[engl] Like their self-titled debut from 2020, Mutant Strain’s second album, Murder of Crows, is a hardcore tsunami. Mutant Strain’s songs are so intense and delivered at such inhumanly fast tempos you’ll spend your first few listens to Murder of Crows scooping your jaw off the floor and locating your newly missing teeth. But speed and volume aren’t the entire story. Much of Mutant Strain’s explosiveness comes from the density of their songs, each of which seems to cram a full album’s worth of music into a highly compressed thrill ride. The riffs never stop moving, careening like subatomic particles around an unstable uranium isotope. But while Mutant Strain flirts with the edge of meltdown, the formidable rhythm section always stays locked into the groove. That’s why, unlike most bands that play at these speeds, at their gigs, the crowd doesn’t stand around waiting for the breakdown (also because there are no breakdowns). Mutant Strain’s shows look like Hieronymus Bosch paintings: piles of writhing, possessed bodies with vocalist Maryssa hovering over the chaos like a demonic overlord. Murder of Crows is bathed in that same ecstatic energy, so turn it up loud and hang on tight.

[engl] Mutant Strain has been playing for a while now, blowing away every band they share the stage with. Their sound is densely compressed and explosive, with intricate rock and roll riffing and wild, seemingly eight-armed drumming working around heavy, grooving bass lines and vocals that sound like they’re riling up an army of demons. The result is a batch of songs with MC Escher-esque complexity but straightforward, crowd-pleasing catchiness. In order to capture the energy and excitement of their live show, when Mutant Strain recorded these tracks with Hollywood Jefe (Vittna, Scarecrow), they not only recorded live, but also recorded the songs in batches of three with no breaks in between, just like when they play live. The result is a record that is as manic and exhilarating as being in the pit at a Mutant Strain gig. The LP version is limited to 500 copies and is elaborately packaged in an homage to old Crass Records releases, featuring a huge, 24”x36” 6-panel fold-out poster sleeve, printed inner sleeve, and multiple inserts. credits