‘Mutants of the Monster II’ fest going down this weekend

Arkansas-based heavy metal music festival ‘Mutants of the Monster’ will return this weekend (January 1 + 2) for its second edition (officially dubbed ‘Mutants II: Inverted Atomic Lore’) starting at 8PM EST via the Arkansas Times YouTube channel (free streams embedded below).

“The online event is curated by festival organizer Chris “CT” Terry of Rwake and features an international lineup of 19 diverse and killer bands,” notes a press release. “Each band produced their own sets, and a number of them include unique collaborations and once-in-a-lifetime performances. Among the many great performances, Tee Pee Records artists High Tone Son of a Bitch (HTSOB) and Worshipper will both appear, with HTSOB’s set to include guest performances from Andrea Vidal of Holy Grove as well as another vet of the Tee Pee roster, Rob Wrong (ex-The Skull). Other highlights will feature Telekinetic Yeti performing four brand new, unreleased tracks from their upcoming album ‘Primordial’; plus a performance from legendary West Coast sludge outfit -(16)-, and an epic set from genre-defying Chicago outfit Yakuza.”

Talking about the vision behind ‘Mutants’ and why he’s come around on the idea of a ‘streamed’ live show, CT states, “It started out of boredom from cabin fever. At first, I was in complete denial about the idea of a “livestream” music show as my only option for following artists I loved. Then I realized that the music isn’t streamed live at all, but rather the entire show itself after production. It’s basically the same as a TV show.”

CT adds, “It’s important for me to keep up with diversity as much as possible. That’s one way to keep the music evolving and changing with new ideas. We are mutants. This vessel holding the mind, the mutant body, is the real pot we are melting in; not just the community where it resides. The message stays the same… heavy. No matter what music you create, how you meditate, or the shoes you put on, it must be heavy.”

CT ends with, “The best part of this trip is everyone works hard and they work together. No one is getting paid, and there are a number of folks that should be getting paid. We are doing this right now for the love of our scene, our friends, and our family that we can’t be with right now. We all genuinely love each other, and are excited for one another’s performance pieces that will be on this movie, TV show, or whatever the hell it is!”

Lineup for Friday:
-(16)-
Sunrot
Yakuza
Terminal Nation
Age of the Wolf
Thirdface
Temple of Love
Junior Bruce
BLKOPS
Radiant Knife

Lineup for Saturday:
Bruce Lamont/Axioma
HTSOB
Telekinetic Yeti
Rebreather
Worshipper
Switchblade Jesus
Bones of the Earth
Temptress
Boozewa