Reviews list for Mutoid Man - Bleeder (2015)

Mutoid Man made their unexpected entrance to the metal realm as a side-project of Cave In frontman Stephen Brodsky and Converge drummer Ben Koller. Since their 2013 EP Helium Head, they've written songs with stellar energy, colossal riffs, and lots of different styles assimilated into one. I'd like to once again thank one of my metalhead friends in the outside world for sharing a song from one of their later albums that got me interested in this band. Lots of songs are sweetened with catchy melodies and spiced up with heavy riffs, and HOLY SH*T, their diversity goes far beyond bounds!

This expanding spirit of the band is exhibited in their debut full album Bleeder for an adventurous experience, created by Brodsky, Koller, and then-bassist Nick Cageao. Even though Cageao is typically known as "that guy at Brooklyn’s St. Vitus Bar", anyone in the metalcore community knows Brodsky and Koller's proudest achievements with their respective main bands. Bleeder shows the band's hammering blend of different genres from rock, metal, and hardcore all in one place.

First track and single "Bridgeburner" starts the album with some groovy heavy/stoner metal before ending with a progressive breakdown. Another single "Reptilian Soul" launches their hardcore/hard rock/prog-metal influences forward. "Sweet Ivy" has the perfect idea of adding doses of psychedelia to the pummeling stoner progressiveness.

Covering Cave In's different eras is "1000 Mile Stare" from their ongoing progressive sound to a bit of their earlier metalcore. "Surveillance" has the progressiveness of Meshuggah without ever resorting to djenty instrumentation. As with the previous track, Brodsky's vocals range from clean to growling to even a high scream, all in a metalcore vibe. Another under two-minute track, "Beast" perfectly unites progressive metal with hardcore/speed metal as the leads and rhythms strike each other for dominance. The sharp "Dead Dreams" once again pushes forward their stoner sound while shoving in some punishing sludge metal in the breakdown.

"Soft Spot in My Skull" once again offers a combination of Megadeth-like speed metal and the progressiveness of Cave In while adding some funky jazz fusion. "Deadlock" battles it all out in stoner/progressive/thrash metal. A tight bridge lets the riffs punch through and Brodsky screams his way into complex sections. The title epic is the band's longest song at nearly 6 minutes. Brodsky's vocals and guitars, Cageao's bass, and Koller's drums unite for some bluesy stoner metal gone progressive.

It seems like Mutoid Man has proven us that the band members can perform more than just the metallic hardcore days of yore, with something heavily diverse and mature. They can control the chaos as their sound travels practically everywhere from Hendrix to Botch ("All Along the Botch Tower", lol). Nothing more unique than that!

Favorites: "Sweet Ivy", "1000 Mile Stare", "Beast", "Soft Spot in My Skull", "Bleeder"