mankind review from the music tank:

Factory 81 is nothing less than the most original hardcore/metal band I've heard from this year. While they do the good old hardcore guitar riffs accompanied with yells of various tonality, they really do have that "something more" which makes the difference. Factory 81 was able to bring in Arabic and Celtic sounds in their music… a bit like the Tea Party, only instead of implanting that sound in rock, they mix it up with some heavy music.

The first thing that stroke me as a listener when hearing "Mankind", the band's debut album, was Nate Wallace's vocals. They are questionably good… Let me explain : He sings very well, always sitting on the border line of an off-note. He controls his voice in such an original and different manner that I'm sure many people won't like it. This is definitely a "You have to like it at the first hearing or you'll never like it" situation. I liked it, and this unheard voice is enough to set Factory 81 apart from the rest. The yell/sing ratio is balanced and not tiring.

That's not all though. The lyrics on the album are also very good. Exploiting many subjects, not only turning around pain, suffering and so forth. The band even tried their luck at making what seems like an anti-police song called "Peace Officer" which actually turned out to be good, unlike other bands who tried.

The music is powerful and I found the guitar riffs interesting enough. They did not blow me away however. The important thing in Factory 81 is you don't only really hear the guitar, the drum, bass or voice. They managed to do strong balanced songs, and not only an excuse for heavy guitar riffs and yells.

The general feel on the album seems better than what I'm used to hear from these kinds of bands as it ranges from one extreme to another. Again, this is a varied band, they don't stick to their little hardcore word and turn in circles forever.

There are some goodies on "Mankind ", namely a Rhys Fulber (Fear Factory, Machine Head) remix of "Peace Officer" and a hidden song… which is located at the 81rst track. The album is also an enhanced cd, but I was too lazy to install the proper software. You'll have to excuse this.

In the end, I find Factory 81 is a very promising band who is definitely worth your time and money. If you pass the voice test, you're in for some good music. If you don't like the voice, then screw you!

-Fake

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