Local hardcore hip-hop collective 35″ Mudder has been undergoing a metamorphosis as of late. The group has been working on a handful of new songs and has revamped several of its signature tunes, including “Reactive Pacifist,” “I Won’t Die” and “Boom.”

But the changes extend much further than the songs. The group has consciously switched to a heavier sound and has also added two new members, guitarist Brian Calek and a second vocalist, Cory “C-Bone” Brown.

Why would the members of 35″ Mudder tamper with a proven formula that has yielded two radio singles and opening slots for such popular groups as The Urge, Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, Goldfinger, The Deftones and Limp Bizkit? The answer is painfully simple — the group felt that it was good, but knew that it could be a lot better.

“A lot of the songs were rewritten because there were certain parts we liked, but we wanted it to be heavier,” bassist Chad Calek said. “Playing live, there were parts that would have the audience moving, then we would hit another part of the song and things would lag a bit.

“So, we decided to take care of that,” he continued. “At the same time, we added a new singer and a new guitarist, so we figured ‘Fuck it. Why not revamp the whole thing?’ So, it finally came to be what it is now, which we are all satisfied with.”

But that doesn’t mean that everyone is satisfied with the group’s changes. The group has been drawing criticism for adding Brown to the line-up, especially since he is an employee at Lazer 103.3, the radio station that placed 35″ Mudder into rotation last September.

But the group contends that adding Brown to the line-up had nothing to do with establishing a “business relationship” with Lazer.

“It’s real simple,” Calek responded, “we were playing shows and working with the Lazer for six months before Cory even joined the band. We didn’t even know Cory until after we started working with Lazer. We didn’t need Cory to solidify our business relationship with 103.3.

“We had been thinking of the two- singer idea for a long time,” he concluded. “We knew that Cory was pretty good, so we had to figure out how to work him in so it didn’t look like he was unnecessarily added. The way the songs are arranged now, Cory plays as big of a role as [vocalist Dusty Feuerbach].”

Brown insists that joining the band isn’t one of the most difficult things he’s ever done.

“It wasn’t that tough,” Brown claimed. “Dusty had already written most of the lyrics that I had to learn. I helped out writing on the new stuff, though. Basically, the toughest part was deciding which lyrics I should sing and which lyrics Dusty should sing.”

The group has also drawn some criticism for adding Chad Calek’s brother, Brian, as its new guitarist. If the rumors surrounding Tim Vanhaaften’s departure are true, he was deliberately kicked out of the group so Brian could join. However, as the group is quick to point out, those rumors are false.

“I don’t think that Tim was real comfortable with the way things were going,” Feuerbach said. “He didn’t like all of the exposure that the group was getting. We wanted a heavier sound, and Tim just wasn’t down with it, I guess. But we are still on good terms with Tim. It isn’t like we hate him or he hates us.”

In fact, the mutual respect between the group and Vanhaaften is evident in the way Vanhaaften left. He told the group far in advance that he didn’t want to be in the group anymore.

He also offered to stick around until the group could find a suitable replacement. Fortunately, the group didn’t have to look far.

“I’ve seen just about every one of the band’s shows,” Brian Calek said. “Chad and I were also in a band together called Season’s Calling. Since Chad is my brother, I’d hang around playing acoustic guitar, and I knew all the riffs and licks. So, they asked me to come and try out.

“It wasn’t a deal where they said ‘You’re going to join the band,'” he continued. “They just wanted me to come over and try it out. If it works, it does, and if it doesn’t, then they’re going to tell me to pack my bags, hit the road and get the fuck out of here.”

But don’t look for that to happen anytime soon, especially since 35″ Mudder has big plans on the horizon. Lazer 103.3 recently added a second of the group’s songs to rotation (“21 Years of Pain”).

The group is also preparing for a summer gig that will be announced later (“It’s going to be huge,” Brown said) and a slot on the main stage of Rock Veishea.

Leading off 35″ Mudder’s live blitzkrieg is an all-ages show at People’s Bar and Grill Saturday night at 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 and are available at all TicketMaster outlets or at People’s.

Ames’ Grubbie Ernie and Urbandale’s Custom will be opening the show.