This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

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Fear Factory are predominantly an industrial/groove metal band, although their earliest stuff has more of a death metal sound. Vocalist and main lyricist Burton C. Bell as been the only member to appear on every album. On a few albums he has a bigger hand in the writing. Except for two albums Dino Cazares has been on guitar and has been the main writer. Early on he shared in writing with original drummer Raymond Herrera. Bassist Christian Olde Wolbers wrote while in the band and played guitar for the two albums that don’t have Dino. Gene Hoglan drummed on one album and shares in writing on many of those tracks. There has been other bass players and drummer, but non of which that are credited as contributing with writing. Much of Fear Factory’s industrial sound comes from producer and keyboardist Rhys Fulber who occasionally is giving writing credit and shares heavily in writing for The Industrialist. Although he’s not an official member of the band I will be including his influences as well. Other session players have contributed to the industrial side but none are credited with contributing to writing.

PInk Floyd are one of the best known progressive rock band. Burton named them as an influence.

Kraftwerk are considered pioneers in electronic music. Rhys named them as his biggest influence.

Wings was formed by Paul McCartney with his wife and Denny Laine (Moody Blues). Dino named Paul as one of his favorite writers including his work in Wings.

AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Dino said Angus was probably the first person to inspire him to pick up guitar.

Dokken were a big metal/glam band. Dino named George Lynch as an influence.

The Police were a popular post-punk, new wave band. Christian named them as his favorite band.

The Misfits are a super influential punk / hardcore band. Christian named them as an influence.

Buzzcocks were a well known punk band. Rhys named them as an influence.

Van Halen were had a huge impact on the world of rock and metal. Dino is a big fan of the first album and Eddie’s guitar tone. He based his guitar tone on Eddie’s sound.

Dead Kennedys is an important punk / hardcore band. Christian named them as an influence.

Killing Joke were a post punk band that helped influence industrial rock. Dino said they had a big impact on his guitar sound especially the chorus effect they used. Burton named them as an influence.

U2 are a post punk rock band. Dino named The Edge as an influence. Raymond said they are all fans of U2. Burton named their early stuff as an influence.

Def Leppard were a NWOBHM that became huge after going into a more pop direction. Dino named them when asked about favorite writers.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were a post punk band. Burton named them as an influence.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a English electronic band. Rhys named them as an influence.

Sisters of Mercy are an important goth rock band. Burton named them as an influence and said Wayne Hussey is one of the most underrated song writers.

Pete Shelley

Ministry are industrial rock/metal pioneers. Dino said they are fans. Raymond confirms the influence.

SPK were an 80’s industrial band. Rhys named them as an influence.

Metallica are the fathers of thrash. Dino named Metallica and James as an influence. He also praised the writing on the black album. Raymond named them as an influence.

Exodus are one of the earliest formed thrash bands. Dino named them as an influence. He love their first album and said they were his favorite band at one time.

Napalm Death are among the first and most important grindcore bands. Dino is a fan.

Suicidal Tendencies are an important hardcore / crossover thrash band. Christian named their first two albums as an influence.

Slayer were the most aggressive sounding of the early thrash bands. Dino named them as an influence. Raymond named Dave Lambardo as an influence.

Death Angel are a bay area thrash band. Dino named them as an influence.

D.R.I. are one of the most important of the crossover thrash bands. Dino and Christian named them as an influence.

Ratt were a prominent metal band on the glam side of things. Dino named Warren DeMartini as an influence.

Swans are a experimental rock band. Burton named them as an influence.

Possessed took thrash to a new level and are often considered the fathers of death metal, although now their sound is more often referred to as death/thrash. Dino named them as an influence.

Death are considered fathers of death metal by many and are certainly pioneers. Dino named them as an influence.

KMFDM are a German industrial band. Dino named them as an influence.

Dead Can Dance are a post punk, goth, dark wave duo. Rhys named them as an influence.

Faith No More are an influential alternative band. Raymond said they are all a fan.

Carcass are important for grindcore and melodic death. Dino is a fan.

Terrorizer was a death metal / grindcore band. Raymond named Pete Sandoval from his Terrorizer days as an influence.

Guns ‘n’ Roses were one of the biggest hard rock bands in the world at one time. Dino said he is a fan of their first album.

Public Enemy are an important hip-hop group. Dino named them as an influence.

Godflesh are pioneers of industrial metal. Dino and Burton said the earlier incarnation of Fear Factory, Ulceration, was a godflesh ripoff. Burton said they was the band that him and Dino really bounded over and his favorite band.

Nine Inch Nails are a popular industrial rock band. Dino said they are fans.

Massive Attack are a Trip Hop group. Rhys named them as an influence.

Rhys Fulber although only appear as a session player and not a member of the band, Dino said after meeting him they were able to add a lot of the more industrial aspects to their music. Rhys has also produced multiple FF albums. He has co-written songs and co-wrote most of the songs on The Industrialist.

Dino said he is not a fan of Kurt Cobain’s music but liked how he structured songs. He also said he liked the way Dave Grohl structures songs. He said he was a fan of producers Mutt Lang and Bob Rock. Dino took inspiration from industrial and hip-hop bands that used guitar samples for playing in a style that mimicked sampled guitars.

Christian said he developed an interest in hip-hop and from that realized sometimes a simple hook is better and more memorable than loads of complicated riffs.

Burton was in school and church choirs as a kid. He says he comes from more of a post-punk, industrial, and gothic background. He also says he’s a fan of move sound tracks, naming Blade Runner and composer Vangelis as well as Dredd composed by Paul Leonard-Morgan

Gene Hoglan was the drummer on Mechanize and and is given co-writing credits on a few songs.

Bands influenced by Fear Factory!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Sources:

https://blabbermouth.net/news/fear-factorys-dino-cazares-my-playing-was-never-influenced-by-pantera/#:~:text=Dino%20elaborated%20in%20a%20separate,%2C%20DEATH%20etc...%22
https://www.westword.com/music/fear-factorys-dino-cazares-on-living-in-the-technocratic-world-the-acts-been-singing-about-5716286
https://killyourstereo.com/interviews/1025779/fear-factory/
http://metalassault.com/Interviews/2013/12/21/in-depth-interview-with-fear-factory-guitarist-dino-cazares/
https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/dino-cazares-of-fear-factory
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/dino-cazares-aggression-continuum
https://www.musicomh.com/features/interviews/interview-fear-factory
https://www.metalunderground.com/interviews/details.cfm?newsid=8239
http://www.roughedge.com/features/fearfactory.htm
https://www.metal-rules.com/2008/11/05/christian-olde-wolbers-of-fear-factory/
http://www.dabelly.com/features/feature187.htm
https://www.loudersound.com/features/burton-c-bell-my-life-story
https://crypticrock.com/interview-burton-c-bell-of-fear-factory/
https://v13.net/2020/10/in-conversation-with-burton-c-bell-the-return-of-ascension-of-the-watchers-w-audio/
https://www.kerrang.com/features/im-proud-of-my-legacy-but-its-time-to-move-forward-burton-c-bell-on-leaving-fear-factory-and-whats-to-come/
https://www.electricityclub.co.uk/rhys-fulber-interview/
http://www.musicaldiscoveries.com/reviews/rhysfulber.htm