Earlier this year, Loudside.com had the chance to sit down with the one and only Burton C. Bell, vocalist for Fear Factory and mainman for Ascension Of The Watchers, who was a special guest on "C U La Tour", the final tour for Industrial Metal icons, Ministry. A rather jovial Burton talked to us about how he ended up getting involved with Ministry, the status of Fear Factory, his new project Ascension of the Watchers and what he plans to do with that, and his personal Wish List of artists that he would like to work with at some point down the road...

Loudside.com: So how has the tour been going for you guys?

Burton: It's been going great. Crowds are excellent and the shows just keep getting better and better. Rehearsing is one thing, but when you get into a live atmosphere it kinda changes some aspects and some perceptions. Once you get onstage, the excitement is just 100%, the crowds are just loving it and they're hyped. And for me, as a long time Ministry fan, I just fuckin can't stop smiling. (laughs) I'm like 'It's A DREAM COME TRUE!' Ya know what I mean? I just like thank god everyday....like, 'Thank you...I did something right.' (laughs)

Loudside.com: Now a number of the shows have been sold out so far...and I'm told that this one is as well...

Burton: Tonight IS sold out. Tomorrow is not sold out, but they're thinking with the walk up, it will definitley fill up. As time goes by, the shows are selling out more. The third night in Chicago sold out and I think they're adding a fourth...

Loudside.com: I know initially they had two nights....

Burton: I know, now they got Four! I'm never going home...(laughs)

Loudside.com: And obviously the crowd response has been pretty insane from the gate...

Burton: Awesome, yeah! The crowd is...I go out and I watch Ministry everyday, because I'm on a set but not til later, so they're doing like songs from the last three records first and I don't come on until like the old stuff. So I'm out there watching...and I'm watching the band for one, because they look great and sound great. And I'm also watching the people and it's like every face is turned to the band. I just like watching it...and the crowd has been eating it up, and it's tough, ya know. It's like, after Meshuggah...that's not easy to follow up on, but Meshuggah has their crowd and it's all good, but everyone's there to see Ministry. It's awesome!

Loudside.com: Now you mentioned that you go on later in the set...if they're doing the newer songs first, are you on stage for any of the songs that you guested on, or are they even doing those at all?

Burton: They're not doing those songs unfortunately. But I guess they had to pick and choose, and for a two hour set there's only so many songs that you can play. And for me as a fan, they're not playing some songs that I wanted them to play, but ya know, it's like what can you do. So I don't come on til the first encore and I do songs like 'So What!', 'N.W.O', 'Just One Fix', 'Thieves', and then I do 'Cover Up' songs...so I do like four or five songs from that and overall I do like seven songs. Easy gig...(laughing). It's like I'm trying to keep up morale, and lend a hand wherever possible. It's like c'mon is there something I can do, ya know. Gimme something to do...

Loudside.com: (laughing) Ok, now speaking of the guest vocals, you did a few spots on 'The Last Sucker' as well as on the 'Cover Up' album as you mentioned. When you first got in touch with Al to see about guesting on 'The Last Sucker', did you actually think that it would end up happening?

Burton: It was a 50/50 chance, ya know. I was already in cause I was good friends with Raven for a while, and John...J.B. So I was good friends with those guys for a while. But I had the chance to meet them and I got along with Al for the few minutes that I got to talk with him. I mean it was after a show in New York and he was wasted. But I was talking to a friend of mine in January of last year, and he's like, 'Ministry's recording their last record'...and I was like, 'their LAST record?' And he's like, 'Yeah, their last one, they're calling it out'. So I was like Man I gotta get involved in that. So I called John and got Angie's number, called them up and left a message and was like, 'This is Burton, I met you...and it's like I would love to be involved in this record in any way possible...I work cheap' (laughing). And they called me back the next day, and I was down there one month later just to record something. And Al had a couple of songs that he wanted me to do, and I was like 'Alright, I'll do it....anything you want.'

Loudside.com: And did you do the songs for 'Cover Up' at the same time as well, or did you do those later?

Burton: Nah I did those later. But while we were doing The Last Sucker he was like, 'Man I got this idea for a cover record we're gonna call it 'Cover Up', and I want you to do a song. And he was talking about some of the songs he wanted to do, and I was like, 'Whatever you want me do to man, I'll do it' (laughing). Just to be involved with it ya know, it's like another one of those things to scratch off my wish list, ya know. 'Work with Ministry - Done!' I think everyone's got a fantasy wish list, and for me that's like one of the ones...Now I just got a few more to work with.

Loudside.com: Ok, Now on to your personal gig with 'Ascension of the Watchers'. I know you've been working on that for quite some time, and you guys released an ep independently. But when it came time to do the full length, how did you get involved with 13th planet?

Burton: It all started when I went to go do that Last Sucker record. John was talking about it before I went there...John did their last tour with them, the 'Rio Grande Blood' tour...and John started telling me about their idea about starting a label, and I was like, that sounds interesting, ya know. And then when I went to do 'The Last Sucker', they started telling me more about it, and so we started this dialogue, because obviously for The Watchers I wanted something really special to start off with. Not really looking for a particular genre, but you know, when Al and Angie and I were all talking, they mentioned the fact that they wanted to keep it as an Artist Friendly label and that they were gonna pick bands they like. Not because the band could sell or whatever, but because they're friends with the people, and so I was like that sounds like something I could work with. And it wasn't about money, it was about starting out. And so I felt that for The Watchers that would be a good starting point. I mean I'm starting with baby steps with The Watchers, ya know. It's a whole new thing. So I'm trying to start this long slow process...I'm not expecting instant fame and fortune or whatever...I wanna do it right, ya know. Develop the processs, and just take it one step at a time, and that's the first step.

Loudside.com: And as far as being with a label now, with the state of the industry as it is...how do you feel about the record labels and illegal downloads and stuff like that?

Burton: It's frustrating, ya know, but at this point there's really no policing for it. So what I do is just inform my fans like, Look if you wanna support your favorite artists, downloading it for free is not supporting. This is how we survive, ya know. And I mean, there's other ways too, like they can come to the show, and they can buy merch, ya know. People don't wanna...when I was growing up trying to get music, I had to get on a bus and go to a music store and save my money up to buy just ONE record, or a seven inch or whatever. Like there was a whole special process to get it, and when you got it, it meant more because it was like 'Wow I actually had to go out and get this!' And music today, is just like throw away music. They get it easily and they throw it away just as easily. There are fans that stay with you, and there are fans that genuinely treasure music, they cherish their favorite bands. And yeah, they'll buy downloads, but they'll go support their bands. So getting back to your question, how I feel about it...(laughing)...It's something that we've gotta evolve with, and the Major Labels are...the best description I've heard is that Major Labels are like a big boat, and it's impossible for them to turn around instantly. It's gotta slow down and it's gotta stop and it's gotta turn around. And it's gonna take a long time for a large ship. But Independent labels and small labels they can get on the right track right now, and there's proper ways to go through with it. So the major label conglomerate, that's gonna be a thing of the past real soon...

Loudside.com: Ok, now on your album, you did a lot of the instrumentation...the guitars, keyboards and stuff. How long exactly have you been playing guitar on top of other instruments?

Burton: Umm, well I don't really consider myself to be playing guitar, I'm like from the Blixa Bargeld school, who's from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Einsturzende Neubautem. He makes noises. But it's the arrangements of the noises that create the sound that...I got my first guitar in 2000. And I just never had lessons, I would just play and play, and figure things out. And I don't play piano, but I can play some things, ya know. I can come up with some interesting ideas. So I've been doing that for a long time, but as long as you got a song in your head and you keep playing, you can find the notes. That's what I go by. (laughing)

Loudside.com: (laughing) Ok, now as far as the music goes, did you always want to be a vocalist? I mean, is that what you focused on or is there a point where you just felt that maybe you'd try something else?

Burton: I never really said I wanted to be something...I just started out to do something. If that makes sense. I guess I wanted to be a vocalist at one point. I guess a lot of my favorite musicians are the main guy, the front guy who plays guitar or piano and sings or whatever, writes music. I got a story to tell, so...(laughing)

Loudside.com: (laughing) For sure. Now as far as Fear Factory goes, is the band on indefinite hiatus?

Burton: We're on hiatus right now. Just taking some time, doing some other stuff, but there will be another Fear Factory record eventually.

Loudside.com: And you guys are obviously free agents, so...

Burton: Yeah, Free Agents, so we got time to...right now is just a good time to let things brew a bit, and you know, see what happens. But yeah, there'll be another Fear Factory record eventually...don't know when, but not too long though, I'll tell ya that.

Loudside.com: And not that you guys have anything concrete, but in your opinion, would you say that it's gonna go more in the typical direction of Fear Factory, or will it maybe be more experimental like 'Transgression'?

Burton: I don't know. I don't know...honestly. But whatever we write, it will sound like Fear Factory. (Laughing)

Loudside.com: (Laughing) Right on. Now having been in this business for as long as you have, who is the one musician that you'd like to work with that you haven't had the chance to yet?

Burton: Nick Cave. That's the next one on the wish list. Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds. Umm, I would like to work with...Kim Thayil, Ben Sherman...and then get the rest of Soundgarden together. (Laughing) I don't know if they're doing anything, but that would be cool. I think I could throw some interesting vocals down with them. So yeah, that's another thing I think about. Umm, I think those would be the top three for now. But there's a lot of musicians I would love to work with, and I'm gonna be around a bit longer, so I got time.

Loudside.com: And interestingly enough, and probably contrary to what most people might think or believe, they're not necessarily 'Metal'.

Burton: No not at all. And that's the thing, that's what surprises people is that I'm in this band Fear Factory for ya know, seventeen years and it's been Industrial Metal and things like that. But there's more to it than that, and people always wonder where my ideas come from. And it's like well I don't really...ya know there is some metal that I like and some heavier music that I like, but I came from like the post punk, avant garde, industrial noise stuff. And that's what I brought into Fear Factory. The Metal just became a bit more prevalent because Christian was into that thrash and hardcore, and Raymond was into like grindcore and thrash, and Dino...Dino and I, he liked music I liked but he introduced me to music like Napalm Death and ya know it was like I could get into it. Grindcore I like...and Carcass was awesome! And I was a fan of Godflesh before any of those bands, but I didn't think Godflesh was metal. I thought they were industrial, so there was just interesting trade offs. You meet with people and become friends with people and you know, some music they like and it's like 'Ok I get it'. And some...there was some stuff that Raymond liked that we agreed on...but yeah, I thanked Nick Cave on the very first Fear Factory record. You know, Nick Cave for inspiration, so...

Loudside.com: Now you're referring to Soul Of A New Machine, right?

Burton: Yeah, Soul Of A New Machine...

Loudside.com: Because I know you guys had one before that, which was actually not released until years later...

Burton: That was never meant to be released. I had nothing to do with it. (Laughing)

Loudside.com: (Laughing) Ok. Now, Paul Raven...who is recently deceased...while working on the new Ministry record, did you actually get the chance to work with him?

Burton: Yeah, absolutely! For many years I talked to Raven about The Watchers, and if he'd wanna be involved with it, and he said 'Sure man, whenever you're ready to go'. And when all this Ministry stuff was coming down, I was able to talk to Raven even more, and Watchers got signed, and I was like 'Hey, come on board'. And he only had time for one song...I wanted him to do at least two. And umm, he did Mars Becoming, and it was supposed to be Sounds of Silence. But that never happened. But I'm glad he's on one song. It's a classic song and I love it.

Loudside.com: Ad obviously you've been a fan of Killing Joke for years...

Burton: Absolutely! It was an honor working with him. He's well missed and we talk about him everyday, and there's laughter about the shit he did. And we just laugh about Raven now, because that's the best way to remember him because he was a fucking good guy man!

Loudside.com: And obviously, as mentioned, they've been adding dates to this tour, but after this tour, what are your plans?

Burton: After this tour, I'm starting to set up a Watchers tour for the fall. And we'll do Europe and the United States, and hopefully open for a band, but if not we'll get around the country somehow. And I wanna make it special. I wanna play more than just the typical venue. My plan would be like if I could play at Art Galleries, or maybe even Churches or something, make it a little different ya know.

Loudside.com: Well yeah, because it's not Metal at all...

Burton: No it's not. But Fear Factory fans have come to the shows and they love it...

Loudside.com: Oh, I've heard the record and it's definitely different. But what I'm wondering is what angle would you go in, in terms of supporting another band?

Burton: Well, I am trying to talk to The Young Gods to open up for them. Because they haven't toured the States in a while. Or maybe Barry Adamson...who's also supposed to be coming out. That would be a great tour. Love and Rockets...I would love to open up for Love and Rockets. So something like that, ya know. If I can't get an opening gig like that, I'll just do a tour with John's other band , called False Icons, who are also on 13th Planet. And we'll just do a tour together as a 13th Planet kind of tour...

Loudside.com: Small and Intimate...

Burton: Yeah. And the live translation is even more textured. It's awesome!

Loudside.com: And anything else you want to add?

Burton: Thank god I'm alive...(laughing)...cause times are good right now!