Obviously, a far cry from Earth vs. the Wildhearts, Mutation is the extreme metal side-project of Ginger Wildheart, the man best known as frontman for…The Wildhearts. (Kudos to you if you figured that out.) For someone whose career has long been embedded in the worlds of edgy, but somewhat accessible hard rock, hearing such deranged, if not grinding sounds may come as a shock to the old system. But Ginger and company make a rather convincing argument, sending the utterly chaotic Mutation III: Dark Black off into the world like a firebomb.
The obvious noise-grind element permeates throughout, with cacophonous guitars and Ginger’s heavily distorted bellow leading an otherwise unforgiving charge. Since these cuts are focused on Ginger’s disgust for humanity (who can’t relate?), the belligerent and railing “Toxins” and top-of-the-line “Irritant” rank as pure cut-throat slabs of extremity. It’s not all one pass through grind, however, as industrial tinges make up “Devolution” (notice the slight melody in there, too) and the groove-laden raunch of “Dogs” provides some flexibility in the vocal department for Ginger.
There is a cloud of curiosity hovering over Mutation, in part because of Ginger. Well, frankly, it’s all because of him. A gent whose career has long been solidified, a venture into extreme metal fields could have backfired. All things considered, Mutation and its subsequent Mutation III: Dark Black are like a crazed scientific experiment gone right…or mad. Both work.