Blistering.com: How much record company influence was there on theDigimortal album?
Cazares: There was a lot of discrepancy that split that record out. The first was the label wanted us to go more commercial. The second was that it was the first time we let Christian write songs with us. Prior, as I was saying before, I always had a connection with drummers and me and the drummer are so locked, so sometimes when other people came into it, it’s too many cooks in the kitchen. Back in the day, Raymond and I were locked for the three albums before that and then Christian came into the picture and Raymond was like, “Dino, we should let somebody else write. Why don’t you give him a chance?” And I was like, “if it’s not broken, why fix it?”
Maybe I was being selfish. Raymond was like “c’mon, let him write, let him write.” Christian’s influence at the time was on hip-hop guys and a lot of the stuff came out hip-hoppy-ish. We had a lot more…for a lack of a better word “nu metal riffs.” I was definitely biting my tongue and Raymond was looking at me going, “dude, don’t be a dick, let him fucking write.” That was probably my mistake in letting that other person into the kitchen and that’s where that record went and I had no control after that. And then, after that record you know what happened: I was weeded out.
Our record label was pushing us for more commercial producers and they were bringing producers into the studio and you know…the whole record lost focus at that point. There are some great moments on that record, don’t get me wrong. The record still did quite well. The record label expected it to sell a million and it only sold half of that and it was still considered a failure even though it sold a lot of records. I was definitely disappointed with that record. A lot of the heavier elements got cut out and that’s pretty much the issue with Digimortal[laughs].
Blisteirng.com: How much did you follow the band after you were ousted in 2002? Were the Archetype and Transgression albums given to you?
Cazares: They were definitely given to me, both albums.
Blistering.com: So what was your take on the riffs on both albums? A couple sort of sound like what you did before…
Cazares: [laughs] Let me ask you this question: how many similarities do you hear?
Blistering.com: More than a few.
Cazares: There were quite a few and I wouldn’t say similarities, I would saystraight rip-offs and that’s ok. That’s what the kids wanted to hear, they made the right move. They took some old stuff and re-wrote it, gave it a different production and they satisfied the fans. That’s what they were trying to do. They had the Digimortal record and didn’t want to put any hip-hop elements into it. They made the smart move and came out with the heavier record. Then the next record, Transgression…I don’t know what happened there. I don’t think it was a fan favorite. I’m not speaking for the fans and judging from record sales, it was the worst selling Fear Factory in history.
Blistering.com: What are your goals/aspirations for your version of Fear Factory? What’s the vision in your head right now?
Cazares: The vision in my head right now conceptually, I can’t tell you because it’s Burton’s department. But from what I’ve read, it’s pretty sick. I can’t give away any details. It’s sick, that’s all I have to say. Musically, because Gene’s playing drums, I would say that it’s going more toward Soul Of A New Machine and Demanufacture. I think a lot of that influence with me coming off Divine Heresy and still having that fire in me, so I’m bringing in a lot of that energy and bringing it into Fear Factory. That element, if you really want to follow our history, you would go back to Soul Of A New Machine.
Blistering.com: How are you going to decide what’s a Fear Factory riff versus a Divine Heresy riff?
Cazares: The #1 thing is, is that they’re totally different. I try to separate the two and focus the two. Trust me, it’s hard. There’s similarities in everything I do. I’m only one guitar player. I’m sure if Michael Jackson wrote for Cannibal Corpse, is it going to sound like Cannibal Corpse or Michael Jackson? It’s going to sound like Michael Jackson! If you take Dino over Divine Heresy over Asesino, you’re still going to get Dino. And vice-versa. I only have one right hand. There’s definitely going to be a lot more of a difference between Fear Factory and Divine Heresy. Fear Factory, you’re going to hear a lot more keyboards, a lot more industrial elements mixed in with all of the brutal shit going on.
Blistering.com: The forgotten man in all of this is bassist Byron Stroud. What’s it like working with him? He’s been playing with Gene since the dawn of time.
Cazares: You just said it right there: this is a guy like a Gene-prodigy on bass. Working with him is like, no big deal
. I don’t even have to turn around and tell him what to play – he’s already done it. And vice-versa, he’s throwing in his two cents as well.
Blistering.com: Let’s fast-forward to 2010. What’s on the agenda for that year?
Cazares: I’m going to die in 2010 [laughs]. I’m probably going to be touring for a year and half straight between both bands, non-stop. I’m excited, I can’t wait to get out there and play people all of this stuff. 2010 is going to be great year for both bands.
Blistering.com: You still have studio plans for Fear Factory this fall, right?
Cazares: Yes, but I can’t tell you what date. We’re still working out some kinks and until then, I’m sure you’ll read about the dates somewhere.