interview from the aquarian:

Identity crises are no longer just a teenage right of passage or diagnosis for lack of a sense of self. Similar symptoms of confusion and maybe even awkwardness have spilled over into the hard rock community. Bubbling over with acts encouraged by the acceptance of Korn, Slipknot and Limp Bizkit, garage bands are coming out in droves. There seems to be a new kid arriving at the Ramones' Rock & Roll High School.

So how do you pick your friends out of countless, nameless strangers? Well, sometimes the new kids come up and introduce themselves. Factory 81 are those new kids, and they have reinvented themselves from a Seattle-influenced beginning to the more vogue creation by which they now identify themselves at roll call.

Moods and changes personalize the band's Mankind CD. Still maintaining a whisper and occasional shout of grunge elements, Mankind is predominantly colored by Nate Wallace's vocals following the same suit of ethereal moans to ear-bleeding screams.

Though there's a load of groups with numbers in their names, this Factory differentiates itself from the pack by constructing maze-like basslines fortified by eager guitars. Just as interestingly, despite the current drought of well-written and poetic lyrics, reading the inside cover of Mankind actually offers something insightful worth pondering instead of elementary cheerleading chants.

Though Deftones comparisons abounded at a recent New York City performance by the Detroit four-piece, further inspection of their Mojo Records debut draws sharp dissimilarities between Factory 81 and Chino Moreno's crew. The reason for the comparison could stem from their intriguing blend of ambience with harsh, serrated riffs.

However, as bass player Kevin Lewis explains it, the remastered disc is a reflection of their life span thus far-hearkening all the way back to their roots. In summation their identity seems pretty well rounded, chaotic, exploitative, and even hopeful at times, just like mankind itself.

AW: Were you more of an alternative group before becoming the Factory 81 of today?

Kevin Lewis: Well, a long time ago. Our guitar player [Bill Schultz] and I have been playing together for nine years. Before we were jamming, doing the grunge rock kind of Alice In Chains/Tool mix thing, developing our sound. Then we tried out singers for eight months to become what we are now. So yeah, we were doing more in the alternative or grunge type stuff. It's strange because we had a bunch of songs as we were trying out singers, and we kept writing and writing, so we still have a bunch of songs that we we did in our basement on a four track. And you could see the progression of Factory 81 becoming what it is today. The four of us, as we are now, have been playing together for about three-and-half years. But Bill and I have been playing together for nine years.

AW: How is the touring experience going for you?

Kevin Lewis:Awesome, this is the best tour. I'm having the best time in life. We've been out since August, and this is something we've always dreamt about and did everything in our power to possibly get to, and it finally worked out. And all the bands that we've played with have just been super cool. It's a dream come true. We've done shows with Mudvayne, Nothingface, Amen, Hatebreed, Relative Ash and One Minute Silence. And the current tour that we are on is us Mudvayne and Kittie. This tour is by far the coolest tour we've ever done.

AW: How have people responded to you in particular on this bill with the more straight-on heaviness of the other two bands?

Kevin Lewis:Oh really good. We have done almost every tour with Mudvayne, and they are really technical-more on the metal tip. And the crowd is totally violent, very responsive. But I think this Kittie tour is more in the same league that we are in because it's more of a groove-oriented crowd. It's a crowd that's more up for straight up groove-core, and they have been responding like crazy. It seems weird because the more we go out on the road, the more conditioned we become. We put on a better show obviously, and then the crowds build and build and build.

AW: How do you feel you distinguish yourselves?

Kevin Lewis:That's always a tough question. Of course your first album includes all your influences. You have your whole life to write your first album. I think the second album will show more of a straight-up Factory 81 sound rather than being heavily influenced by our surroundings. I think we are trying to do something that hopefully hasn't been done yet-or at least hasn't been run into the ground. There's a lot of generic crap coming out that's hitting the radio. Hopefully, we are going to stay away from that. The quicker you rise, the quicker you fall.

-Cathy A. Campagna

www.theaquarian.com