Futants

So at first pass, the Futants sound like half-crazy noise mongers with almost no control over their instruments or their creative impulses. But then, if you listen again, it all starts to make sense. You start to her the grand design at work. You just let it wash over you, like a muddy tidal wave, and it brings you to startling new vistas of grungy psychedelica. I don’t know what any of it mean, or what the Futants are after (probably your eyes or teeth), but I can tell you that this album is exceedingly weird and highly addictive. It’s like Tool meets Manilla Road on the way strangle the Melvins to death. You gotta admit, that’s pretty fuckin’ remarkable. - sleazegrinder.com

The FUTANTS, a symbolic combination of the words "future" and "mutants," have made a creative and intense album, "Pass Me The Butter." This trio of musicians do not hesitate to establish the mood of the album by the eye-catching, disturbing, and slightly gory album cover. Their genre is a mixture of punk, rock, and metal, and their is no denying that they put it all out there. One of the only downfalls to their album is that there are no lyrics included. Sending lyrics allows us to enjoy your albums that much more.

Track one, "Those Who Danced Were Thought To Be Quite Mad By The Deaf," is dynamic, intense, and a great way to establish the overall desired feel of the album. The vocals are strong, and work well with the genre.

Track two, "Mutants With An F," starts off strong. We like the fact that this song has a title that relates to the band name. The only bummer to this song is that we felt that the instrumental break is a bit long. We begin to loose interest in what is going on musically during this section.

Track three, "The Other Side," has a refreshingly different feel than the other songs. Although it is a tad repetitive, it still gives the listener a chance to experience different moods on the album.

Track four, "The C.O.T.A.S. Loop," is the favorite on the album. The song is filled with dynamics and the feel changes connect very well. This song also has the most easily understood lyrics.

Track five, "...And That's OK," has a very catchy guitar riff, that left us tapping along. This song did, however, get a bit muddy through the middle.

The remainder of the album consists of the songs, "Money To Burn, The Colors That We Wear, and Pass Me The Butter." These songs continue the Futant's standard of screaming, heavy, in-your-face rock. Every song has a particular character, and the overall concept of the album is put together well. From the beginning to the end, you know you are listening to the Futants. If you are ever in the mood to get hyped up, or let loose, Futants is the way to go! - staump.com

Hailing from Kansas City, The Futants are one of the most original acts in the music scene right now. Their "Pass Me The Butter" release, is a strong statement to their style of music. You can right off the bat hear the influences of Tool and Primus. Each of their tracks are a great mixture of Progressive Metal, Grunge, and solid Rock music. The first tracks bring in classic riffs, similar to Alice In Chains, and the crush you until the song is over. This is a very talented and aware band when it comes to songwriting. The music itself has a fresh sound that separates this band from all others. They push their genre far and may end up creating their own. Check out The Futants for something new if you dare! - Target Audience Magazine

I'm not sure what a Futant is or where in the world this band came from (maybe the song "Mutants With an F" holds the key to these questions), or even how they found me, but here it goes. This eight song release from the Futants, with its bizarre imagery and sound, is a welcome change from the primarily generic stuff I've been getting lately.

Pass Me the Butter opens with the humorously titled "Those Who Dance Were Thought to be Quite Mad by the Deaf." My first reaction is that this is a throwback to seventies acid rock. Sure, that seventies scene is definitely an influence ("The Cotas Loop" could have come from Shades of Deep Purple), but there is more to the Futants than that. Another scene that seems to be influencing the Futants is the early nineties alternative scene, as "Mutants With an F" and "Pass Me the Butter," recall the Jesus Lizard and Cop Shoot Cop, respectively. "Money to Burn" strays rather close to ballad territory, but "And That's Ok" represents the Futants at their best, highlighting the guitar work and getting noisy at the end.

This is not an album I'm in love with but it provides a nice change from the norm.

Album Score: 7 out of 10
Reviewed by: Brett VanPut - transcendingthemundane.com

Sometimes what an artist says is not as telling as the chosen medium. Michelangelo sculpted in everlasting marble. Christo targeted the Berlin Reichstag, a building of immeasurable historic consequence. Kansas City metal act the Futants may be the first to work with a substance that, while impermanent, could possibly lead to death. With their debut CD, the Futants deliver bleak observations on social decay smeared on a canvas of everyone’s favorite congealed dairy killer: butter.

The Futants, the future mutants, have witnessed mankind’s destructiveness and are ready to dish it back to us, covered in that rich, whipped decadence that has hastened our indulgent demise. War, greed, religion … these are all themes that are brazenly slathered on their eight-song disc, Pass Me the Butter. They see themselves as the progeny of our twisted situation, the only creatures who will have the stomach to survive the end of days. They’re not here to solve our problems. They’re content to point out the ridiculous, apathetic nature of modern society and to collect the polluted remains when we’re gone.

Pass Me the Butter is filled with an honest pessimism, though the trio sometimes has difficulty relating its anger in a way that can be taken seriously. The first track, “Those Who Danced Were Thought to be Quite Mad by the Deaf,” is packed with B-movie images such as “test tubes,” “terror gnomes” and “suicide hooks.” But where such iconography was comical with a knowing wink in the hands of The Cramps or the Misfits, their earnest use here ends up being funny for different reasons.

Musically, they sound like they’d be more comfortable in the early ’90s than verging on the cusp of the apocalypse. Saturated and processed distortion aside, there are even a couple of tracks that feature that recognizable Alice in Chains-style dual vocal thing. The arrangements are complex without being too unbearably progressive, but the group has an on-again/off-again relationship with tempo.

As for the record, the mix of metal, grunge-metal and progressive-metal, while highly aggressive, could benefit from some of that 20/20 hindsight you’re supposed to have after a trip to the future. The engineering is too lo-fi for a group with such lofty sonic aspirations. There’s limited range, the instruments being compressed into a narrow field that’s short on low-end.

The Futants are apparently so disgusted they don’t even care enough about our dismal civilization to toss us a well-crafted goodbye gift. It’s the final kiss-off to an uncaring world that’s about to go down in flames.

— steven m. garcia { special to ink }
- Ink

The Futants picked a helluva song title for the lead track, “Those Who Danced Were Thought to be Quite Mad by the Deaf.” It’s bold and bizarre like the plotline of a B-movie airing at three in the morning. The Futants aren’t going for a sub-par horror flick soundtrack. They aim to deliver A-list progressive metal with an imaginative flair.

About the name, Futants is a mashup of future and mutants. The band seized inspiration for its name from a theory by psychedelic shaman Dr. Timothy Leary, who proposed that a type of genetic wild card exists as a small percentage of the population at any given time. Futants aid humans as a species to adapt and advance in the Darwinian struggle for survival of the fittest, given the proper environmental recognition and support to exist. When Futants in the form of scientists, philosophers, artists, athletes, or other roles push our threshold to new ground, then the entire race evolves. It’s heady stuff with a sci-fi bent that gives the band ample conceptual room to maneuver as they pound out chords, crash cymbals, and unleash their message with a guttural growl.

The Futants are a trio who produce a stylish blend of metal, grunge, and progressive rock with a hopeful spirit (as only a Futant with an eye to the future can) and avoid reveling in the gloom and doom theatricality of metal or goth. “Those Who Danced” kicks off with a loping beat like a pack of wolves on the prowl. Searing guitar by lead vocalist Evan Deubner scorches the atmosphere as drummer Ethan Otto and bassist Matt Pachmayr pound out rhythm. Three minutes deep into the song, the trio crests a ridge and descends into a valley of melodic riffs as the vocals come roaring in again.

“Mutants With An F” opens with a bang and vocals that invoke the sound of Alice in Chains. Deubner wails in powerful declaration of Futant supremacy, I am the dog who carries all the shame / My loneliness is only matched by pain / I’ve been sitting here beneath this tree / While you bring me everything I need.

Not all of the eight tracks attempt to conquer with a guitar onslaught. “C.O.T.A.S. Loop” breaks up the wall of sound with a quieter approach where the vocals are more distinct. The insistent drumbeat creates tension during these shifts in tone. When the guys rev up, the muscular sound is more powerful and soars upward like Icarus before falling in submission. “And That’s OK” is easily the catchiest track with its rip-roaring guitar groove, rapid-fire beat, and disenchanted singing. The band hits on all cylinders with its expansive sound. “Money to Burn” has a brooding feel and lurches steadily as zombie that refuses to relent. Clocking in at just under six minutes, the song is an epic narrative with a hopeful outlook embedded in a mountain of granite.

Pass Me the Butter has great cover art created by the Rose Tattoo Parlor/The River Market Art Company. This impressive debut that should appeal to rock fans that want some lyrics to chew on and well-constructed noise that connects emotionally. The Futants’ sound does reference forerunners like Metallica, The Cult, and Alice in Chains. To their credit, the band exhibits unique wild card traits in true future + mutant fashion that hints at how they could survive, evolve, and thrive beyond the basic DNA found in common metal acts. - Present Magazine

Music Review: FUTANTS
Indie Music Stop
"Pass Me The Butter..."
Review by Senior Writer C.W. Ross

The Futants' lineup is, Evan Deubner (vocals, guitar), Matt Pachmayr (bass, backing vocals), and Ethan Otto (drums).

The band takes their name from a theory by Dr. Timothy Leary, who was probably best known for his thoughts on the benefits of using the drug LSD. His theory from what I get had something to do with the idea that in every society there was a group of people, scientist, artists etc..., who's role in that society was to push the envelope, causing things to evolve.

The band lists their musical influences as, Primus, Tool, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, and the Talking Heads.

Pass Me the Butter is the debut release from the Futants. On it you'll find 8-tracks of music that blend progressive metal, grunge, and rock.

This band isn't content to just play a generic style of music; they enjoy taking a more traditional sound and stretching its boundaries adding a freshness to it.

The theme found on Pass Me the Butter deals with a future time when the destructive way the world has lived catches up causing havoc. The band says that the release is an, "attempt to create a feeling of hope cast against impending doom."

The whole experience starts with the releases cover artwork. On the cover is a comic book looking picture of mutants that is designed to look like a film frame. Credit for the artwork goes to Robbie and James Lopez ( http://www.rivermarketart.com ).

The first song on the release is, "Those Who Danced Were Thought to Be Quite Mad By the Deaf." You know with a long name like that the band is more interested in their craft then just commercial success. The song is inventive and sets the tone for the rest of the release.

The remaining 7 tracks are, 2- "Mutants With An F," 3- "The Other Side," 4- "C.O.T.A.S. Loop (Creature Outside of Time and Space)," 5- "And That's Ok," 6- "Money to Burn," 7- "The Colors That We Wear," and 8- "Pass Me the Butter."

While at first listen, Pass Me the Butter, with it's pushing the traditional genre style boundaries might not be to everyone's liking, if you're willing to take the time to give it a good listen I think that you'll find lots of good music on it. - Indie Music Stop

Heavy metal rockers The Futants deliver more than just powerful lyrics, dynamic stage performances and solid sound on June 14 at Donna’s Ice House; they offer a constructive musical platform for human evolution, improvement and salvation
By Samantha Edmondson

Life, love, brawls and Benjamins are common words used in today’s lyrical compositions. However, few fuel their musical prowess from Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy and well-known writer and psychologist Dr. Timothy Leary’s futuristic theories. For the Kansas City based band, The Futants, the latter is evident in every aspect of their musical being.
In fact, the band’s name, Futants, was a term coined by Leary. He believed that “every time a artist, philosopher, athlete or scientist pushed human kind’s thresholds to new ground the entire race evolves.” These naturally selected individuals were better adapted to explore and survive the future and take risks through their genetic characteristics.
The Futants individually may not hold these inherit traits. However, collectively, their music, lyrics and mission grip audiences with climatic sound, captivating stories and, most importantly, a powerful impression not easily forgotten.

‘The Other Side’ (subhead)
“Want you to see all that I see.”

Since uniting nearly two years ago, the three-piece Futants have attempted to “create a feeling a hope cast against impending doom.” This personal take on Leary’s futurist teachings is evident in the band’s musical mission. Even though they may be “futants,” they’re also human.
Growing up in El Dorado Springs, Mo., guitarist and lead vocalist Evan Deubner spent his teenage years as a singer for a local band Prop 13. Friends and fellow band members Marshall Cauthon, drummer, and Jared Julian, lead guitarist, rocked hard with Evan. For such young musicians, the group played a lot of local parties and shows.
After graduation, Evan went to college but soon found himself living in Springfield, Mo., straying from his musical roots for a short while. However, it didn’t take Evan long to break out his guitar, pen and paper and work on a few solo originals in between work. In fact, two of Evan’s independently recorded and produced albums have garnered positive reviews with E-zine, Independent Clauses.
Soon, Evan got a job with a company that sells computer software for pharmacies and other medical facilities. In 2002, his company transferred him to Kansas City. Along with his professional accomplishments, Evan continued his passion for writing, recording and producing music. At one point, he lived with former Prop 13 drummer Marshall and accompanied him in the band Erectasaurus Rex. He also joined up with Jared to produce a side project, Black Sorcerer.
“It was a black metal band. We didn’t play anywhere; we just did a few recordings but I really enjoyed what we came up with. It was the heaviest project I have ever worked on,” Evan said. “I still record with Jared occasionally. Jared and I share a love for Swedish metal and the songs we come up with are obviously influenced by that. I’ve been working with him for a long time and we have always influenced each other throughout the years of playing music.”
Along with his side projects, Evan was looking to solidify a new rock foundation. He posted an ad on the Internet looking for different musicians to form a group. And that’s when he met Ethan Otto.
Growing up in the St. Louis area, Ethan was captivated by the drums after hearing a guy playing along on a drum set to the stereo at a house party. At 19, he immediately bought a set of his own and began jamming with a friend and guitarist for fun. When he moved from St. Louis to the Kansas City area, he truly crafted his style with local groups such as Dora Dank and Electric Orange Cream. Ethan and EOC started creating set lists, getting some gigs and some great crowd response. Ethan said they ended up playing about every bar and “little nook” in the Kansas City area, marking it as a “really good experience.” And, Dora Dank also was a solid group, teaching Ethan about dedication and style.
“However, for awhile, I wanted something a little more out of where I was playing and knew it was time for me to try something new. So I found this ad on the Internet that needed a drummer for a new group,” Ethan explained. “I ended up coming over to a dentist’s office at first, and that’s where I met Evan.”
The nine-piece project that Evan and Ethan worked on together had a solid structure, but unfortunately never got off the ground. So, the pair decided to try something on their own, utilizing Evan’s original music and compositions.
“I listened to Evan’s CDs and they were really good,” Ethan said. “I want to play with somebody the produced something that was real.”
The Futants’ original duo started out together working on songs, getting a few gigs and performing with a few different bass players. Then, bass player Matt Pachmayr answered an Internet ad put out by the pair.
Growing up in Buffalo, Mo., Matt attended the University of Missouri in Kansas City, receiving his bachelor’s degree in political science. However, Matt’s musical education developed at the age of 12 with his first and longest band appreciation – Pink Floyd. However, as he got older, Matt grew a love for bands such as Primus, System of the Down, Radiohead and Tool.
However it was in 2005 while jamming with friends and members of the band Black Buffalo, Matt first picked up the bass. The instrument came easily to Matt, and he began developing a drive to play in a band of his own. A few guys that played with Black Buffalo decided to start a punk, hard rock group with a twist – Zenith Farm. For two years, Matt performed as the masked Pumpkin King with the increasingly popular ensemble, laying down the beat to some zany originals as well as covers like Tenacious D and Bloodhound Gang.
“We kind of developed a cult following at Donna’s Ice House,” Matt said.
After leaving Zenith Farm and relocating back to Kansas City, Matt played in a short-lived band 84 Grand, which produced 13 original songs and a demo. However, the band parted ways before the record was finished, and while in his two-year stint in Kansas City, he was looking for a musical ensemble that fit.
Soon, Matt saw an Internet ad requesting a bass player for the Futants. He met them, drove out to Evan’s house and studio in Kansas City and jammed with the Evan and Ethan.
“Evan played ‘And That’s OK’ for me … we continued to jam and I really liked Evan’s voice; it just stuck out to me,” Matt said. “And, Ethan’s minimalist and straightforward style on the drums was impressive. He’s a rock solid drummer.”
Since November 2006, when the three united as the Futants, their switch to the other side began.

‘Pass Me the Butter’ (subhead)
“Pass me the butter, pass me a knife, 
I'm trying to carve out a picture of man’s quick attempt at lasting fame … ”

The Futants already had the tools needed to put on a show as a three-piece – original music. With Evan’s job, he spent a lot of time traveling and staying in hotel rooms. During those down moments from work, Evan crafted lyrics for several songs.
Evan and Ethan had worked on Evan’s lyrics and musical concepts creating full-fledged tunes with a full throttle sound. Once Matt joined the group, the threesome developed each story into a musical tale told as though every aspect was musically, lyrically and collectively driven by emotion.
“A lot of the lyrics are politically driven, especially in ‘And That’s OK.’ Its overall theme is of mankind blowing up in a million years,” Evan said. “When I write music, I try to take on a style that is based on the story.”
With original Futant tunes such as “The Other Side” and “And That’s OK,” Ethan and Matt didn’t change the songs, but captured the intended sound, expression and meaning they should portray musically.
Over the course of several months, the group took Evan’s lyrics and developed them, as well as created new music to their set list. In fact, one of the most challenging songs the Futants has written together was “The Colors That We Wear.” A true showcase of the group’s storytelling genius, this song illustrates collaborative lyrics between lead vocalist Evan and Matt’s vocals, as well as a climatic burst of emotion both in lyrics and sound.
“It was the hardest to write and took us a full month before we finally made it all the way through in how we wanted it,” Matt said. “It was the first song we wrote together from scratch.”
“It pulls off this long homogeneous note,” Evan added.
From the futuristic prelude with heavy science fiction influence, “C.O.A.T.S.” to a collaborative, experimental rock masterpiece, “Those Who Dance,” The Futants have produced 11 original songs, eight of which will appear on their debut album, “Pass Me the Butter.”
Through their endless work, practice and production, the group started laying down tracks in Evan’s home studio in May 2007. Even though The Futants’ CD was independently recorded and produced, they did use Eddie Schreyer of Oasis Mastering (who also digitally re-mastered for Queen) and original album cover artwork by Robbie and James Lopez.
With a few minor touches to polish, “Pass Me the Butter” will be available for purchase through the band’s Myspace Web site, CDbaby and at shows by the end of June.
Listeners will find get a taste of The Futants’ unique sound. As they have carved out their own original genre in rock music, The Futants’ soon hope to carve out their own “lasting fame” in performance as well.

‘Mutant with an F’ (subhead)
“I’ll just sit and wait for you to bow before your futants.”

Equipped early with the many original songs, The Futants scored some gigs to deliver their music live in the Kansas City, St. Louis and central Missouri region.
From a scarce turnout on the their first show to gradual draw at larger venues such as Lemons in St. Louis, The Curtain in Wichita, Kan., and the Hurricane in Kansas City, the group has slowly introduced their style to audiences.
Like most bands, the venue and crowd is instrumental in driving a good response. With The Futants guiding audiences through unchartered territory in rock, it sometimes takes people a few songs, or even shows, to appreciate their collective efforts.
“Our music is not the same stuff you hear everyday (in the hard rock world), with a lot of cookie-cutter, chunky, heavy riffs. We have original sounds and our songs are all over the rock map,” Matt explained. “We have a ‘70s sounding song, a metal song with ‘The Colors That We Wear,’ a solid radio play in ‘And That’s OK’ and an experimental rock tune in ‘Those Who Dance.’ Sometimes that’s part of the reason, we don’t’ get a good crowd response is because there’s too much to take in on one listen. That’s why with our CD, we think people will find that the more they listen, the more they will like it.”
“Often we see the audience first have a look of confusion, then curiosity and sometimes more confusion. However, we do find that as the show goes on, they get more into the music,” Evan added.
The Futants have not only grown on their audiences, but also on fellow musicians. Evan, Ethan and Matt have felt honored and humbled to play with regional and Midwestern rock acts such as Black Buffalo, Mayhem 5, Woo Band, Under Read and Corazon Negro.
Both musicians and individuals admire and see the band’s vast range of musical influences such as Primus, Tool, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and even the Talking Heads, whose song, “Psycho Killer” can often be heard at a Futants’ concert.
One place where the crowd truly responds to The Futants is at Donna’s Ice House in Linn Creek. Playing their fifth show at popular heavy metal, punk and hard rock Lake venue on Saturday, June 14, The Futants will continue to showcase their original sound, stories and style.
Maybe The Futants are not selected to survive and push human evolution to its finest, but they are establishing a new genre of rock and roll. Hopefully they will have more stories to tell through their unique song, style and sound. But, for now, they enjoy mastering their craft and utilizing a “futant” mentality in their lives and music.
“Ethan is tuned in with sound and easy to work with,” Evan said. “Most guys I have played with will try for a little bit. But Ethan and Matt have more drive than anyone. They practice and do a good job.”
Make sure to stop by Donna’s Ice House for Heavy Metal Night on Saturday, June 14 to see The Futants, as well as XX and XX.
For more information, music samples and more, visit The Futants at www.myspace.com/futantsrock. - Samantha Edmondson