Having formed in 2017 the Illinois based Death Metal act Molder have certainly been putting a lot of effort into getting to where they are today. Kicking off their career with a slew of live records (something I particularly like with dirty Death Metal) and various demos. They eventually dropped their debut full length in 2020 the independently released Vanished Cadavers. However, it would appear that their audience is growing. Now in 2022 under the excellent banner of Prosthetic Records we witness their second full length release Engrossed In Decay.
The grimy nasty slime of Glutinous Remains begins the album. It quickly descends into riff heavy OSDM worship with vocals reminiscent of early Autopsy yet tinged with punishing more modern screams. Overall a generally unique air is created, one that sees no time wasted and entices the listener. Continuing the worshipful vibes the title track ramps up yet again this time seemingly taking inspiration from Obituary. The big style riffs are laden with Thrash influence and the vocals have a definite John Tardy tone. Relentless Pestilence sees the elements of the first two tracks brilliantly combined, and thus ending up with a classic yet powerful and strikingly modern take on OSDM. Much like some previous tracks I really appreciate the samples used at the start of some tracks including Disinhumed Carcass Revival. Any cross over between Death Metal and Horror I can always get behind, I guess you could say this brings in an element of Mortician.
To get critical for a moment however is there too much reliance on worship? I would say the influences are apparent but never overarching. Which makes for an overall pleasing and grisly Death Metal experience. The Thrash element of this album is also found heavily within the riffs, that said whilst none of them are bad by any stretch they often feel forced or dare I say borderline generic. Less memorability is put into the vocals than the riffs and that is something I often find irksome in Extreme Metal. I don’t wish to defame everything though, after all the instrumentation in Huff The Stench is expert, masterfully composed and truly brutal. My hyper critical nature lends me to point out minor flaws but in reality to put things bluntly I’d proudly wear a shirt from this band. The second half of this album is generally packed with less new elements but elevated versions of the first half, always a nice touch which ensures my interest.
All in all Engrossed In Decay is a great love letter to the classic American Death Metal sound. Molder manage to create something that is still uniquely theirs. A great brand of gore laced Death Metal that doesn’t rely on vast technical capability but rather expert barbarity and tried and tested elements, Molder are 100% a band to watch, the more sickening the better. As much as I love Tech Death, you just can’t beat gritty Horror fuelled nastiness.
(8/10 George Caley)
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