mankind review from lprmesia:

Factory 81 is probably the best metal band to come out of Michigan since, um... I can't remember back that far. Factory 81 is an intense band who shows a strong control of their energy and can deliver it to you in huge bursts without blowing the weak out of their shoes. Never has there been a band that has such an explosive energy and such an amazing power be able to harness it and point it directly where they want. It is absolutely brilliant. Guitarist Bill Schultz shows off some riffing wizardry on this masterpiece of an album, Mankind. Nate Lewis is a very dynamical singer who's dynamics can be compared to that of Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory. He has a talented and yet very interesting singing voice that can be compared to Stephen Richards of Taproot and Matt Holt of Nothingface. His growl which is extremely explosive can be compared to Chino Moreno of the Deftones and maybe a masculine version of Morgan Lander of Kittie (I'm not calling Nate Lewis feminine or Morgan Lander masculine, I'm just stating they have similar styles, that's all). Andy Cyrulnik is one of the best traditionalist drummers to be heard, and Kevin Lewis adds a very thick bass as well as an impressive stage presence. Mankind is a superb album and deserves respect.

Nanu Talk about one hell of an opening track. 'Nanu' covers a very wide spectrum of music styles. The song starts off with a quiet guitar effect with some mild whispering by singer Nate Lewis into an explosion of power. During the verses, you can expect a power rap style similar to local talent Hearsay T.A.O. with some very powerful burst of energy every few intervals. The choruses are where Nate Lewis shows off his brilliant singing voice, and the bridge of the song is full of screaming, incredibly phat beats, and some more of his pure singing voice. It's no wonder this brilliantly written song has been played consistently on the Pure Rock 106 radio show 'Hybrid' and has even gained Airplay outside of 'Hybrid' at 3 O'Clock (no pun intended) in the morning.

Peace Officer 'Peace Officer' is a little bit slower than Nanu, and starts off with a Fred Durst-ish 'use the word fuck and advertise for your band in the same sentence approach.' Do not expect Limp Bizkit in this song. This is more like a Public Enemy song than a Limp Bizkit song. 'Peace Officer' is loaded with powerful screams and great dynamics, and Nate does a great job of saying 'Fuck You' to the cops. Very good.

14 Left This song sounds like a Fringe cut. Very good to mosh to. Very high energy. At a live show, expect some jumping up and down, and of course, some pretty brutal moshing.

Rotten Strawberries This song is by far the weirdest song on the album. Very strange, but very fun to listen to. It has a very 'trippin' feel to it. There are some well known recreational hobbies that certain people are liable to do while either listening to or having listened to this song. Some chanting occurs and there are plenty of toms and odd cymbal patters in the song in addition to trippy guitars and bass lines to give the song a very relaxing but wack'd feel.

Belligerence 'Belligerence' is a song filled with powerful screams and some weird vocal effects. The song is like a journey, it goes from one place to another without repeating what it's done. The bridge is filled with some intense rapping followed by some 'quiet time' into an all out scream of, "You're not my friend!!!" Intense!!! Look forward to the powerful hardcore rapping by Nate.

3 O'Clock Love Letter Just like many of the other songs on this album, it begins with a weird guitar intro while Nate is saying something quiet, but instead of breaking out into the hard part of the song like the rest of the songs do, it just slowly builds. Nate shows off more of his vocal talent as a singer on this track. The guitars are somewhat melodic, and intermingle very well with Nate's voice to create the perfect harmony.

Ephedrine 'Ephedrine' is probably the second best song on this album only to 'Nanu.' It has a well thought out structure as it follows almost a different path every direction it takes while still heading in the same direction. The verse has different parts to it, very powerful each time. The chorus is amazing. The chorus begins with some intense screams followed by a melodic guitar part accompanied by Nate's harmonious singing voice. The bridge begins with a bass line breaking into all out chaos. The bridge to this song has one of the best moshing parts to about any song one may come across. This song has a nice flow. You never expect what's coming, but it doesn't lose you. Props to Factory 81 on a well written song.

Diary Of A Serial Killer This song is similar to an old Deftones tune. It features some great stop-start dynamics. Nate uses a 'dead-rap' style which fits well to the meaning of the song. A good song to turn up loud in your car. It has some really interesting guitar parts, and the bass in this song sticks out, especially in the verses.

Cheese Wheel 'Cheese Wheel' has all the aspects of a great song. Begins with some all out balls with some hints of sampling in the background. There are some wicked guitar harmonics to some of the parts of this song. The bridge is another highlight, with some rap and heavy assed guitars, great to hit some pit bitches with.

Sludge 'Sludge' has the all of the aspects of a Tool song, which is very difficult to accomplish. This is a very good song and should not be overlooked. 'Sludge' has a tempo change in the middle of the song, and also is a showcase for Nate's wide vocal range. The drumming of Ryan Cyrulnir on this song (as well as the entire album) is absolutely fantastic.

Peace Officer (Black & Blue Mix) This remix of 'Peace Officer' is done by Rhys Fulber who does work for such famous Roadrunner artists such as Fear Factory and Machine Head. It is very easy to recognize his style in this song, and does a great job.

Closing... This is a superb album. Factory 81 has a decent following in Toledo, which should only grow to be larger and stronger. Mankind is awesome, and is a recommendation to anyone who does not own it.

-Alex Piehl

lprmesia.com