The term “supergroup” is something that can get banded around half-heartedly in this day and age, just because a band is made up of members of other bands. When superlatives like that are used, it also means that the bands work doesn’t always get to shine as a separate entity to its creators day jobs in some cases, unless of course the end result is something truly special. Thankfully for Mutoid Man there was never any worry that their debut full length ‘Bleeder’ would be anything other than mesmerising.
Mutoid Man is the brainchild of Steve Brodsky of Cave In and Ben Koller of Converge, and are joined by Neil Cageao on bass and ‘Bleeder’ serves a purpose of completely melting your brain and frying your senses. Their pedigree was always going to earn them various tags, and given that Cave In and Converge have consistently put out game changing albums it’s hardly surprising why, but if anything ‘Bleeder’ just accentuates the wealth of talent that these musicians posses.
Straight off the bat, ‘Bridgeburner’ gallops along with the swagger of the classic NWOBHM sound, but breaks into bizarre time signature freak-outs that are impossible to decipher. Even when things start out a little simplified on ‘Reptillian Soul’, it unfolds into a different time change as if the musicians had a “no 4/4 time” rule. Vocally, Brodsky is absolutely on point; dragging out syllables and the end of vocal lines, before hitting a higher register without ever sounding shrill. He has always had a staggering range, and even on the prog-metal jam of ‘1000 Mile’ stare, he airs his harsher and more visceral tones which garnered him much acclaim during Cave In’s earlier work, and it is still as intense as ever. Of course Ben Koller is Ben Koller, and his ability to bring a drum kit to life, rather than fade into a time keeping rhythm section knows no bounds.
The aptly titled ‘Beast’ does exactly what it says on the tin, with a dirty, low-end bass heavy intro from Cageao, through to a chaotic middle section, which will leave you picking up your jaw off the floor, and wondering exactly how they managed to put together such a frenetic, yet controlled composition. The danger in any record like this, is that it could be seen as self-indulgent, and perhaps there are parts on ‘Soft Spot In My Skull’ which maybe seem a little over the top. But if we were being completely honest, if everyone was as accomplished as these musicians, you would show it off too wouldn’t you? The way Mutoid Man have got around such things is by keeping the songs short and sweet, with an average length of 3 minutes, so they rein things in before anyone can accuse them of disappearing into their own backsides. Brodsky has no bones about showing his love for Led Zeppelin on the closing title-track, where he plays like Jimmy Page and wails like Robert Plant rolled into one, ending the album in sublime fashion.
Mutoid Man started out as a jam band between Brodsky and Koller, and that has transposed onto ‘Bleeder’. It carry’s the vibe of old rock and metal bands just getting together and seeing what comes out, it just happens to be that the musicians jamming think outside the box for every section. While ‘Bleeder’ won’t be the easiest album to get your head around this year, Mutoid Man have made sure it stands out in the respective musicians catalogues as a mind-bending trip.
GLEN BUSHELL