Factory 81

Fiery conviction.  Justified rebellion.  Protest with soul.  These concepts amply describe the sounds of Factory 81.  Best described as a refined hybrid of Slipknot and Rage Against The Machine, Factory 81 combines violently convicted philosophies with blood curdling screams and aching melodies.  The four-piece band out of Detroit, Michigan was recently asked to contribute a track of their choice to the compilation “Take A Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute To Rap.”  The cover they chose to perform?  Cypress Hill’s “Insane In the Membrane”.  Why?  Andy Cyrulnik, drummer of Factory 81, believes Cypress Hill closely resembles the sound of his own group.  That and he’s a long time fan.

On Factory 81’s full-length debut CD entitled “Mankind”, vocalist Nate Wallace states in the insert, “Not all the lyrics are submitted.  I decided to leave it open for interpretation”.  The inside cover contains a fantastic combination of thought provoking poetry, essays and lyrics of action.  The words written under the track “Peace Officer” tell a personal story of injustice and police brutality.  The story concludes, “This song is dedicated to all police & all the power tripping pigs.  How can I be free?  Slap the cuffs on me, I’m just a freak”.  Another powerful track entitled “Rotten Strawberries” has an accompanying tale of a man that died as he rescues a girl about to be hit by a speeding car.  “Hating himself as he thought others did, he did all within his simple mind & power to earn their love or at least a smile.  He died never knowing either one.”  Through passionate words such as these, Factory 81 encourages fans to question their experiences, realize their beliefs and remain aware.

Their profound words alone make Factory 81 a band deserving of high recognition and merit.  What lies behind this furious and intriguing band?  Bill Schultz, guitarist of the band, recently took some time out from the hectic touring schedule to answer a few questions about the band. 

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Evanescence

As the constrictive walls between orchestrated classical music and modern metal have been hazily blurring, few have stepped through the sea of fog to challenge the listeners yearning ear. In dictionary terms, Evanescence is the act or state of vanishing away; the disappearance of vapor(s), of a dream, or of earthly plants or hopes. The solid reality, however, is a group concluding their second world tour in support of their quadruple-platinum album “Fallen”.

Frontwoman Amy Lee spoke with Maximum Ink from a bar in Tokyo about the recent lineup change, their worldwide notoriety, and Ludwig Van Beethoven.

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Judas Priest

In 1969, while hippies pranced about the farm fields of Woodstock, New York with flowers in their hair, Birmingham, England was giving birth to a monstrous new musical genre that came to be known as heavy metal. A group called Black Sabbath released its first album that year, and while others both in the United States and England were flirting with the heavier side of rock ‘n’ roll, it was that band that nailed metal squarely between the eyes.

Five years later, Birmingham’s fertile musical loins produced another heavy metal monster, one that came to rise just as high as the first, and perhaps, at times, was even more nimble. The vocals soared over others, the songs galloped faster, and two lead guitarists were used rather than one. That band was Judas Priest.

Amazingly, both Birmingham groups have reformed after varying hiatuses and are touring together this summer with Ozzfest, still playing the aggressive, distortion-heavy songs they wrote decades ago in front of fanatical, sellout crowds around the world. Recently, Rob Halford, the outspoken lead singer of Judas Priest, was kind enough to talk with Maximum Ink about his recently reunited band as well as the resulting tour and musical releases.

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Korn - 2006

In an era where nameless, faceless and meaningless have become standards, Korn have transcended hard rock and heavy metal banality with a sound and vision that defies categorization. They bubbled from the Bakersfield, CA, heavy metal underground more than a decade ago, emerged as a hard rock phenomenon with the breakthrough success of Follow The Leader in 1997, and have exceeded any and every conceivable expectation since then. It may seem premature to consider Korn legends in only their second decade as a band, but not when you acknowledge the facts.

Impressed by numbers? Korn have released seven albums, surpassed the 25 million mark in worldwide sales (more than 15 million of those in America alone), and have had every album since their self-titled debut enter the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart in the Top 10, with all seven of their studio albums achieving Platinum sales (their 2004 Greatest Hits release is certified Gold). The numbers don’t lie, but they don’t even begin to tell the story of Korn, who not only redefined heavy metal with the diabolic, cutting-edge histrionics of their 1994 debut, but turned the industry on end in the years that followed, having a profound influence on today’s heavy music scene and making a marked impact on the way metal has reemerged as a sonic force on the pop-driven musical mainstream.

In one fleeting decade, Korn have single-handedly changed the way America views heavy music. Now, with the release of See You On The Other Side, they’ve opened the doors to even more disarray, taking their trademarked sound to the next level. It’s what they’ve always done, but to even more astonishing depths.

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Lacuna Coil

I picked up on Lacuna Coil with their first self titled Century Media EP release. It introduced the sound that would be the guiding light of their musical career thus far. Lush, soothing gothic metal, with interesting riffs, keyboards and amazing vocal harmonies. In fact, an interesting point about Lacuna Coil is that they have two dedicated vocalists, Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia. Their vocal harmonies and interplay are what set the band apart from the pack. Andrea occasionally sings in a lower, gruff - yet powerful - style in addition to his clean complimentary harmonies. Cristina leads, prods, fluffs and adds dimension to each song and vocal extremity.

Back in 1997 when these talented Italians made their debut, few folks in the US were listening to this style of music. Most people were still caught up in the repulsive remnants of the ultra trendy and overdone “Seattle Sound” or feeding the pop punk explosion. The US market simply wasn’t ready. Various other bands came onto the international scene. Nightwish, My Dying Bride, The Gathering, Therion, Tristania, and Theatre of Tragedy were becoming recognized names in the growing gothic metal realm. Lacuna Coil was right there with them.

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Last Crack

It started just like any other local hard-rock band. A couple of guys from an unheard-of band hooked up with some other guys in another unheard-of band through a billboard at a local music store. They had a practice space, a PA, a following (well, plenty of friends), two guitar wiz’s, a dynamite rhythm section… what they needed was a singer. So back to the billboard they went, in search of a vocalist that could compliment their intricate rhythms, blend with their mysterious melodies and cut in through the intense guitar solos of a metal band.

And there it was, a poster for an available singer. It was Buddo, of the Snotrockets. They ripped all of the tags from the poster and went home to call him. It was the summer of 1987.

Buddo showed up to the storage facility in McFarland that was the band’s rehearsal space. “I’m Paul” proclaims guitarist Paul Schluter. “ahh… Pablo” replied Buddo. “I’m Todd,” says bassist Todd Winger. “Toddereno,” remarked Buddo. “Phil ,” mutters original drummer Phil Buerstatte. “Philo,” again replied Buddo. Somehow, guitarist Don Bakken remained “Don,” but together they would become Last Crack.

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48 Hours in Iceland with Last Crack

March 30 1800 Central Standard Time: Last Crack and crew await boarding an Icelandair 757 at Minneapolis International Airport. To settle nerves some of the boys have taken to the bar and shot glass. Happy flights, next stop Iceland!

0630 Atlantic Standard Time: That’s midnight for us Wisconsinites. Our day starts waking up at Iceland’s Keflavik airport in need of transportation for our crew of nine plus gear to Reykjavik, Iceland’s capitol forty-nine kilometers to the west. Reykjavik is about the size of Madison and harbors two thirds of the island nation’s population.

An attempt was made to find the difference in cost between the bus and a rental car at the Hertz window when along comes a cab driver with an idea. Olafsson, the world’s only Porsche taxi driver, tells us he’s going to Reykjavik anyway so he’ll give us a good deal. He also suggested we rent a one-way car for the rest of the gear and guys and just drop off the car in the city. Brilliant idea! He saved us some money right off the bat.

0800 AST: After an intense drive past kilometer after kilometer of moss covered lava, mountains and volcanoes, Olafsson drops us off at the club we’re playing that night, The Grand Rokk.

Kalli, the owner, and his associate Jon (pronounced like yan but with a little yone in it) meet us and dole out cups of espresso by the dozens to the weary set of travelers, trapped in their lair. They tell us of Vikings, celtic lore and Icelandic customs, then take us to the guest rooms at the hotel Adam to meet host Ragnar and get some rest.

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