Modder sounded too good to be true. Sludgy riffs, psychedelic grooves, and experimental electronics? My hopes (and standards) were high.
The worry lasted all of five seconds into Modder’s upcoming album, Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun, due to be released on October 3rd via Consouling Sounds and Lay Bare Recordings. Crunchy, crushing, and cosmic, the third full-length album from the Belgian sludgers sounds like a time capsule from the 1970s that’s been stewing in fetid muck for the last 50 years. Today, we’re getting a first glimpse at their caustic vision with their new single, “Mather.”
“Mather” is a fascinating introduction to Modder’s new chapter. Quite possibly the least traditional sludge track from Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun, it feeds pummeling instrumental grooves through a crackling filter of blown circuitry and flickering sound design. “Mather” disarms and disembowels with erratic flashing beats, only to bludgeon the ear with rapid-fire grooves.
For a brief moment, there’s a faint EBM sensibility that hints at danceability, only to be dragged under the sheer force of nuclear-grade rhythms. Glinting electronics creep their way across the edge of soundscape, adding a disorienting edge to the carnage that bursts into centerstage with electric brightness. Picture the monolithic devastation of 71TONMAN meets the beat-driven harshness of Ash Prison blended with off-kilter psychedelic flair, and you’ll be on the right path. But “Mather” must be experienced to be fully believed. If this first chapter is anything to go by, Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun will deliver truly soul-crushing and mind-bending sludge that drives you to insanity before swallowing you whole.
Pre-order Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun before the album drops on October 3rd.