180 gram audiophile black vinyl. Tyranny and Mutation is the second studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on February 11, 1973, by Columbia Records. The record was produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. On May 12, 1973, the album peaked at number 122 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was recorded at the Columbia Studios in New York City in late 1972. The song "The Red and the Black", with lyrics referencing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is a renamed, re-recorded version of "I'm on the Lamb but I Ain't No Sheep" from the debut album of the same name. The song was later covered by the Minutemen and Band of Susans.