Modder – DESTROYING OURSELVES FOR A PLACE IN THE SUN (Recommendation)

I really enjoyed The Great Liberation Through Hearing two years ago. It was a refreshing take on Sludge Metal. Although not being a great fan of psychedelic vibes, Modder released a fascinating lovechild of Sludge and said psychedelic influences.

“Stone Eternal” is a bold statement of a beginning for DESTROYING OURSELVES FOR A PLACE IN THE SUN. Eight and a half minutes full of rhythm changes, shifts in intensity, and “where did that just come from?” moments. The following “Mather” is another musical kick between the shoulder blades. Within the first few seconds, you feel the impact before you hit the ground and it just keeps pulsing through your body. It’s always astonishing how much variety and sheer heaviness can be packed into such a relatively short time.

The rest of the album is at least as awesome as it is astounding: “Type 27” initially lulls the listener into a false sense of security with delicate guitar tones, until a sudden storm front sweeps in. What follows is the typical, massive writhing, before the track fades out calmly over the last minute and a half. “Mutant Body Double” on the other hand takes a slower pace for most of its runtime, but that doesn’t make it any less heavy. Like a giant trampling its path, it leaves a trail paved with electronic effects along the roadside.

“Chaoism” is the concentrated madness of this album. Breakbeat, mosh, sludge—it must feel like having more than two ears, with different music playing in each. “In The Sun” closes the album in true Meshuggah style: intricate yet grooving.

DESTROYING OURSELVES FOR A PLACE IN THE SUN is a highly successful successor to The Great Liberation Through Hearing. Like a perfect evolution, it defines the muscles, refines the movements, and in the end, a metal organism emerges that stands very high on the food chain.