Molder – Catastrophic Reconfiguration
Release Date: 8th November 2024
Label: Prosthetic Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: 200 Stab Wounds, Fulci, Autopsy, Obituary, Witch Vomit, Death.
Review By: Eric Wilt
The releasing of new albums always seems to slow down towards the end of the calendar year. I’m not sure if there’s some sales strategy behind it or if it’s just coincidence, but November and December are notoriously slow when it comes to new metal. Thankfully, nobody told Illinois death crew Molder this, as their new album Catastrophic Reconfiguration is set to hit shelves on 8 November. This is especially fortuitous for people who love old-school death metal bands like Autopsy and Obituary because Molder has 90s death metal oozing out of their blood-soaked pores.
If you’ve listened to either of Molder’s earlier releases, 2020s Vanished Cadavers and/or 2022s Engrossed in Decay, you know what to expect with Catastrophic Reconfiguration, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time. To the contrary, Molder has never sounded so good in their career. Part of the credit for this is due to recording engineer Matt Aguilar, whom the band credits with getting their best performances in record time, but part of the credit is also due to new guitarist Carlos Santini whose fretwork and blistering leads helped push Molder even further into the crusty musical swamps from which they came. Rounding out the band’s lineup for the new album are longtime members, guitarist and vocalist Aaren Pantke, bassist Dominic Vaia, and drummer Kyle Pooley.
Musically, songs like the title track, Overdue Burial, and Corpse Copulation show you what Molder is all about. From mid-paced riffing and tortured vocals to tremolo picking and blazing blast-beats, Molder captures the essence of 90s death metal in ten tight tracks that are all killer and no filler (check out the lyrics and you’ll see that this pun is intended).
If old-school death metal’s your thing, Catastrophic Reconfiguration will help ease the pain of the slow-release months that are November and December. Far from being a tribute act, Molder has put together ten tracks of thoroughly disgusting death metal that are every bit as sick as anything their forebears released back in the good ol’ days. 
(4 / 5)
