Mutagenic Host - The Diseased Machine

Labels: Dry Cough Records/Gurgling Gore/Memento Mori/Self-Released

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 03 Jan 2025

Tracklist:

1. Neurological Necrosis

2. Genestealer

3. The Twisted Helix

4. Artificial Harvest of the Obscene

5. Organometallic Assimilation

6. DIRECTIVE:: [kill_on_sight]

7. Incomprehensible Methods of Slaughter

8. S.W.A.R.M (Systematic War Against Restless Machines)

9. Promethean Dusk

10. Rivers Of Grief

As the world was stumbling bleary-eyed into 2025, London death metallers Mutagenic Host unleashed their debut full-length The Diseased Machine. It arrived almost two years on from their first recording The Genotoxic Demo, which was released via Dry Cough Records. Dry Cough worked alongside Gurgling Gore to release this album on both tape and vinyl, while Memento Mori Records committed it to CD and Mutagenic Host self-released it digitally. Little did they know at the time just how crazy the world would get!

Being one of the newest additions to the UK death metal ranks, Mutagenic Host have garnered quite a lot of excitement with their approach to the genre. ‘Neurological Necrosis’ shows why with it’s heavy percussion/bass, core-laden riffs and blood curdling deep bellows. ‘Genestealer’ doffs it’s hat to slam with it’s riffs but fear not, this song is still firmly rooted in the old-school death metal camp. Who says that bands can’t do both, right?

The sinister guitar melodies and tempos that open ‘The Twisted Helix’ soon give way to reveal a careening, thrash-like verse. Soon after, the instrumentation slows back down for the chorus once again, dragging the vocals down too before a brilliant solo seamlessly seeps into the song’s latter half. Ultimately, what’s offered here is extreme song-writing and musical delivery at it’s best. ‘Artificial Harvest of the Obscene’ delivers a number filled with metallic dissonance and perfect momentum. Coupled with another great lead-guitar solo and extra atmospherics (mainly due to ambient sounds and samples), Mutagenic Host lay their marker down early.

‘Organometallic Assimilation’ marks the near-midway point in the album and it’s where the superior drum production comes to the fore. Honestly, it boosts the song over and above what has come before it (to my ears anyway), not that the song’s other components don’t of course. It just hits differently because of the percussion. As is the norm now, interludes are a popular way of building anticipation and atmosphere, and ‘DIRECTIVE:: [kill_on_sight]’ is one of the better examples I’ve heard for a long time.

If this write-up seems slightly disjointed it’s because I racked up 13 hours in my day job on Tuesday, followed by normal 8 hour shifts yesterday and today. I know that’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things but it’s enough to leave me feeling a bit wiped out (especially with a new work I.T. toy to keep my brain stimulated). Maybe it’s slightly ironic that the next song is called ‘Incomprehensible Methods of Slaughter’ then. The glorious intro led by both bass and percussion leads to a doom/death-inspired monolith. Okay, it’s more OSDM than doom/death but it still hits the same.

The drumming throughout The Diseased Machine sounds massive, but it sounds even more so on ’S.W.A.R.M (Systematic War Against Restless Machines)’. Said drumming also makes the rest of the band rise up to the same level too. For a song so late on in the album to still sound so focused and intense is a joy (if that’s the right word!). Penultimate song ‘Promethean Dusk’ draws from the slam influence again, even if subtly. Mutagenic Host do a great job of settling the slam down alongside both traditional and brutal death metal. 

Closing with the album’s longest song ‘Rivers of Grief’, Mutagenic Host inject sampled-screams and haunting ambient/sci-fi sounds into an intro that heralds a full-bodied, instrumental-led death metal track. It’s actually quite a treat to hear their instruments coming to front as they do and as the volume fades, so does the adrenaline. The spacey, ethereal outro is comforting but it doesn’t hide the fact that the record is over.

From demo to debut album, it feels like the step change for Mutagenic Host has been massive. The recording work done by Boulty at Stuck on a Name Studio in Nottingham and Charlie Wilson at Monolith Studios in London (both great independent recording studios), coupled with the mixing and mastering from Ben Jones (who also worked on their demo), really elevated this release. Ash, Jack, Sami, Dan and George have nailed it here and hopefully there’s much more to come.

You can stream The Diseased Machine and purchase it digitally, as well as on tape and CD from Mutagenic Host below:-

Mutagenic Host - https://www.facebook.com/MutagenicHost

You can also buy physical copies from the labels below:-

Dry Cough Records - https://www.drycoughrecords.com/category/dry-cough-releases

Gurgling Gore - https://www.gurglinggore.com/category/our-releases

Memento Mori - http://www.memento-mori.es/store_search.php?text_search=Mutagenic+Host&genre=0&search_home=store_death

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Memento Mori - https://www.facebook.com/memento.mori.label