For those who have been following this webzine since its inception, it’s no secret we’ve had quite the love affair with death metal mutants Molder. Their debut full length, Vanished Cadavers, made it to #17 on our 2020 year end list. They were also our very first interview, so the next time you read an exclusive tell-all with your favorite mega rockstar, you can thank them for having faith in yours truly and helping get the ball rolling. And it hasn’t just been us who capitalized on the COVID downtime. Molder did so to, writing and recording an album that’s shockingly heavier and deadlier than the last.
Now I don’t type that last sentence lightly. Amongst a sea of Entombed, Bolt Thrower, and Mortician (the trinity of trend) clones, Vanished Cadavers stood out as a breath of fresh air, or rather a putrid stench, thanks to its primal take on the earliest days of American death metal. The riffs were repulsive, the hooks were horrific, and the production gave off a genuine old school feel, much thanks to Cianide guitarist Scott Carroll and Cheyenne Brandt. So it’s no wonder they teamed up with them again to capture their latest onslaught, Engrossed in Decay.
Whereas most extreme metal acts today opt for an ominous acoustic/synth intro as a “calm before the storm”, Molder wastes no time at all, hacking and slashing the listener to bits with the festering “Glutinous Remains”. Its unholy murky riffage, coupled with a chaotic atmosphere and the frantically screamed vocals of Aaren Pantke, would have you believe this slab of disfust was spawned from hell itself. It sets the tone for much of the release to follow, especially the Obituary-esque crawl of the title track, maximum brutality of “Disinhumed Carcass Revived”, and devastating speed attack of “Unsubstantial Hallucinations”.
When they aren’t doubling down on death, Molder throws in hints of punk, doom, and thrash to further intensify their savage sonic palette. The steady d-beat assault of “Relentless Pestilence” and “Decomposed Embyros” recall Discharge at their most unhinged and the farthest reaches of crust. The pummeling intro to “Huff the Stench” sounds like something straight off Autopsy’s Mental Funeral (1991). And my choice cut, “Chemically Dissolved” is so relentlessly thrashy that you can’t NOT headbang to it. Arranged in the same barbaric manner as Whiplash circa Power and Pain and Slayer circa Hell Awaits, “Chemically Dissolved” is a rabid beast of a song, destined to make the playlists of thrashers and death metal elite alike.
Leaving behind a horrific trail of blood, guts, and entrails, Engrossed in Decay stands tall as the death metal album of the year…and it’s only July. Vanished Cadavers was merely a warmup for this exercise in violent ripping death. I tip my hat (or in this case, scalp), to Aaren Pantke, Dom Vaia, and Kyle Pooley, for yet again bludgeoning this jaded metal critic to bits. To quote the late, great Thin Lizzy mastermind Phil Lynott, “It hits you like a hammer…goddamn!!!”
9 out of 10
Label: Prosthetic Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Autopsy, Obituary, Asphyx