Instant Impressions: 'Mooklear Disaster' by I Am Mook

What started as a solo project of Ethyrium vocalist Tom “Mook” Verbos has now turned into a full-fledged band, featuring fellow NC musicians Todd Holbrook from Bleed Them Dry, Joey from Mortal After All, and Ethyrium bandmates Chris Nethercutt on drums and Wes Seven on bass. After the release of singles like “Tantrum” and “The Devil Can No Longer Wear Prada in This Economy,” the band wasted no time in releasing their debut album Mooklear Disaster.

Blending the heaviness of deathcore with the energy of hardcore music, I Am Mook has quickly made a name for themselves as one of the heaviest bands, if not the heaviest, to come from the eastern North Carolina music community. Just going off of the singles, it’s easy to hear what they’re about musically — if you’re into heavy riffs and brutally harsh vocals, this is the band for you. Now that the time has come to listen through the full album, feel free to listen along and follow my real-time track-by-track reactions below:

1. Mooklear Intro (0:43)

• This is only 43 seconds, so there’s only so much to say about this opening track — that being said, having heard some of the singles from this album beforehand, I find it amusing how unassuming this intro sounds in comparison to the rest of the album

2. Bite Back (2:40)

• Obviously its hard to differentiate the verses and choruses with this kind of music, but the lyrics in what sounds like the second verse are some of my favorites of the track
• Gotta love the spoken word segments mixing things up throughout the song

3. Rat Catcher (3:39)

• Musically, this reminds me a lot of another local band, A Shelter For Holly — I can see both bands ending up on a bill together and working really well together
• I’m always impressed by these kinds of vocals, simply because of the skill it takes to sustain them — as someone who’s not the most musically inclined with their voice, I have no idea how Tom doesn’t lose his voice during live shows

4. The Stephen Hawking Treadmill Experience (2:47)

• Can’t get over the fact that the name of the song sounds like the title to an episode of The Big Bang Theory
• This one is much catchier than one would expect — while it’s all harsh, there’s still a bit of variation with Tom’s vocals and it shines on this song
• Thinking about when these guys start playing live, having two guitarists will be beneficial for songs like this

5. Graveside (3:00)

• From a musical standpoint, this is my favorite song on the album — I feel like this is one of the most musically diverse (tied with “Tantrum”) while still being wicked heavy like the rest of their material
• Selfishly, I hope this will end up being a permanent addition to their setlist

6. Put on a Happy Face (3:11)

• Aside from “Tantrum,” I’ve probably heard this song the most, and I’m glad to have been seeing it flood my Instagram feed since it first dropped
• Fantastic music video too
• The end of the song is what’s been heavily featured on social media (spoiler alert), but I personally prefer the verses to the breakdown

7. Tantrum (3:13)

• This is up there with “Graveside” as one of my favorite songs from the band so far
• I don’t know what I enjoy more, the fast energy of the first half of the song or the way it just comes to a screeching halt before the breakdown
• Absolutely love the guitars after the first breakdown

8. The Devil Can No Longer Wear Prada in This Economy (4:58)

• It’s going to be very hard to top this song title, I chuckle every time I see it
• Shoutout to the bass on this song, such an underappreciated instrument — the guitars are off the wall here too
• As the longest song on the album, it still feels like it goes by really fast (come to think of it, the whole album went by pretty fast)

Eastern North Carolina is home to all sorts of rock and metal bands, with many specializing in the heavier side of the spectrum, and having only been a full band for a few months, I Am Mook proved with this album that they’re a force to be reckoned with in the local music community. While insanely heavy, there’s still a subtle sense of musical variety that doesn’t come at the cost of the brutality of the music. Admittedly, even as someone who’s grown accustomed to harsh vocalists in the metalcore scene, it I still have a hard time understanding lyrics from deathcore vocalists, but I’ve enjoyed what I have been able to understand from these songs and hope that the lyrics will become widely available soon. Aside from the occasional whispers or spoken word sections, there aren’t any clean vocals, but Tom’s still able to show the different levels to vocal harshness throughout the album, especially on songs like “Tantrum” and “Put on a Happy Face.” The guitars are varied as well and it helps to have two solid musicians like Todd and Joey working together, with the dual dynamic really shining on songs like “The Devil Can No Longer Wear Prada in This Economy.”

What’s even more exciting about this new band is the potential for live shows and how they’ll be able to replicate this kind of musical savagery on the stage. It’s my understanding that the drums on the album were done with samples, so I’d be very curious to hear Chris Nethercutt’s take on these songs live. Until then, it likely won’t take long to hear more new music from I Am Mook, with the band recently uploading a cover of Knocked Loose’s “Counting Worms,” and a new original single, “Never Ending Nightmare,” featuring fellow NC metal artist Klevaer. There’s also a second album already in the works, so if you liked what you heard, it won’t be long before there’s more.

If you listened along and also enjoyed the album, you can buy/stream Mooklear Disaster here.

To keep up with I Am Mook, click here.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this article and want to keep up with more from me, feel free to subscribe