Factory 81

Factory 81 were an American nu metal^[1][2] band from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Formed in 1997,^[3] the band was active until 2003.

Factory 81
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Nu metal alternative metal[1][2]
Years active	1997–2003
Labels	Jive Mojo The Orchard Medea Uptown Universal
Past members	Andy Cyrulnik Kevin Lewis Bill Schultz Nathan Wallace

Biography

The band had not initially decided on a name until Nathan Wallace wore a shirt bearing a patch which read "Factory 81", and the rest of the band thought that "it sounded good", deciding that this would be the name of their band.^[4]

Factory 81 released their only album, Mankind in 1999 on Medea Records; while it did not chart,^[5] it was reissued by The Orchard in 2000^[6] and Universal Motown Republic Group on October 3, 2000.^[6] In 2001, the album was reissued by the independent record label Mojo Records.^[6] Factory 81 also appeared on the compilation Take a Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap, contributing a cover of Cypress Hill's "Insane in the Brain".^[7] The compilation peaked at No. 195 on the Billboard 200.^[8] In November 2000, Factory 81 toured alongside Mudvayne, Kittie and Apartment 26.^[9] The band signed to Jive Records, but left the label in 2002.^[10] In 2003, bassist Kevin Lewis and drummer Andy Cyrulnik left the group, prompting Factory 81 to disband.^[11]

In 2017, Bill Schultz and Kevin Lewis started a new band, Minus Knives, along with singer Brandon Espinoza, and drummer Greg Wroblewski.

Musical style and influences

AllMusic described Factory 81's music style as a fusion of "stomp-paced metal"^[5] and "'new school' hardcore",^[5] and as mosh metal.^[12] Influences cited by the band include genres such as jazz, fusion, and world music,^[4] and the band Tool.^[4] Factory 81's sound has been compared to bands such as Deftones^[2] while vocalist Nathan Wallace's rapping has been compared to that of Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha.^[2]

Band members

• Nathan Wallace — vocals
• Bill Schultz — guitar
• Kevin Lewis — bass
• Andy Cyrulnik — drums

Discography

Studio albums

• Mankind (1999)
• Factory 81 (2019)

Demos

• Crawl Space (1997)^[13]
• Demo 1 (1998)
• Demo 2 (1998)
• Midwest (2006)

Singles

• Nanu (2000)