Mutoid Man: Age Of The Mutants

Stephen Brodsky is a busy, busy man. Every year seems to bring with it at least one record that bears his mark, the recent likes of which include two albums from OLD MAN GLOOM, CONVERGE’s Bloodmoon: I, and last year’s stellar effort from his primary band CAVE IN. Naturally 2023 is no different as he picks up where he left off in 2017 with the psychedelic progressive punk metal of MUTOID MAN, joined once again by drummer Ben Koller, who boasts a similarly stacked CV of his own, and new recruit Jeff Matz of HIGH ON FIRE to release their blistering third full-length Mutants.

“There were a lot of potential song ideas, riffs, even very early arrangements of things just sort of lurking in what we like to call the riff bank,” offers Brodsky on what made now the right time for MUTOID MAN to take priority in its members’ crammed schedules. “It’s essentially just a Dropbox folder full of all kinds of stuff from me scatting into my iPhone the pattern of some sort of beat or idea that I’ll later transcribe into something on the guitar, or me sipping coffee at like six in the morning in my underwear with my guitar just seeing what sort of caffeinated madness I can squeeze out of my fingers. All this stuff was just waiting for us to be in the right headspace and for the stars to align for us to really get into it.”

With the material generally chosen based on whatever sparked Koller’s excitement the most, and with Matz bringing his own unique flavour to proceedings following the amicable departure of founding bassist Nick Cageao, MUTOID MAN soon hit their stride. Sludgy, thrashy, punky and chaotic, impressively technical yet still delivered with a huge grin on its face, Mutants is everything we’ve come to expect from the band. It’s one of those scenarios where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; you may recognise the fingerprints of the individuals involved, but ultimately it stands as its own specific and compelling entity.

“I’m very proud of it,” smiles Brodsky. “I think we also took some chances sonically, it’s not a very layered record; it’s pretty raw in its approach, there’s just a single guitar track through the whole thing, and that was intentional. Leading up to this record I had done Bloodmoon and CAVE IN Heavy Pendulum, both with [producer] Kurt [Ballou], and those were two records that were very heavily layered with guitar overdubs, sonic fairydust and all that sort of thing, and I think Kurt and I were just sort of looking at each other like ‘here we are in the studio again…’ – the third one in like a year, so we were looking for ways to change things up.”

It’s clear – and perhaps unsurprising – then, that Brodsky finds a particular kind of freedom in MUTOID MAN, whether that’s in his approach to the sonic space as a lone guitarist, or the manner in which he draws influence everywhere from under the radar 90s emo and noisecore to cult classic rockers like the legendary SIR LORD BALTIMORE (particularly special in MUTOID MAN’s case seeing as they’re another power trio formed in Brooklyn).

“For me, the heart of it really lies in the fact that when the band started I was in a place where I didn’t feel super confident about writing heavy music,” elaborates Brodsky. “A lot of that had to do with the fall out from CAVE IN having been on a major label, putting out a record that essentially became a commercial failure, and generally speaking with the trajectory of the band being that it sort of led us astray from our hardcore roots to a point where I felt like trying to get back into the mode of writing heavy music would have been like crawling back to a scene with my tail between my legs. But all that changed with MUTOID MAN.”

“It had a lot to do with moving to a different city,” he continues. “Starting fresh, a new rehearsal space, a new creative endeavour with Ben and then later joined by Nick. I always keep that in mind when approaching writing stuff for MUTOID MAN; I keep that sort of spark and that birth of having a second life in the world of heavy music come to fruition.”

Perhaps that’s why Mutants, and indeed all of MUTOID MAN’s music, is so much fun; Brodsky and co. are enjoying themselves first and foremost, the seriousness of their musicianship often balanced out by a wicked sense of humour and even playfulness. “I think if you ask any musician that’s ever dabbled in adding a comedic element to what they do, there is that struggle,” admits Brodsky. “Maybe it’s not so much a struggle for some but there is a line that you have to walk. Certain people do it more gracefully than others or more successfully than others, so honestly the best thing to do is just to go out and play as well and as hard and with as much genuine passion as possible, because no one can argue with that.”

“It is no joke to watch Frank Zappa play with his band,” he adds by way of example. “The level of musicianship is actually not a joke, there’s nothing funny about that. If you laugh it’s because it’s stunning how powerful it is.” Those lucky enough to have beheld MUTOID MAN in the flesh before will be fully aware that the same is absolutely true of them, and if you’re stumbling across the band for the first time – whether that’s through the work of its members or by some other happy accident – Mutants should have you convinced in no time.

Mutants is out now via Sargent House.

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