Mutation III – “Dark Black” (Undergroove)

I’ve always wanted to know if there was an alter ego to rough looking guys like Ginger of The Wildhearts. Well, there is ad Mutation is it. A dark alter ego that is the raging insanity driving the noise fueled violence on show here. Aided by Scott Lee Andrews of Welsh bass-punk wretches Exit International and abetted by Devin Townsend, Phil Campbell, Arthur Shepherd of Primitive Weapons, ex-Cardiacs fruitloop Random Jon Poole, Jamie Oliver of UK Subs, Mauro Pawlowski (ex-dEUS) and the mighty Paul Catten (Barrabas, Bed Wetter, Stuntcock, The Sontaran Experiment, ex-Medulla Nocte etc etc), this time the madness is very real indeed. From the blast beating, heavy dirty bass of ‘Irritant’ with its street punk vocals and pièce de résistance chorus of ‘..fuck off you cunt you are an irritant..’ the rest of the instruments just crash in like an avalanche on aptly titled tracks like ‘Hate’ which are extreme pieces of noise insanity cathartically tackling our deepest, darkest feelings like murder, suicide and mental collapse. Complemented by longtime Ginger drummer Denzel, you shouldn’t even mention the The Wildhearts anywhere the violent noise of this 3rd album and if you’ve never heard of Mutation then this will be an utter shocker for anyone knowing Ginger for his milder mannerisms! That said, despite the crescendo cacophony, there are arrangements, subtle melodies and definite grooves amid the noisy, 12 track maelstrom on show here, in my opinion beautifully exemplified on ‘Dogs’ that opens nihilistic punkerola style a la Misfits before moving into a heavy industrial noise beat while tripping out ambiently in between! Definitely an attention getter, “Dark Black” is an album truly befitting its name, if not certainly in the nature of its creator.