** The postponed Mutoid Man show originally scheduled for November 13th, 2023 at Space Ballroom has been RESCHEDULED to March 1st, 2024. All existing tickets for the original date will be valid for the new date. If you cannot make the new date and would like a refund, please send an email to customersupport@manicpresents.com with your full name and order number no later than February 7th, 2024, and a refund will be issued at point of purchase. **

General Admission Standing Room Only

MUTOID MAN

When Mutoid Man came crashing out of the gate back in 2013, the Brooklyn trio’s combination of basement punk’s zero-fucks-given energy, classic metal’s over-the-top showmanship, and prog rock’s musical gymnastics had a seemingly unstoppable momentum. Riding on the success of their debut EP Helium Head (2013), the band took on a manic work ethic over the next four years, cranking out two full-lengths, Bleeder (2015) and War Moans (2017), touring relentlessly across the US and Europe, and becoming something of a de facto house band for esteemed New York metal venue Saint Vitus along the way. With tour dates supporting acts like Mastodon and Danzig, it appeared that Mutoid Man’s entry into the upper echelon of heavy metal heroes was inevitable. However, life has a way of complicating things, and between line-up changes, an exodus from Brooklyn, a slew of other musical projects, and, ya know, a pandemic, the band was put on hold in the midst of their ascendancy. But after a six-year recording hiatus, Mutoid Man are back to reclaim their throne with their third full-length album and most mindboggling effort yet, Mutants.

Guitarist/vocalist Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Old Man Gloom) and drummer Ben Koller (Converge, Killer Be Killed) have always excelled at crafting their own unique brand of frenzied, hyper-focused, dynamic, and deliciously excessive fretboard-savvy metal. Take two players who were raised in the hardcore world and who quickly surpassed the technical requirements for playing even the more sophisticated spins on that sound, and then make them playfully push each other into more outrageous and catchy territories, and you have a rough approximation of the Mutoid Man sound. But with new bassist Jeff Matz (High on Fire, Zeke) in tow, you now have a trifecta of prog-level players approaching metal with punk irreverence on Mutants. Take the opening track “Call of the Void.” Across its four-minute run time, you get a tightly harnessed bonanza of dexterous pinch harmonic riffs, deliciously lizard-brained half-time chugs, and a call-to-arms chorus with a relentless double-kick beat that would make Judas Priest jealous. Every faded denim jacket will crave a Mutoid Man patch after hearing the pairing of hot licks and ferocious breakdowns on “Broken Glass Ceiling.” One spin of “Graveyard Love” and you’re sure to understand why guitar virtuoso Marty Friedman counts himself as a fan of the band. But Mutants never comes across as academic noodling. Rather, the whole album radiates an exuberant and adrenalized joy. At its core, a tune like “Siren Song” is a straight-up rock n’ roll jam, peppered by triumphant bass and guitar runs, bottom-heavy tones, and Brodsky’s ability to craft a solid vocal hook over his bandmate’s heroic shredding. While other aspiring metal maestros are trying to woo you with soulless sweeping arpeggios, Mutoid Man cranks out unabashed bangers like “Unborn” that prioritize swampy sludge riffs and butterfly-wristed thrash chugs over YouTube tutorial-taught dazzle. Their fusion of road warrior flash and troglodyte revelry is perhaps best exemplified on Mutants closer “Setting Sun,” a banger that sounds like an Iron Maiden anthem played at double speed with Melvins’ low-tuned meaty tones.

Despite the setbacks of the pandemic, the new obstacle of members living in different cities, and making room for the schedules of Cave In, Converge, and High on Fire, Mutants sounds like it’s still operating on the endorphin rush of their early years. “I think the strength of our new material and the unwavering excitement for its potential kept us going,” Brodsky says when asked about their hiatus. “We knew there was a great album in the vault, even if it meant letting the ingredients marinate for a little longer.” That pent up excitement was finally captured in January and February of 2022 by engineer/producer Kurt Ballou at God City Studios. And now Mutants will be available to the world on July 28th, 2023 courtesy of Sargent House Records.

Links: Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify

MOTHER IRON HORSE

Links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify