Old Man Gloom
[youtube]https://youtu.be/tXFdZx5SJD8?t=4m30s[/youtube]Old Man Gloom is easily one of the zaniest and longest running groups on this fair list. The simian obsessed riff mongers may not be the most prolific outfit, but whenever they do convene to play shows or better yet, record new material, you’d better believe it’s going to be some of the heaviest and weirdest tunes you’ve ever heard. While they may enjoy trolling journalists and flooding their Facebook feed with photos of apes flipping the bird, when it comes to cranking out haunting, sludgey, post-metal bashers, the lads in Old Man Gloom are dead serious. Besides, anytime you can hear Nate Newton [Converge, Doomriders], Caleb Scofield [Cave In] and Aaron Turner [Mammifer, ex-Isis] all screaming on the same project, that’s reason enough to celebrate.
Mutoid Man
[youtube]https://youtu.be/kTdd4lg2Tq0[/youtube]Stephen Brodsky, Cave In mastermind and ex-Converge rumbler, reunited with Ben Koller, of Converge fame and ex-Cave In drum basher, to form the rockin’est punk metal hybrid…pretty much ever. Mutoid Man allows Brodsky to explore his knack for killer hooks and affords Koller yet another opportunity to completely spazz out behind the kit. Monster riffs give way to pure psychedelia, Brodsky’s soaring voice lures you in like one of Cave In’s sweeter moments, before Koller launches into a mind boggling fill that damn near warps time and space. Bassist Nick Cageao lays the funk down between the two cosmic Cave In, Converge forces at play, resulting in the sweet ass turbine of noise that is Mutoid Man.
Spylacopa
[youtube]https://youtu.be/a_e2HVa_PJ8[/youtube]Candiria guitarist John LaMacchia started Spylacopa as an outlet for all his weird musical impulses not suited for his main band. After several years and a string of musical collaborations with some high profile guest stars, Spylacopa has become a beast of a band itself. With LaMacchia at the helm, the Spylacopa team has grown to include Jeff Caxide [Palms, ex-Isis], the post metal scream queen herself, Julie Christmas [ex-Made Out of Babies, ex-Battle of Mice], and at one point featured The Dillinger Escape Plan’s frontman Greg Puciato as well. The tragic death of the band’s longtime drummer Troy Young back in late 2009 resulted in a somber hiatus period for the band. Now LaMacchia and crew have resurfaced with a killer new full length album, Parallels, ready to rock and honor their fallen friend’s memory.
