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.