Fresh off their tour with fellow Richmond noisemakers Flesh Control, Mutwawa have sold out of their limited edition Mayan Mutations cassette, and have therefore decided to make it available to all interested parties for free on the internet. Mutwawa is a duo consisting of two of the hardest-working men in the Richmond extreme music scene: Gary Stevens (Head Molt) and Jason Hodges (Suppression/Bermuda Triangles). The six songs they've combined to create on their latest release have evolved from earlier work, and in a direction that might be surprising to some. The upbeat pulsing that forms the foundation for most of these tracks reminds me of nothing so much as late 80s/early 90s techno and house music, but the strange and disturbing layers that hover overtop keep intact the disturbing, horror-movie-soundtrack air that permeated earlier Mutwawa recordings. On the title track, the pulsing is slowed down considerably, causing the strangely danceable elements to take a backseat to the horror. However, once the following track, "Perpetual Riot," gets going, the speedy pulsing returns, though this time at an even higher tempo that reminds me of late 90s European breakcore, which at its heaviest was nearly as extreme and frightening as Mutwawa get on this cassette. Mayan Mutations could be the soundtrack for a party that's indistinguishable from a riot, so be sure to bust it out the next time you want everyone except the insane people to get off the dance floor.
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