Legal Battle Erupts Over Fear Factory Name

BY Keith CarmanPublished Jun 18, 2009

Back in April, Exclaim! relayed the information that technical-ish metal outfit Fear Factory had reorganized as they like to call it.

Basically, after a long time of inactivity that led many to believe they'd broken up, vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares had patched up their differences and brought bassist Byron Stroud and drummer Gene Hoglan on board to create new material.

Apparently, that hasn't rested well with recent guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers and drummer Raymond Herrera. They announced to nationally syndicated radio program Speed Freaks that Bell and Cazares's decision has resulted in a lawsuit.

Said Herrera, "We're [Christian and I] actually still in Fear Factory. There's a big legal battle going on right now. Essentially, what's happened is Dino and Burt have become friends again and they decided to start a new band, and furthermore, they decided to call it Fear Factory."

He continues, "They never communicated with us about it. They're acting like there was never any contract, but there's four members that are Fear Factory Incorporated - which is the four of us - so it's almost like them two against us two, so it's kind of a stalemate. Moving forward, I don't know what's gonna happen with the trademark, so to speak. It's kind of a weird situation, but it's not a situation that we created that was weird."

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