I’ve not been shy about Molder being my favorite of these new school death metal bands. I have a vest with their Gremlins back patch, signed by the band. Frontman Aaren Pantke signed it with an “OUGH.” I swear I didn’t put him up to it, but if I had, that’s exactly what I would have wanted. I can’t count how many times I have seen them live at this point, but I always look forward to the next time, and I’ve been looking forward to Catastrophic Reconfiguration as well.

Sure, there are adequate vocalizations in the opening track, which is the title track, but I don’t quite get what I wanted until the intro of track two, “Pulped.” A proper isolated bass, a little riffage, then an “OUGH.” An appropriately oozing solo hits, then a shaky, Martin Van Drunen-style pained growl brings in the main, galloping riff. Whether I like it or not, when the song title is screamed, more than once it has sounded like “pooped” to me. It is what it is.

A friend of mine said Molder is just RIFFS, and “Bursted Innards” begins with an excellent one, as well as one of those pained groans. I live for those if you didn’t already know. It’s not uncommon for there to be passages with no vocals, as those appear all over the album. I also enjoy the pace of many of their songs, which are punk-energy. In other words, “Bursted Innards” is a macrocosm of Molder.

Seemingly slower on the spectrum is “Corpse Copulation.” It begins with a dirge-like riff and nasty solo, but it quickly goes back into fast-paced and energetic. At less than three minutes, it’s on par with most of the other tracks since the album itself has ten and is less than 35 minutes.

To close the album is “Nothing Left to Ooze,” a phenomenal song title. It’s a little longer, but still less than 4 minutes. Just as with the rest of the tracks, I get exactly what I want quickly, which is a furious riff and an “OUGH.” I could probably just stop there. I won’t make it that easy on you, though. It feels like this song, as well as the album, is over before being able to fully absorb it. Luckily that merits listening again. If you’re here for the riffs, you’ve come to the right place.

As expected, I dig it.  I’ll continue listening to it for a while, along with stellar albums from a lot of the other big names in this new school death metal collective. They all decided to release bangers at the end of the year, and it’s taking up a lot of my free time. While the recordings are excellent, Molder truly shines on stage. I also wake up the next morning with a sore neck, and I can’t wait to see these songs live, whether my neck likes it or not. OUGH!

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