MUTOID MAN are back, armed with a treasure trove of gnarly sounds and a newfound sense of confidence.
Words: Steven Loftin.
Mutoid Man’s third act is an exercise in grief. Certainly, ‘Mutant’’s cartoonish artwork lends itself to the band’s beginnings - a fun outlet that came at the right time for vocalist and guitarist Steve Brodsky - but beneath that, ‘Bam! Pow!’ looming giant-ant exterior lies a journey through forms of loss and out to the other side.
That’s precisely what this project has been all along for Steve. Mutoid Man initially formed in the wake of his 2011 move to New York from Boston - the same year he released ‘White Silence’, his then-last album as vocalist with his day job Cave In. After finding himself at a loss and feeling disconnected from his beloved heavy genres thanks to the disassociation in those last Cave In sessions - along with the spectre of their 2003 major label deal ultimately not panning out - Steve felt anchored in situ. “Because we didn’t have a hit record, I felt, well, maybe I’m a shit writer?” But, soon, a freak figure would be entering his proverbial screen, one that would change his life forever - the very same who would be your first boss kill on 1990s carnage-based arcade game, Smash TV.
“Mutoid Man is very much responsible for this rebirth of having a connection to writing and composing and conceptualising heavy music,” Steve attests. His period of writer’s block ended after teaming up with Converge’s Ben Koller, who offered him the use of his NY rehearsal space. The pair soon found the framework for another side project forming. It wasn’t long before Mutoid Man eventually took on a whole life of its own (that’s not to mention that between them, they have several other projects, including Ben’s Converge day job where Steve even did a brief stint).
