Mutation – Esoteric Order Of Debauchery Review

Let’s just blow the lid right off this review from the start. When you absolutely, positively have to rip everything to shreds, only a band like Sweden’s Mutation will do. Debut Esoteric Order of Debauchery is one of the rudest, rippinest, downright ill-tempered records put to tape in recent memory, and it’s so loaded with killer riffs, irate vocals, and outright destruction as to be largely irresistible. Come for the violence, stay for the sneakily smart songwriting and delightfully audible bass guitar.

Stepping back just a second… Mutation plays death metal of the 80s variety, but with a bit of a black metal mindset. However, unlike much of the “black/death metal” of the world, Esoteric Order of Debauchery doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously, instead really leaning into what makes this stuff so damned fun: riffs, nasty vocals, maniacal solos, and drums that never, ever stop hammering away. Imagine much of the riff style of Altars of Madness meeting the mentality of Under the Sign of the Black Mark, the debut album confidence of Kill ‘em All, and the all-out annihilating fire of Scream Bloody Gore and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what Mutation is doing across these brisk 34 minutes. It’s raw, it’s rude, and it’s rollicking.

After a mood-setting intro, “Occultation of the Ephemeral Light” kicks things off while basically putting every one of Mutation’s tools right on the table: it’s death metal, sure, but it has that 80s black metal aesthetic to it a little; the drumming is downright bananas, blasting and hammering all over the place with the kind of cling and clang that sounds like it could fly apart at any given second; the bass is, yes, extremely audible, and complements the 6-string riffs wonderfully; and the vocals are a sort of mid-ranged half-screech that just exudes malevolent belligerence. Oh, and that floating, chorus-drenched riff that kicks in at about 1:30? So indebted to early Morbid Angel – and that evil vibe – that it would be plagiarism if everything else around it didn’t push the zonk dial to the max.

It’s a killer combination of influences and results in an overall vibe that feels fresh despite being indebted to music that is mostly decades old. The freshness is achieved both through the band’s obvious chemistry as a unit, but also through their ability to write really memorable passages and hot licks all over the place. For example, “Pestilent Whore” smartly features two solos, one more melodic and the other all chaotic Slayer action; the riffs of “Stygian Spheres” are blazing, only held in place by the foundation of the rhythm section; and “Metamorphosis” features a nice diversion into slower, Autopsy-influenced terrain, showing that Mutation can be mean at any tempo. And that’s the real kicker here: this stuff is mean. It’s a fun type of mean, sure, but it’s still designed to terrify the little old ladies at the church picnic.

And that about sums it up, really. This is one seriously rude slab of death metal made by a band that is already 100 percent confident in their abilities and personality as a unit. Esoteric Order of Debauchery isn’t just an album with a great title, it’s a statement of murderous intent. Get ripped.