Dino Cazares

Dino Cazares(born September 2, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist and one of the co-founders ofindustrial metalbandFear Factory.He is also a co-founder ofDivine Heresy,Asesino,andBrujeria.Cazares popularized the use ofdigital ampmodelling processors, as well as the use ofsevenandeight-string guitarsin metal music.

Dino Cazares
Cazares performing in 2018
Background information
Also known as	Asesino
Born	(1966-09-02)September 2, 1966 El Centro, California,U.S.
Genres	Industrial metal groove metal thrash metal extreme metal metalcore alternative metal nu metal
Occupations	Musician songwriter
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1984–present
Member of	Fear Factory Asesino Divine Heresy
Formerly of	Brujería

Career

Cazares met singerBurton C. Bellin 1989 and started a group under the name Ulceration, which was renamed to their current name Fear Factory in the following year with Raymond Herrera on drums. The band's first album,Soul of a New Machine,was dedicated to Cazares' mother, Natividad, and older brother, Joey. Before starting Fear Factory, Cazares was in thegrindcoreband Excruciating Terror, which he quit after one month. He co-founded the Mexican death/grind side-projectBrujeria,formed in 1989 with members of Faith No More, Fear Factory, among other well-known bands.

When Fear Factory split up (temporarily) in 2002, Cazares returned to Brujeria, and released what was supposed to be the first of 13 Demoniaco Brujeria records (one for each member of Brujeria). He formed the bandAsesinothe same year, it featured himself with Static-X bassist Tony Campos on bass and vocals, and Emilio Marquez on drums. Fear Factory reformed later that year without Cazares. In 2005, Cazares was chosen as a team captain by Roadrunner A&R Monte Conner for theRoadrunner Unitedalbum for which he wrote four songs and contributed with otherRoadrunner Recordsartists.

Cazares formedDivine Heresyin 2005, who released their debut albumBleed the Fifthin August 2007. The band got signed toRoadrunner RecordsandCentury Media,and includedTim Yeung(All That Remains, Hate Eternal, Nile, Vital Remains, Morbid Angel) on drums, Thomas Cummings on vocals and (later on)Joe Payne(Nile) on bass. Cummings was terminated from the band in 2008 and was replaced by Travis Neal.Their second albumBringer of Plagueswas released on July 28, 2009.

Cazares in 2008

In 2009, Cazares rejoined Fear Factory and has released four albums with them since. Divine Heresy has been inactive due to Cazares' commitment to Fear Factory and several departures that took place.

Cazares has voiced a minor character in theadult swimTV showMetalocalypse.

In January 2019, Cazares announced his divorce from Jennifer Pagan Cazares on Twitter.

Starting in August 2021, Cazares toured withSoulflyas their guitar player.He continued to play with Soulfly for their 35-date tour from February through March 2022.

Reformation of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares (Fear Factory) on stage in Munich on 24th of November 2023

On April 7, 2009, Cazares and ex-bandmateBurton C. Bellannounced the reconciliation of their friendship, and the formation of a new project withByron Stroud(Strapping Young Lad) on bass andGene Hoglan(Death,Strapping Young Lad,Dethklok) on drums. On April 28, this project was revealed to actually be a new version of Fear Factory, minus founding memberRaymond Herreraand longtime memberChristian Olde Wolbers.Bell, when asked why Herrera and Wolbers were not included, stated that "Fear Factory's like a business and I'm just reorganizing...We won't talk about [their exclusion]. "

Technique and style

Cazares is often identified by his fastalternate pickingrhythm guitar technique, timingpalm mutedtripletsandsyncopatedsixteenth noteswithdouble bass drumming.Cazares said in 2022 that inspiration struck when he first heard the "machine gun" riffs in "One"byMetallica,which led to a distinctive style identifiable in the music of Fear Factory. In previous albums of the band, Cazares did not play any guitar solos in Fear Factory for stylistic reasons but can be heard playing them in his other bands. However, the band's 2010 album,Mechanize,has several lead parts and solos.

Equipment

Cazares is known for playingIbanezguitars, using custom-made 7-string models withSeymour DuncanBlackout pickups. They were usually detuned a whole step (A,D,G,C,F,A,D; fromObsoleteonwards) to allow for even lower registers. His main guitar in Asesino is anIbanezprototype 8-string guitar (standard tuning F#,B,E,A,D,G,B,E) with 2 Seymour Duncan Blackout 8 active pickups. Before using Ibanez guitars, his main instrument was a black custom shopESPM 6-string guitar with a single EMG 81 in the bridge, detuned toB tuning.This can be seen in the video for the song "Replica". His first known Ibanez 7-string was anIbanez UniverseUV7SBK "Silver Dot", with a modified pickguard to fit a single passive pickup and a volume knob. He was also known to have an Ibanez Universe UV777BK with similar modifications, except with an EMG 7-string prototype instead of a passive pickup.

In January 2015, Ibanez announced a signature model for Dino Cazares, the DCM100. It is based on the Ibanez RGD platform, including the 26.5in scale, but features a mahogany body, maple neck with bubinga strip, offset dot inlays, Lo-Pro Edge tremolo, and a single Seymour Duncan Retribution pickup. This guitar makes Cazares one of only 4 Ibanez signature artists to have a signature 7-string guitar.

In February 2020, Cazares revealed that due to the legal lawsuits that were happening in Fear Factory at the time, he was forced to leave his endorsement with Ibanez after being with the company for 22 years.He announced a new partnership with Ormsby Guitars, a company based inPerth,Australia, as well as a line of signature models; two of these being revealed at the 2019 WinterNAMM Show.

In the early days, his guitar tone derived from a modified Marshall JCM800 head with scooped mids and high treble settings to produce the thrashy, chugging tone that has been so influential to the metal genre. After it was stolen, he switched to the Line 6 POD Pro with aMesa/Boogietube power amp. This setup was used to recordDigimortal.Cazares later endorsed theLine 6Vetta II HD, as well as aPODX3 Pro processor into aMesa/Boogietube power amp and Mesa/Boogie oversized Rectifier 4x12 cabinets. When playing live, Cazares mostly uses the speaker cabinets formonitoring,or does not use them at all, since his signal is also run into the venue'sPA.In 2011, Cazares replaced the POD X3 Pro for the POD HD Pro. He also replaced his Mesa/Boogie tube power amp for a Matrix GT800FX 800W solid state power amp, and his Mesa/Boogie Rectifier 4x12 for a custom cabinet built by David Laboga. Sometime in 2012 or 2013, Cazares eventually switched from Line6 to Fractal Audio, making use of their Axe-FX II. This was short lived, as he would soon switch to using a Kemper Profiling Amp, an amplifier that could "profile" other guitar amps, allowing him to get a tone similar to previous albums.

With Divine Heresy, he used an old Marshall Valvestate VS100 head, Marshall JCM800, and aPeavey 5150head boosted with anIbanez TS-9.

In 2007, Cazares switched fromEMGactive pickups toSeymour DuncanAHB-1 Blackout active pickups, which he helped design with Duncan. In 2014, Seymour Duncan announced the Blackout Retribution pickups, which are a signature set of pickups designed with less output and more treble than a standard Blackout set.

Guitar rig and signal flow

A detailed gear diagram of Dino Cazares' 2001 Fear Factory guitar rig is well-documented.

Discography

Nailbomb

• Point Blank(1994)

Asesino

• Corridos de Muerte(2002)
• Cristo Satanico(2006)

Fear Factory

Studio albums

• Soul of a New Machine(1992)
• Demanufacture(1995)
• Obsolete(1998)
• Digimortal(2001)
• Mechanize(2010)
• The Industrialist(2012)
• Genexus(2015)
• Aggression Continuum(2021)

EP

• Fear Is the Mindkiller(1993)

Demo

• Concrete(2002)

Compilations

• Hatefiles(2003)
• The Best of Fear Factory(2006)

Brujeria

Studio albums

• Matando Güeros(1993)
• Raza Odiada(1995)
• Brujerizmo(2000)

EPs

• ¡Demoniaco! (1990)
• ¡Machetazos! (1992)
• El Patrón (1994)
• Marijuana(2000)

Divine Heresy

• Bleed the Fifth(2007)
• Bringer of Plagues(2009)

Die Klute

• Planet Fear(2019)

Roadrunner United

• Roadrunner United(2005)

Atari Teenage Riot

• 60 Second Wipe Out(1999)

Strife

• In This Defiance(1997)

Junkie XL

• Saturday Teenage Kick(1997)
• Big Sounds of the Drags(1999)

Soulfly

• Soulfly(1998)

Cypress Hill

• Skull & Bones(2000)

External links

• Media related toDino Cazaresat Wikimedia Commons