London and Hamburg-based MUDSHARK are on a mission to deliver fresh and catchy heavy music to mainstream audiences and younger generations by hitting the sweet spot between rock and metal. That said, there’s pretty of angst in the MUDSHARK sound alongside engaging vocals and grooving heavy riffs, which they describe as “100% Heavy Metal.”
The MUDSHARK story begins back in 2016 when vocalist A. STR▲NGR, who made multiple West End theatre appearances as a child, met guitarist Hagen Brüggemann, who holds the honour of being the youngest artist to play Wacken Open Air festival, at a music seminar. STR▲NGR struck up a conversation after spotting Hagen’s Nirvana cap a few rows down and they jammed in a band briefly but fell out of contact for a couple of years. But in 2019, STR▲NGR had a spare Download Festival, invited Hagen, and they had a great time seeing Rob Zombie and an even better time seeing TOOL, so they decided to start making music again.
Fast-forward to last August, they completed the lineup (along with drummer collaborations in the studio and live) with bassist Sebastian Richards while recording their debut ZLV. Chance was again to thank for this, as STR▲NGR first met Seb in the lift at Mornington Crescent station back in 2014 after hearing Meshuggah blasting through his headphones. It turned out they were both enrolled at the same music university but hadn’t met until that point.
And on the sound the trio have honed, STR▲NGR tells us: “Energy, Party, Soul and Spirit. The end result of the love child between Metallica and Slipknot, copulating with the love child of Tool and System Of A Down.”
Our first taste of this is the aforementioned EP ZLV, which was released in June. It kicks off with a darting little lick opening up NONCHALANCE, then drums and a chunkier version of the riff kick in and develop further. A catchy verse follows and drops into twisting guitar licks then more laid-back vocals before the opening lick returns and blasts into a heavy riff. Check it out in the lyric video here:
The angst levels step up a notch with second track FUCK YOURSELF, which opens up with a feisty riff and driving drums. That continues into an engaging opening verse that feeds into the to-the-point chorus: “Friends who oversee, But you’re asleep like the others, I hate to have to say, I really need you to go, Fuck yourself, Fuck yourself, Fuck you.”
The lively rock meets metal continues with NOSEBLEED and short instrumental track INTERKNOT, before ending on a real high with EYES OF MEDUSA. It starts with a delicious chunky riff that feeds into a verse led by STR▲NGR’s engaging vocals that flows through to a catchy chorus “Show me the way, A dreadful remedy, Braindead like Kennedy, Freeze my veins, A fatal enemy can only turn me to stone.” A second chorus drops into stabbing guitars then a fast-paced riff and driving drums, which drops into drawn-out guitars and sets up a more elaborate chorus. Check it out in the video here:
Ahead of the EP release, STR▲NGR told us: “We are very excited. After three years in the making, MUDSHARK has finally seen the light of day. It is an important step that we have now laid the groundwork for. Who knows what the future will bring?
“We didn’t expect it, but the initial reception has been endearing. We’ve had genuine fans writing to us about how our music is resonating with them. As an artist, that is the greatest gift! We have also received a few ‘constructive’ comments, questioning our sound’s heaviness to be considered ‘true’ metal – apparently heavy metal doesn’t exist nowadays unless you are incorporating growls and/or tunnel throat screams in your music.
“But hey, how about these on a t-shirt: ‘I went to a MUDSHARK show and the vocals ruined it.’ ‘MUDSHARK – Bud Light Heavy Metal.’
The MUDSHARK sound is heavily influened by the likes of TOOL, System of a Down, (early) Slipknot, Meshuggah, Lamb of God, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Metallica, Karnivool and the very first Killer Be Killed record.
And on their approach to writing music, STR▲NGR tells us: “The MUDSHARK songwriting process is quite straightforward: Hagen records fully finished instrumental demos and then I write lyrics and vocal melodies to the songs. Writing music is a subconscious process for us. Once you start thinking too much about what you’re doing, you’ve lost it.”
MUDSHARK will be back in the studio to record their second EP next month, and are busy booking in shows. And STR▲NGR reminds us: “It’s all just a bit of fun!”
You can follow MUDSHARK on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon Music and YouTube.
Listen to MUDSHARK on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Metal and GigRadar Rock
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