and with that we just went forward. We got together in late 1990 and then got signed in February of 1992. In that time we made 3 demos. We're just a really hard working band.
MoM: Are those demos rare?
BB: Yeah, they are very rare. Unless you were in Los Angeles at the time that's the only way you could get them. People around have been trading them, but I don't even have one. I would love to get a copy of them because if I heard it then it would be pretty weird. Our first demo almost sounded gothic, then the second demo is using a drum machine because Raymond was in a motorcycle accident. The third demo had 16 songs on it and was produced my Ross Robinson. That was his first thing he had produced, and it's what got us signed to RoadRunner.
MoM: When you first started, did you have any of the samples or keyboards?
BB: We had samples, but not keyboards because we couldn't afford them. When we started, we had a tape player on the side of the stage of wherever we were. We had a friend pressing in the tapes when they have to come in.
MoM: Was it hard to get recognized?
BB: Well people first started really noticing us after our first re-mix album, Fear Is The Mindkiller. Soul Of A New Machine was a heavy record, but it was very raw and in our early stages. When that record came out, we were still a young band. When we did the first re-mix album, there was a heavy band doing some electronic industrial re-mixes. That's what opened the door and introduced us to a whole other style of music. That's when more people started recognizing us. Then Demanufacture came out and just went through. People were like "Wow this is killer!" and people liked it. It was around that time.
MoM: What were some of your influences?
BB: We like all sorts of music. We like experimental music, but we also like good,well written music. We like good composition, music that makes sense, so we're into all types of music from Beastie Boys to Godflesh. We're into all sorts of bands.
MoM: What do you usually write your lyrics about?
BB: I'm an observer and I watch what's going on around me. I like to write about things that make me feel a certain way. I write about weapons of mass destruction, social oppression or personal problems that I would like to convey through music. That's what music is about, conveying a message.
MoM: When you write a song, how do you decide which samples to put in the song? Is it difficult?
BB: What kind of samples? The dialog or the music?
MoM: Both.
BB: It's difficult because it has to match with the music, and fit with the whole idea as well. We are constantly searching for different sounds. With dialog, I'll just sit and tape shows. I'll remember id something sounded cool and I'll go back to it and use a little part or sample. There's a part in Timelessness where there is a dialog about Charles Manson. What the dialog is saying, is not about Charles Manson, but about the government. It's calling the government a machine. It's really cool.
MoM: Yeah, I heard that song and it sounds pretty good.
BB: Yeah, it was taken from a demonstration from the 60's.
MoM: Who did the re-mixing on Fear Is The Mind Killer?
BB: That was Rhys Goldberg. He was the producer for the new record and Remanufacture. He didn't produce Demanufacture because we had Collen doing it, but Rhys and Greg came in to save the record. If we left the mixes that Collen had, we wouldn't be here today.
MoM: Oh, it's a good thing Rhys stepped in. With the Soulfly which songs are you in, and how did you get on it. Did Max come to you, or did you go to him?
BB: Ever since we toured with them in 94, we've been really good friends with them and have been really close to them. They have been like family to us. They were in Malibu and Christian is really good friends with them too, so we were sitting around with Max and his wife, and he asked "Why don't you do some vocals on the album?" I said sure, and I'm on "Eye For An Eye". Christ plays stand up bass in one song, and Dino plays guitar in "Eye For An Eye" as well. He does a guitar lead or something.
MoM: What was one of the funniest things that happened to you at one of your shows?
BB: I got knocked unconscious once. We were playing at a really small place and there was a kid head-banging on the side of the stage. I was cool with it, but he was right in front of me. Basically, my head went forward, his head went back and he smacked me right in the forehead in the middle of the eyes. I fell like lightning. Then the next thing I know, I'm on the floor opening my eyes with a bunch of people around me and no music at all. I just asked "What happened?" after that, I got some water and kept playing the show. That was pretty funny though. I remember that.
MoM: When Fear Factory first started out, was there any members who were in there that aren't in there now?
BB: Yeah, Christian wasn't in the band at the time. It took us a while to find the right bass player, but he's the one. The original bass player left because he got married, then we had another one, but we kicked him out because he was doing too much crystal meth. We recorded the first record without a bass player. Dino played bass on that one. We hired Andrew Hyes who only contributed his picture for the album. After touring for a year and a half with him, we just kicked him out because he was an asshole. After that were weren't recording, but we had to find a new bass player because we were going to be touring with Sepultura so we found Christian. It was actually Biohazard that introduced us to Christian.
MoM: I'm out of questions, do you have any closing comments?
BB: I'd just like to tell everyone to keep an open mind because it makes the world a better place that way.