Mutank Interview

Answers written by Stephen Reynolds (bassist, vocalist)

http://mutankthrash.bandcamp.com/

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We're a 4 piece metal clique based out of MTL, QC that plays unfuckwithable metal-speed-thrash. We started in the summer of 2013, released our first album 'M.E.C.H. Metal' in the beginning of 2014 and have big plans for the rest of this year, so keep your helmets on and your ears to the underground.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on both the album and demo?

It's kind of a mix of fun-loving party tracks with brooding frustrated rawness which is accentuated with the simple and timeless attitude of not giving a single fuck. It is at once boisterous and loathsome... and fast!

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

We talk about time-travel paradoxes, viking rituals, globalization, children on drugs, mall massacres, evil robots wizard horses, suicide, failed relationships, people who claim to have "grown out of metal", rape, the disenfranchised youth, bands that suck, moshing dinosaurs, the apocalypse and among other things, MUTANK! 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'MUTANK'?

MUTANK is a portmanteau of the words "mutant" and "tank". There is no deeper meaning; it simply came out of a pile of names and just stuck. Perhaps the fact that I came up with it while taking a triumphant dump is some indication of inspiration. 

As an aside: MUTANK is always spelled in ALL-CAPS! If you spell it 'Mutank', or 'mutank' you're doing it wrong! 

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Our first show is an easy one for obvious reasons, we got to play with American thrashers Lich King along with local thrash bands Chemical Way and Powered by Death who we became very good friends with. 

One place we always love playing is "Barfly" in MTL.  It's this little hole-in-the-wall dive bar that totally suits our vibe. At one of these shows we had a huge pit going, and in the middle of the song this girl parts the pit like Moses did the Red Sea and poured a full pint of beer over her noggin. She then commenced to smash the pint glass on the ground and the moshing recommenced. It was beautiful. 

In terms of our performance style, we work our asses off to make sure we play as tight as possible and play as a unit. We also make sure to keep it energetic and fun with a lot of movement and infinite headbanging (this part comes easily as we really love the music we play). There's also an element of of stand-up comedy between songs to keep the good vibes rollin'.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

We have a lot of shows coming up in Montreal in the near future (we're competing in the Wacken Metal Battle for a chance to play Wacken, for example) and we have some plans to branch out to the surrounding areas (Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto etc.). A full-on tour is an inevitability but there are no solid plans as of yet. We really wanna make our way across Canada and down to the US at some point, and SOON!

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

It's definitely something we've discussed as a band. If the right thing comes along we'll do it but we aren't dead-set on selling our souls and the rights to our music just to have our name in lights. We've sent off a few demos to our ideal choices but have had no response as of right now. 

The ultimate goal here is to do MUTANK full time, if some phat-cat record execs wanna help us facilitate that, I say bring it on!

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of both crossover and thrash?

It's been overwhelmingly positive, albeit small. We're still working on building our fan-base. I won't feel like we've made it til we start getting gaggles of ugly dweebs telling us how much we suck.  

I had a 14 year old kid from India email me the other day to praise MUTANK and complain about how his friends listen to shitty metal. That definitely felt very cool. 

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

Our lead guitarist Lee is also in a brutal death metal band called Crosstitution. They've got a new album on the way sometime this year and are definitely worth checking out for any of you death metal fans out there.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I think it's safe to say we'll always be some variation of thrash metal. Other than that it's hard to say. We're in the process of writing new material right now and it's definitely a step up from our first album complexity wise. Every person in the band contributes to the writing process (our drummer even writes some of the riffs) and we all have differing styles so I'm genuinely excited to find out the answer to this question myself. Expect the unexpected. 

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

It would probably take way too much time and space to answer this question fully, especially for all members of the band. For me Megadeth is what got me playing music in the first place when I was 11 and I still listen to them constantly. My personal influences vary greatly across metal, hip-hop, jazz, punk which have all informed my writing in some way. 

Nowadays I listen to everything from Suicidal Tendencies to Busta Rhymes, Mr. Bungle to Darkthrone, Body Count to Brand X etc. 

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I like to draw. Me and my girlfriend do all the artwork for the band. I'm also an avid gamer whether it be tabletop or console. 

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Our album 'M.E.C.H. Metal' is now free to download on Bandcamp, or you can order it on tape if you're really cool, check us out on Youtube, we're always posting new stuff and be sure to validate our existence by liking us on Facebook so we can spam your feed with self-praise. MUTANK OUT!