Ginger: We’re all just getting into shape and mentally preparing to get this thing on tour. I’ve had a few personal problems that landed me in hospital, but that’s just made me more focused on what we want to achieve on tour. Mutation has become a personal mission for me.
Scott: I'm currently in Australia – We met up in May to shoot the 'Hate' video but everything is admin based until we begin our tour pre-production in early October.
2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Ginger: This is our third album. The first Mutation album was more like grindcore rock n roll, the second experimented with pushing extremes, exploring the heavier elements but mixing them with weird time signatures and general weirdness. This third one is more streamlined. This one is a more relentless experience that naturally suggests taking this into the world of live music.
Scott: Both the first (The Frankenstein Effect) and second (Error 500) were quite different sounding but seem to come from the same gene pool. Coming on board to write 'Dark Black' with Ginger, I wanted to bring a new flavour to the table and made sure it stood on it's own.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Ginger: The main themes of the album are mainly mental health related, which also touch on our frustration with society and the daily trials of keeping your head above water and not giving into the anger and aggression that comes with the stigma of suffering from mental health related issues.
Scott: As Ginger said, it's not a pleasant album lyrically. I did not try and make sense of what was going on in my head at the time and create something with metaphors. It was very abstract and nonsensical as that was where my mind was.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mutation'?
Ginger: This was a sonic experiment that was designed to Mutate over the first three albums. There was no long term plan, I just knew that I’d need three albums to figure out what Mutation is meant to become.
Now the mission is to take this studio project out on the road, and allow it to mutate into a road animal.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Ginger: Would you believe we haven’t even played a show. The only live performance that the band has ever undertaken is on the latest video for Hate, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LvySwEwbXU
Scott: Yeah – The 'Hate' video is the band, at our first rehearsal, live in the room. We put a lot of faith into the fact this would work – and the video above cemented that fact.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Ginger: After the Oct/Nov tours of UK, Ireland and Japan we want to take this band everywhere that has electricity. I feel that the next step in our evolution is as a live band, and I’d like to play every day of the week for all of 2018.
Scott: It truly feels like a brand new band – We have to prove ourselves so this tour is our chance to introduce this project to the world. There's been fans popping up from all over the globe, so as far as I'm concerned, I'd go anywhere with these guys.
7.The new album was released on 'Undergroove', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Ginger: Undergroove is the mastermind of Darren Sadler, who I’ve known for a long time as a friend but never got to actually work with. They say don’t work with children or animals, or mates…but I couldn’t be happier with the way that Darren has taken Mutation and genuinely worked his bollocks off to get our music out there in peoples faces. Together we’ve become a deadly team and I can only imagine what we’re going to achieve together in 2018.
Scott: I had worked with Darren on Exit_International's debut EP / Album and singles. He is such a pleasure to work with and was personally made up knowing someone as hardworking and dedicated was in our corner. He's done an incredible job so far during this campaign, and hopefully this means when the time comes for a new record Darren will be with us too.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?
Ginger: Insane!! The response to this album really has blown us all away.First of all, we did;t know if anyone would actually like this music. It’s not exactly traditional metal. But it seems like the world of extreme metal is ready for whatever you’d call this call this brand of noise. I think that because the world is in such a fucked up place right now, politically, that it has created a hole for music as aggressive and bleak as ours. For this we have Mr Trump, Mrs May, Kim Jong-un and the rest of the global team of political piss-wanks to thank.
Scott: To me, 'Dark Black' is the runt of the three Mutation records, and doesn't sound like anything in heavy music at the moment. The sum of our parts, knowing whet makes us tick was never going to create a straightforward version of what people see as metal. To me it is a violent, experimental punk album with splashes of melody. It is always amazing to hear the great feedback the record has gathered so far.
9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Right now Mutation is our main concern, we are 100% focussed on this and all other bands and projects have to take a back seat. This is going too well for us to even consider our other options. We believe in riding the horse of fortune until the fucker is bleeding out from exhaustion.
Scott: This is our number one concern at the moment, and turning this loose as a live band is where the test comes – Hopefully the live arena will spread the word further. I'm still with my best pals in Exit_International and we are releasing a live album we recorded on our tour in May, as well as my Jaws Of Deaf project which is just a case of when I record a set of 5 songs, I put them online. I also play guitar for a rock band in Geelong (Australia) called Social Haunts. Denzil our drummer has a load on – He's always in at least ¾ bands at anyone time, most recently seen giging with Horsefight. For the rest of the guests on the album....Here's the roll call: Prog metal superstar Devin Townsend, Phil Campbell from Motörhead, Arthur Shepherd of Primitive Weapons, ex-Cardiacs fruitloop Random Jon Poole, Jamie Oliver of UK Subs, Mauro Pawlowski (ex-dEUS) and the mighty Paul Catten (Barrabas, Bed Wetter, Stuntcock, The Sontaran Experiment, ex-Medulla Nocte etc etc). With backing vocals from long-time Ginger comrade Givvi Flynn and host of friends and fellow weirdos also contributing.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Ginger: This is arguably the most exciting thing about what’s happening to us. We will develop this into a live monster and then record that version of the band. None of us have an idea what we’ll sound like after a year on the road, but I guess we’ll all find out on the next album.
Scott: Ideally I'd love not to repeat a vibe of anything we've done before, but has to be extreme. This project allows us to push boundaries, and would love to experiment further with the next album. Maybe even going further into the electronic realm might be worth pursuing, but recorded in a live setting.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Ginger: I’m not sure that any direct musical styles or influences apply to Mutation. We all listen to a host of different music but when we get together for Mutation then the natural sound is something miles away from what we listen to back home. I think we’re just trying to choke as much noise out from this band as is humanly possible.
Scott: When we wrote 'Dark Black', we spent an evening listening to music, talking about films and book that we both love – The thing that became apparent was a shared 'vibe' we both like, and that always is a nod in the extreme direction. It was an exploration of all things fucked-up which opened the door for this album.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Ginger: We are all big fans of the kind of chemically enhanced bonding sessions that involve laying down brain cells in sacrifice to the darker forces of equilibrium in chaos. Baphometal, if you like.
Scott: We both are hardcore horror fans, and that informed the album and our direction. Exploring extremes, chasing the hit.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Ginger: We intend for the Mutation live experience to be something that lives between catharsis and sacrifice. This will be unlike anything else that you will experience. Trust us on this and join us. Together let’s make this something very intense and very special indeed.
Scott: The plans we have for this tour, when executed will seriously challenge and push how extreme an experience live music can be.
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