Mutank – Pre Fest Interview Wacken 2014

Mutank are the Canadian winners of this years Wacken Metal Battle. They play at Wacken along with all the other Metal Battle winners from all over the world to compete for the Over All Metal Battle Champion!

Mutank Wacken Metal Battle 2014Can you give the readers a quick introduction to the band?

We are MUTANK, a gaggle of thrashtronauts hailing from Montreal, QC. In reverse alphabetical order we are:
Steven “Steve-in” Breen, Rhythm Guitarer & Ambassador to the Massacre
Stephen “Steve-out” Reynolds – Lead Bass and Vocals & Emperor of Short Temper
Lee Whiskey Lead Guitarer & President of Inelegance
Ahmed “On-meds” Saad – Drummist & The Insultan

How would you describe your sound?

It’s party mu-sick for the post-apocalypse. It sounds like getting kicked in the balls by a professional soccer player but you’re too drunk to feel it… except faster.

How would you describe the metal music scene in your country? What has changed over the last few years.

The metal scene in Canada is amazing and getting amazinger. It’s hard for me to speak to the larger metal scene here and how it’s changed over the past few years as I’ve only recently moved to a large metropolitan area where this type of music really thrives but I can tell you there is a hunger for classic metal with real soul emerging from the underground. In particular here in Montreal we are seeing a lot of great new thrash bands emerge (Warsenal, Venomenon, Chemical Way, Powered by Death, Canceric etc.) which is truly inspiring to see. All that being said, you really get a mix bag of all types of metal, everything is embraced and respected.

Why did you enter the WOA Metal Battle Competition?

We just like to play shows, we never expected to get this far. We also knew it would be great exposure and being a fairly new band you have to take what you can get. Whatever the motivation was, I’m pretty happy with the decision.

What was your initial reaction when you found out that you have won & you were playing at Wacken?

I was jumping for joy, accosting any vague human figure within hugging distance but inside I felt calm, it felt right. I knew that this was big news for us and that we were in for a bigger challenge than we’ve ever faced and I recognized that so I felt the need to stay focused and not let it go to my head. There is a certain pressure we feel with Canada having won last year, we desperately want to bring that title home for the second time in a row to let the world know that Canadian metal is a forced to be reckoned with.

What was the best and worst part of the competition for you.

The best is the actual playing, getting out in front of a diverse who are mostly comprised of people that have never heard of us before and destroying their goddamn faces off with our terrifyingly metal sounds attack. Consequently, the worst aspect is how short of a time we get to play. Our set in Wacken is only 20 minutes, which is understandable with the amount of bands competing but we would love to stay on that stage, take a breath, look at the thousands of people and have a beer with them before converting them into MUTARDS.

Would you recommend the competition to other bands. Any hints/tips for bands that are looking to enter!

I would recommend it to newer bands for sure, you’ve got nothing to lose. I feel like there is more at risk for an established band so enter at your own discretion.

As for hints/tips, make sure your set flows well, have your songs go into each other without having to pause every time. If you’re deciding between songs, use contrasting pieces to show your song writing abilities. Don’t take yourselves too seriously (that’s a tip for all metal bands). Play to your audience, that includes the judges. Most important of all, figure out a way to stand out and stick in peoples minds, even if you don’t win, the audience will remember you.

What can the audience expect from you at the festival.

They can expect a powerful showing of thrash, probably some poorly spoken German phrases, the first 5 rows will get drenched in beer and they can expect to walk away with a new favorite band.

Wacken 2014 Metal BattleWhat has been the bands biggest achievement so far?

It’s probably been winning the Canadian finals for this competition. We are a fairly new band (less than a year old) and we have done a lot in that short time (released an album independently, released a video independently, headlined a festival just to name a few things) but this has propelled us to a new level and given us the confidence we need to really go further than we ever thought we would. Although this is our biggest achievement so far, it will not be by the end of our run, you can expect big things from MUTANK!

Have you ever been to Wacken before? If so when and what did you enjoy most about it.

I’ve never even been to Europe! I’m hella excited to see some of my favorite bands, camp out with a ton of metal heads, meat new people and take in the culture!

What is your opinion of the Wacken line-up.

I think it’s pretty awesome, I heard MUTANK were playing! In all seriousness, some of my favorite bands of all time are playing. If it weren’t for Megadeth, MUTANK would never exist! Of course there are a lot of bands playing that I would affectionately title “crap” but who knows what I’ll think when I see some of them live.

Can you sum up Wacken in one sentence?

The heavy metal Mecca.

Any message you wish to pass on to the PM readers.

TANK MU FOR READING! TOGETHER WE WILL TURN EARTH INTO “PLANET MOSH”!

AND EAT YOUR BROCCOLI!

Links:
Stream/download our debut album M.E.C.H. Metal for free: mutankthrash.bandcamp.com
Dislike: facebook.com/bonebrainsnotdemolishers
Lead: twitter.com/mutank

The Heavy Hands of The Doomsday Clock

About Sheila

Former Editor, Team Co-ordinator as well as PR, news poster, pass requester, Ex-Scottish Team Leader for PM since 2011 \m/ \m/ Also owner of the infamous Garfield L'arpie, who is a official mascot of RACPA UK. Check out RACPA UK (Rock Against Child Pornography and Abuse UK) http://www.racpauk.org/