Burton C. Bell has opened up about his decision to leave Fear Factory, explaining that he had not spoken to his bandmates in three years and how their recently settled legal battle drained him.
Bell spoke to Kerrang! about quitting the band and was asked about the possibility of ever reuniting with the band. He responded, "I'm done. I haven't spoken to Dino in three years. I haven't spoken to Raymond and Christian in longer than that, and I have no intention to. I'm just moving forward with my life."
He said of his decision to leave the group, "It's been on my mind for a while. These lawsuits just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from band members, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it. I've been working on The Watchers for the last two years. Working with people who I can trust and who I love, and with whom I have grown to find a niche musically definitely pushed me towards it. There are a lot of surprises. I've had a lot of surprises for the last four years.
"With Fear Factory, it's just constantly been like 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with Fear Factory will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."
He also reflected on his time with the group and their history together, "I'm proud of my legacy. We achieved great things. We made incredible music and left an indelible mark on the music industry and on fans around the globe.
"We've had peaks on top of mountains with our highs and we've plumbed the deepest trenches with our lows. There just comes a point where you have to move forward to do more great things with a different band."
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