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Ex-FEAR FACTORY Singer BURTON C. BELL Announces Rescheduled 'Obsolete By Word Of Mouth' Spoken-Word Events
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Ex-FEAR FACTORY Singer BURTON C. BELL Announces Rescheduled 'Obsolete By Word Of Mouth' Spoken-Word Events
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Modder ā Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun Review
By Grin Reaper
Blending sludge metal and electronica make for fascinating bedfellows, and thatās exactly what instrumental outfit Modder brings to the table with Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun. I donāt recall encountering this genre combo before, but the unlikely pairing fits together in compelling and novel ways. Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun is one part early Mastodon and one part The Prodigy, and it works better in practice than Iād ever expect it to on paper. Both styles embrace the bottom end, and in a live setting, I imagine Modder is unapologetically crushing. But it takes more than novelty to guarantee a grand time, so letās dig in and see what goodies this Belgian quintet serves up.1
Though third outing Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun unites sludge and dance, it wasnāt always so, as Modder has evolved with each release. On their self-titled debut, Modder trod the well-worn doom path with low-end crunch and abundant fuzz, recalling Sleep and Electric Wizard. Sophomore album The Great Liberation Through Hearing injected quicker paces and subdued attitudes, delivering a rich variety of textures that plays like Inter Arma sans vocals. Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun continues the evolution of Modderās sound, this time embracing dance-ready pulses and electronic trappings that occasionally approach Fear Factoryās Remanufacture (āChaoismā). Itās a direction hinted at on The Great Liberation Through Hearing, but here Modder triumphs in fully fleshing it out.
On Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun, Modder succeeds in evoking an assortment of influences while maintaining the bandās distinct identity. From the Korn-fed intro of āStone Eternalā to the Gojira-glazed grooves of āIn the Sun,ā the album packs a broad range of sounds into its forty-two minutes. Each one of the albumās six tracks brings unerringly heavy riffs. āMatherā begins with a Prodigy-induced flourish, then drops into a disgustingly dense lurch that shakes the room like a herd of mammoths tromping past. Guitars, bass, and electronics weave an intricate tapestry, with melodies and countermelodies coalescing into grooves thicker than a bowl of oatmeal (āStone Eternal,ā āMutant Body Doubleā). The drumming flits and hammers, with actual and programmed drums enabling quick shifts between sludge and breakbeat (āChaoismā). This five-piece flaunts chops, and they pack them into an easily digestible package.
Even if Modderās latest is a barrel of fun, its imperfections hold it back from greener pastures. For starters, the mix is distractingly crowded. I suspect the goal was to create a concussive bombshell that rattles listeners to the core. While effective on that front, there are times when the sludgy crunch warps into over-compressed artifacts (āStone Eternal,ā āMatherā). This may be a challenge with the merger of styles, where the electronic elements donāt require the auditory depth needed to express the timbre of acoustic drums or bass. Instead, the music gets rammed through the aural equivalent of Fat Manās Squeeze, coming out the other side flat and jarring. Another issue with Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun is immediacy. Both sludge and dance emanate a hypnotic sheen onto their styles, whether through towering, droning riffs or persistent electro-throbs. This makes great music for focusing on other tasks, but rarely did I stay engaged for an entire listen. If the goal is to surpass the novelty of instrumental electrosludge, something more is needed. As it is, Modder has strung together fun moments without enough cohesion. If you remove one of the songs or reorder them, the end result doesnāt change substantially, indicating that the whole is no greater than the sum of its parts.
Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun is a study in cross-genre pollination that bears fruit worth sampling, but wonāt sustain you for long. I really like the idea of what Modder has concocted, but the album would have benefited from further refinement. A more dynamic mix would immediately boost listenability, and upping their songwriting game could help push their brand of electrosludge past the point of novelty and into territory with more active engagement and longevity. Modder oozes potential, but thereās ultimately not enough on Destroying Ourselves for a Place in the Sun to keep me coming back.
Rating: Mixed
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kpbs mp3
Label: Consouling Sounds / Lay Bare Recordings
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 3rd, 2025
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Dino Cazares Reflects on Fear Factoryās Influence on Modern Bands
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FEAR FACTORY's DINO CAZARES: 'We Definitely Influenced A Lot Of Bands Like STATIC-X And Many Other Bands After That'
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DINO CAZARES On FEAR FACTORY's Influence: 'I Feel That We've Influenced A Lot Of Bands To Add Melodic Vocals'
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Morrn š¤
A classic with a twist.
https://album.link/de/i/214477977
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FEAR FACTORY Guitarist DINO CAZARES Featured In Chaoszineās āMeet The Artistā Q&A (Video)
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FEAR FACTORY's DINO CAZARES: AC/DC's ANGUS YOUNG Is 'The Reason I Wanted To Play Guitar'
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Today In Metal History š¤ September 2nd, 2025 š¤ SEPULTURA, FEAR FACTORY, THIN LIZZY, AMON AMARTH, IRON MAIDEN, KINGās X, MEGADETH
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