Myconaut “Headload” - Review

Myconaut are a progressive rock/metal band from Meadville that’ve picking up steam in the Erie scene. They’re a band that if you didn’t know who they were, you definitely knew them after their set. They’re cut from the same cloth as Tool, Sabbath, Kyuss, and all that good, jammy  stoner/desert rock with flares of metal mixed in. 

I’ll briefly delve into how I became familiar with their work. Spoiler: I’m totally biased here, but I’ve been waiting for this record for a long time. That and I felt compelled to write this because I missed their release show, and this is a sin in the cardinal rule of fellow progressive dorks and must be rectified on my part. 

It was the summer of ‘23 and my band Massive Denial was invited to the reinstated Metal Massacre Festival. Many, many sweaty metal heads crammed in a barn with nonstop music playing throughout the weekend. And if you were a local metal/rock band, then it felt like the big leagues. So, I get there early to check out (nearly) the entire thing to give all these new bands I haven’t heard a fair shot. Right out of the gate, there’s this wall of sound that was reminiscent of Adam Jones’ riff catalogue and fierce, punishing drumming that were tasty, but not overindulgent. Surely Tool would not be in a fucking barn in the middle of East Springfield.  So, I found my buddy John from Odd Atrocity, who was equally tranced as I was, and asked who they were. He said they were a band called Myconaut. 

I was sold: The sound, the name, the long songs. I was in. I’m huge on progressive rock and metal and Myconaut was scratching that itch that only really long songs with Roman numerals separating sections could scratch. So, after their set and tearing down their equipment, I immediately b lined to the drummer John and bassist Mike to gush how I felt and how a show together was in order. In the midst of me bombarding them with compliments, they mentioned how they were planning to record an album. I couldn’t wait.

Well actually, I kind of had to. However, last week, they finally put out their first album “Headload.” The immediate first thing that I noticed was the track listing: 

“Parasite” 

“Grey Matter”

”Pawn” 

“Aftershock”

”Headload”

5 songs. 32 minutes long. That’s the shit I live for. Despite my punk outings with Massive Denial and CHEAP, I’m a huge progressive rock/metal dork since middle school when I first began to explore outside the classic rock stuff and found bands like Rush, Dream Theater, Between the Buried and Me, Tool, and Mastodon that really influenced my approach to music. It’s clear Myconaut follows suit down a similar route and would’ve blown my head off as a teenager. Even better though, they’re blowing my mind at (almost) 30.

“Headload” is a jammy record where all the musicians are giving some great performances. Guitarists Israel Myers and Joshua Mowris deliver crunching riff after riff that set the foundation of the bands’ jams topped with solos that’re intentful and not useless wanking for the sake of it. They also allow the space to act as a sandbox for all the band to play around with. Whilst the riffs are solid, neither are shy on riffs that are more atmospheric, giving the psychedelic flare needed for a band called Myconaut.

Their band name suggests an explorer of the mind through the mind-altering effects of mushrooms. Singer Sage Byham furthers the idea through the lyrics on the album. Touching on the personal dynamics of relationships, those that take advantage of it, and overcoming the mental obstacles that distract and weigh us down. All while giving a solid vocal performance. For a debut album, Myconaut aren’t afraid to play around vocally. Particularly the dissonant opening of “Grey Matter,” and background vocals throughout the album. It’s a very well thought out record in that aspect that many local bands don’t pay attention to all that much and needed pointing out. 

Now the aspect of the band that first stood out to me was how insanely tight of a rhythm section they have. Bassist Michael Davis and drummer John Hedglin are by far one of the strongest rhythm sections in Northwestern Pennsylvania period. Mike is a refreshing bassist that compliments rather than copies what the guitar players are doing while still acting as a glue to the compositions which is one of the greatest compliments I can pay another bass player. He’s really doing some interesting stuff on this album and am glad the mixing does him justice.

The second half of the rhythm section is the insane drumming of John. From seeing him live, it’s clear John Bonham is an influence from how hard he hits those things like there’s a score to settle. Danny Carey is also a huge influence here in John’s tom work and planning his parts as a composition as opposed to treating it as ‘just a song.’ I also compare him to Carey by how crazy fast some parts are and how he never takes the lazy route when writing parts. The dude is truly a spectacle if you ever catch them live. There’s also some tabla drum usage that really grab my attention anytime they’re used and enhance the quieter parts of the album .

 “Headload” is a debut album that is intentful and deceptively calculated that really goes beyond what’s expected from a band’s first album and I respect the hell out of that. If there were any cons to the album, it’d be that there are only 5 songs. I could easily digest a 70-minute album from these guys and not be bored of it. I’m incredibly excited with what these guys do next and am looking forward to when I catch another show of theirs.  

So, how would I rank this? I think numeral rating systems are for chumps and it drives me fucking nuts when I hear, “EH, I’ll give this Kendrick record a 7/10.” Fuck off with that nonsense. If the record vibes and makes me feel something, then it’s good in my book. Instead I’ll go with a system like:

This Just Ain’t Good

I Respect It, but it Ain’t for Me

I Can Dig It

Love it, Need More of It 

I’ll rank Myconaut’s “Headload” as a ‘Love It, Need More of It.’