FEAR FACTORY
ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON
It’s been hard being a Fear Factory fan of late. Rumours of a reunion with the classic line-up swirled in the mid-to-late 2010s before ultimately being crushed under a quagmire of miscommunication and lawsuits, resulting in vocalist Burton C. Bell quitting in 2020 and leaving guitarist Dino Cazares the only original member. After an audition process that reportedly included 300 different vocalists, Milo Silvestro of Italian ‘nu metal electronic core’ band Dead Channel was appointed to fill the spot and this DisrupTour marks the first opportunity for UK fans to see him. While Milo may lack the experience and charisma of his predecessor, it’s clear from opener Shock that he can replicate the barks and croons of FF’s studio material flawlessly, something even Burton himself struggled to do live. His voice might lack power, as demonstrated during a surprise guest appearance from Svalbard’s Serena Cherry on Edgecrusher, but at least the songs now sound like their recorded counterparts. Asold-out Ballroom laps up a setlist heavily weighted towards 90s classics Obsolete and Demanufacture, but the real test will come once Fear Factory write and release new material with Milo on the mic.