Burton C. Bell Sings Fear Factory Song With Restaurant House Band

Last week, former Fear Factory vocalist Burton C. Bell finished a solo DJ set in Australia with an encore that saw the musician sing a classic Fear Factory track. Backed by the house band at Sydney restaurant and music venue Frankie's Pizza, Bell performed Fear Factory's 1995 Demanufacture song "Replica."

The performance was part of Frankie's Pizza's June 16 "Total Recall" event. Bell promoted the show ahead of time on Instagram, noting he would be "spinning my favorite heavy cuts spanning my 30 year career," including tracks from his current act, Ascension of the Watchers, along with Fear Factory and other bands.

But the night ended with the live version of "Replica", and a fan-captured video of the performance has now emerged online. Watch it near the bottom of this post.

Two days after Bell's live solo "Replica" rendition, Fear Factory, led by founding guitarist Dino Cazares, released Aggression Continuum, their first studio album in six years. The album contains Bell's vocals, but following years of band-related legal entanglements, he parted ways with the outfit last year. Cazares recently revealed the group has found a new singer.

In a September 2020 statement, Bell explained he was "announcing to my fans my departure from Fear Factory, to focus all my energy and attention toward the continuing success for Ascension of the Watchers and all my future endeavors."

Referencing Cazares and other Fear Factory bandmates, he added that the "past several years have been profoundly agonizing, with these members bleeding my passion with depraved deceit. As a direct consequence of their greed, these three have dragged me through the unjust judicial system, resulting in the legal attrition that has financially crippled me. In the end, these three members have taken possession of my principal livelihood. However, they will never take my 30-year legacy as the beating heart of the machine. A legacy that no other member, past or present, can ever claim."