39 MUTOID MAN
Mutants
SARGENT HOUSE
Mutoid Man deserve all the props there are to give. For any band to harness the hallmarks of impenetrable tech metal and prog rock – endless swarms of hammer-on/pull-offs, fretboard tapping, dizzying time changes and the erasure of genre boundaries – into a collection of hooky earworms was a masterstroke to start. That this feat was accomplished by a stripped-down trio made Mutants worthy of all the accolades and repeated spins the future brings.