Metal trio Mutoid Man are a supergroup of sorts, comprising Stephen Brodsky from Cave In on vocals and guitar, Jeff Matz from High on Fire on bass, and Ben Koller from Converge on drums. Following their recent video, ‘Call of the Void’, the band have drawn inspiration from Homer’s Odyssey for the animated video for ‘Siren Song’, the second single from their forthcoming third full-length album, ‘Mutants’.
The video was directed by Athens-based animator Dimitris Armenakis, the creative mastermind behind Italian/Californian noise rockers Buñuel’s excellent video for ‘For the Cops’. Armenakis explains: “My visual approach to ‘Siren Song’ was well received by Stephen, Ben, and Jeff, as I was given total creative freedom on how to interpret the song.
“Taken from a mythological point of view, I didn’t feel that a mere display of the ancient Greek tale would do justice to the powerhouse songwriting from Mutoid Man. Therefore, I took the famous scene from the Odyssey and put a cartoony spin on it by creating a unique universe filled with colourful characters, off-the-wall animation, and psychedelic patterns.
“After discussing the idea with the band, we completed the story with a huge cello striking the sirens with thunder, thus saving the day. It was really fun directing and animating all those creatures, along with the wicked sirens.
“The main character, who represents Odysseus, refers to the fantastic album cover for ‘Mutants’ created by John Santos. As for the crew members, I thought that it’d be fun to depict them as a frog and turtle, characters which occasionally appear on Mutoid Man’s artwork and merchandise, also created by Santos.
“Last but not least, I’d like to thank the wonderful and talented team of Kostas Firinidis, Simona Mehandzhieva, Laura Pires, and Konstantinos Vasilakis for their help with making this short story come to life.”
‘Mutants’ is released via Sargent House on July 28th. Pre-order it here. Mutoid Man play Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 18th and will tour Europe in September. Dates are listed here.
