Tyranny and Mutation

Tyranny and Mutation (on the album cover: THE BLVE ÖYSTER CVLT: TYRANNY AND MVTATION) was the second album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1973.

The album was recorded from tunes written while touring in support of their eponymous first album. BÖC continued to develop their style of "intelligent heavy metal" on this record. This was the first BÖC album to feature a contribution from punk poet Patti Smith, who would go on to co-write several songs for the band and at one time dated Allen Lanier as well.

The song "The Red and the Black" is a re-titled, re-recorded version of the band's "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" from their first studio album. The lyrics are a reference to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.