Molder Catastrophic Reconfiguration CD Review

Prosthetic Records has made a living off releasing some pretty Heavy music and the new album from the Illinois Death Metal band Molder is no different. The band’s third album is entitled Catastrophic Reconfiguration and it’s their 2^nd album for Prosthetic Records.

I’m not a super hip Death Metal guy, I was on board for the first wave of Death Metal when I wore a younger man’s clothes and then it just kind of fell off for me. Nowadays I know enough to get me in trouble and or well to hear influences of the bands of yesteryear. Molder, specifically, is essentially a time machine packed with influences from Autopsy, Death & Massacre. However, the biggest influence and the most important that I hear is Obituary.

Catastrophic Reconfiguration is packed with slow chugging, grinding riffs that would make fans of albums like Slowly We Rot and Death’s Leprosy feel right at home. There’s also some fantastic Lead work that would make Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman proud. Vocally, the approach is based out of Obituary love, when I first listened to the album, I thought it was John Tardy. Of course, I can’t understand a damned thing he’s screaming – typical of me. Another thing to note about this album that a lot of Death Metal releases suffer from is production, this one is a top tier recording, it’s clean, clear and precise. You can hear every instrument clearly and that makes for a great listen and makes the experience much nicer! The standout tracks on this album are “Bursted Innards”, “Corpse Copulation” and “Nothing Left to Ooze”.

Death Metal is such a niche genre, there’s so little that I find decent about it these days. Sure, I still enjoy the mainstays, but I don’t fancy many newer bands. It’s truly fun to hear a band like Molder kickin’ it old school and reminding us that there’s nothing wrong with wearing your influences on your sleeve!

~Black Angel