Sacred Bones has announced the release of Mutator, a lost album that the late Suicide vocalist Alan Vega recorded in 1995-1996 with his wife and collaborator Liz Lamere. Mutator was discovered in 2019 by Lamere and Vega’s close friend Jared Artaud, who mixed and produced the songs into a complete album.

“The moment Liz and I discovered the original ADAT tapes of Mutator, we knew we had found something special and felt strongly that it needed to be shared out in the world,” says Artaud. “It’s something we feel he would have been really proud of, seeing this lost album released today.”

Mutator is just the first in a series of planned archival releases from Vega’s vault on Sacred Bones spearheaded by Lamere and Artaud. And today, they’re sharing “Nike Soldier,” the first single from the project.

“Working on this album, I was blown away by the sheer intensity and raw power of Alan’s ability to transform sound and deliver inimitable one-take vocal performances,” Artaud says. “‘Nike Soldier’ is a supreme example of Alan’s unparalleled instincts.”

“In all of his artistic expressions Alan had a unique ability to pull from an eclectic mix of cultural references and turn them on their head,” Lamere adds. “If we asked him to to give us a quote about ‘Nike Soldier’ he’d say ‘Do it Just’.”

The song comes with a music video directed by Jacqueline Castel. “Performer Kris Esfandiari mutates into punk iconoclast Alan Vega in a karaoke toe-to-toe, set against a reliquary of Vega’s light sculptures and totems from his personal wardrobe, including his famed Champion gloves and beret,” Castel explains. Watch and listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Trinity”
02 “Fist”
03 “Muscles”
04 “Samurai”
05 “Filthy”
06 “Nike Soldier”
07 “Psalm 68”
08 “Breathe”

Mutator is out 4/23 on Sacred Bones. Pre-order it here.