Album Review: Mutagenic Host – The Diseased Machine (Gurgling Gore / Dry Cough / Memento Mori)

On January 3rd, 2025, internationally, London death metal five-piece Mutagenic Host will release their highly anticipated debut album, ‘The Diseased Machine’. The album will be co-released by Gurgling Gore (vinyl, cassette), Dry Cough Records (vinyl, cassette), and Memento Mori (CD – released on January 20th, 2025).

Part of the New Wave of British Death Metal (Coffin Mulch, Celestial Sanctuary, Slimelord, Vacuous, Mortuary Spawn, etc.), everything that Mutagenic Host does draws attention and all because their heavy death-focused approach is infused with creative groove elements, blackened ferocity, slam intensity, and more. It can be categorised as death metal, but it’s more vibrant than most.

It’s heavier than most too and Mutagenic Host set the 2025 bar high early on with a wild showcase of brutality. Inventive, exciting, and surprisingly interesting, it thrills from the very moment a cacophony of gnashing and gnawing noise takes a big chunk out of the mind with Neurological Necrosis. If you’re not head banging within 40 seconds, clean your ears out. It is the first example of vicious music that twists and turns while keeping the focus on sounding utterly savage.

Something that continues to impress, and delight, with Genestealer and The Twisted Helix. Both showcasing heftier stomp, hardcore-lite, and with a meanness that is a little frightening. How about the guitar solo in the latter? Especially the way it transitions into a violent blast of speedy noise, pre-empted by an ugly sounding vocal gurgle. Awesome stuff from an awesome band.

Chunky as f**k, the head banging inducing ways continue in garish style on Artificial Harvest of the Obscene, one of the more elaborate efforts, a little more technical in places and certainly one with flair, but also one that has a strong flavour of 90s death metal about it. Then there is the brutal and bullish intensity of Organometallic Assimilation and Incomprehensible Methods of Slaughter. Two different approaches, especially tempo wise, but both equally ruthless and lovable. Provided you have a hunger for a constant and consistent diet of death metal unpleasantness.

Sandwiched in between them is DIRECTIVE__ [kill_on_sight], a dark and dystopian piece of ambient storytelling. Enhancing the album’s narrative that is shaped by complacency, apathy, and the looming threat of AI. The entire album has spindly veins running through that are akin to circuity running through a machine, and even when it’s not at the forefront, this sense of assured doom is strong.

Right up to the end, Mutagenic Host keep this album interesting, and oh so freaking heavy. Delivering a chaotic expulsion of noise with S.W.A.R.M. (Systematic War Against Restless Machines). Then abusing the senses even more with unrelenting speed on Promethean Dusk. Before leaving all feeling like their mind has been pummelled into mush with Rivers of Grief, dramatic atmospheric touches aside. It’s an ending befitting of an album this creative, and that even after ten tracks of this, Mutagenic Host leave you wanting more. Which speaks volumes about its brilliance. It’s very early days, but the brutal bar has been set very high with this album.

Mutagenic Host – The Diseased Machine Track Listing:

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

Links

Bandcamp | Instagram | Gurgling Gore | Dry Cough | Memento Mori