Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week the top spot goes to Mutoid Man’s “Call of the Void.”
One of the more pleasant surprises of the past week was the return of post-hardcore/stoner metal supergroup Mutoid Man. Following a six-year hiatus after 2017’s War Moans, the band announced a new album and bassist — High on Fire’s Jeff Matz — rounding out a stacked power-trio lineup including Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky on guitar/vocals and Converge drummer Ben Koller.
Given each member’s commitments to their respective full-time projects, it’s a wonder that a band like Mutoid Man can even exist at all. That said, Cave In, Converge, and High on Fire are all relatively serious acts. One gets the sense that Mutoid Man serves an artistic breather — a chance to let loose and have fun, indulging over-the-top stoner metal tropes and dialing up extreme guitar theatrics, as heard on their comeback track “Call of the Void.” The playful nature of the song is driven home by an equally charming video directed by the Two Minutes to Midnight crew that sees the band in robot form.
Honorable Mentions:
Lucifer – “A Coffin Has No Silver Lining (The Sistine Version)”
Euro doom metallers Lucifer inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records last year, with the single “A Coffin Has No Silver Lining (The Sistine Version)” marking their first new music since signing to the major metal label. The bigger label implies that a band like Lucifer might make concessions for a larger audience and settle for something formulaic, but the band toe this artistic threshold with class. Sure, this song’s catchy AOR-esque hooks are meant to please, but they work so well with the barrage of trad-doom riffs, fans of tamer ’70s hard rock as well as Lucifer’s previous occult-tinged offerings will be satisfied.
Static Dress – “Courtney, just relax”
UK post-hardcore act Static Dress emerged as a breakout success with their 2022 album Rouge Carpet Disaster. So much so that Roadrunner Records — home to thriving hardcore-adjacent acts like Turnstile — signed the band and are reissuing the aforementioned LP with an expanded tracklist. An updated version of “Courtney, just relax” featuring hardcore act World of Pleasure is one of the inclusions and is a strong example of Static Dress’ ability to create atmospheric soundscapes out of many moving parts, such as the layered vocal arrangement and the twists and turns of the guitar phrases.
Corey Taylor – “Beyond”
Corey Taylor has talked a big game leading up to the release of his second solo album, CMF2, and lead single “Beyond” shoots out of the gate with feel-good summer hit. Don’t go looking for Slipknot: The song is a hard rocker with big power chords and power-pop hooks — a style that suits Taylor’s vocals quite well.