[5] The song "The Red and the Black", with lyrics referencing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is a re-titled, re-recorded version of "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" from the band's eponymous debut album.

Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone wrote a rave review of the album and called Blue Öyster Cult "one of the best bands America's got".

[11] However, Mike Saunders of Phonograph Record judged "Tyranny and Mutation" "a real disappointment", definitely inferior to their debut album and lacking "the sort of brashness that almost defines hard rock or metal music".

Thom Jurek of AllMusic noted how BÖC "brightened their sound and deepened their mystique" on this album and described the music as "screaming, methamphetamine-fueled rock & roll that was all about attitude, mystery, and a sense of nihilistic humor that was deep in the cuff", judging Tyranny and Mutation just as much a "classic album" as its follow-up Secret Treaties.

[7] Martin Popoff in his Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal acknowledged the progress achieved in production values compared with their debut but found the sound "still mired in an oddly appealing maze of cobwebs", despite Blue Öyster Cult parading a slew of classic songs and "quickly becoming something very imposing".