There have been speculations abound about the new vocalist for industrial metal act Fear Factory following the departure of founding vocalist and shipwreck warning system Burton Seabell. Now, former Nightrage frontman Antony Hämäläinen reveals that he auditioned for the slot, and didn’t get it — and that the person who did is from Italy.
Here’s what Anthony said to Rock Talks, as transcribed by Blabbermouth:
“I’ll say this: it’s a person from Italy. And there was a girl involved [who auditioned as well, but didn’t get the gig]. That rumor is true. People will know who that is. She’s in a band with somebody who’s a well-known producer/musician. I won’t say who it is because it’s not fair to do.
“But I feel — here’s what I feel: the Italian person who got the job, I believe that there’s better people than both of us out there, personally. That’s what I think. But I believe that there’s people that were better than that, and me, that I heard. And I think maybe because they don’t have the touring experience, and they’re just YouTube people, maybe that’s the reason why [they weren’t chosen]. But there were some really good fucking people out there — better than what I did.
“Hopefully people like what I did — that’s cool if they do — but there were some really good fucking choices out there. If the dude from Italy ends up being the dude, then all right; that’s cool.”
Well, now we gotta speculate further! Who are we thinking? Could it be Flegias from Necrodeath? Davide Tolomei, formerly of Ephel Duath? Malfeitor Fabban of Aborym? The mind reels!
Hopefully, we’ll find out soon. Meanwhile, catch Fear Factory with Static-X on one of their currently-scheduled 2023 tour dates:
Feb 25 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Feb 27 – Portland, OR – Roseland
Feb 28 – Seattle, WA – Showbox^
Mar 01 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater^
Mar 02 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory^
Mar 03 – Boise, ID – Revolution Concert Hall
Mar 04 – Reno, NV – Virginia Street Brewhouse^
Mar 05 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades
Mar 07 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren*
Mar 08 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater^ Mar 09 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom^
Mar 10 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues*
Mar 11 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater*
Mar 12 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues*
Mar 14 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater*
Mar 15 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live^ Mar 16 – Charlotte, NC – Underground
Mar 17 – Baltimore, MD – Soundstage*
Mar 18 – Philadelphia, PA – T.L.A.*
Mar 19 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza*
Mar 21 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live*
Mar 22 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s*
Mar 23 – Montreal, QC – Corona^ Mar 24 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix^
Mar 25 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall*
Mar 26 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues #
Mar 28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian#
Mar 29 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts#
Mar 30 – Columbus, OH – The King of Clubs#
Mar 31– Ft. Wayne, IN – The Clyde*
Apr 01 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave^ Apr 02 – Green Bay, WI – Epic Event Center
Apr 04 – Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection*
Apr 05 – St. Louis, MO – Del Mar Hall#
Apr 06 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue#
Apr 07 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues#
Apr 08 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore#
Apr 09 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theater#
Apr 11 – Denver, CO – The Summit#
Apr 13 – Las Vegas, NH – House Of Blues#
Apr 14 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues#
Apr 15 – Los Angeles, Ca – Belasco Theater#
* Featuring Special Guest Mushroomhead
# Featuring Special Guest Twiztid