The Vomit's Favorite Bands

I want to talk for a minute about my favorite fuckin' bands. Just because I can, not because you want me to. Fuck off if you don't like it.

ALL TIME FAVORITE BAND: Nunslaughter

Nunslaughter is, was, and always will be my favorite band. I've been into them since about the year 2000 or so, making me a fan of 25 years. I didn't think they'd continue past Jim passing away, but Don, as usual, picked up the pieces and made the band probably better than ever. Jim's legacy lives on in that his sound was such a huge part of the Nunslaughter sound, behind the kit at least, and the current drummer does a great job of mimicking that punk sensibility. When I buy a Nunslaughter record, I know exactly what I'm buying, I know I'll like it, and I know it's at least as good as their previous record. There's a reason they take up a huge amount of real estate on my patched-up blood red fuckin' denim jacket! Nunslaughter is fucking death metal to me.

#2: Obituary

With a bullet. Obituary is another one of those bands that's simply honed their sound over the years, and hasn't had an unreasonable shift in style that would turn me off. I believe they're the heaviest band in the world all these years later. Plus, Tardy's vocals are unmistakable, unimpeachable, and unpretentious. I got into them at the age of 13 or so when I picked up Cause of Death and saw the video for The End Complete on Headbangers Ball soon after that. I bought that when it came out, as I have all their other records from that point on.

#3: Cannibal Corpse

When you buy a Cannibal record, you know what you're getting, and you know it won't let you down. Sure, there are some records slightly stronger than others, but it's never going to be so bad you chuck the fucker out the window in frustration. I started with Eaten Back to Life right about the time Tomb of the Mutilated came out, and of course I saw Ace Ventura and freaked out when I saw Cannibal's appearance in the movie. 

#4: Immortal

Of all the Norwegian bands, Immortal is the one I got into, and the fact that their songs are so damn good is why. A lot of people consider their magnum opus to be Battles in the North, and it's excellent, but I prefer both At the Heart of Winter and Sons of Northern Darkness for their epic feel, and the melodic riffing on top of increased heaviness and a willingness to back off the speed. Marduk does grinding black metal better, anyway, at least when Legion was in the band.

#5: Grave

I bought You'll Never See... shortly after it came out, again when I was a growing metalist, about 13 or 14 or so. It crushed my fuckin' face. I like Soulless, but it's nothing compared to this album and the debut. It's soul-crushing heaviness changed my outlook on what death metal could be and should be, and all these years later, I find they're still goddamn good at what they do.

GOD-TIER FAVORITE: Judas Priest

So, fuckface, why didn't you include Judas Priest as your favorite band of all time, and say it's Nunslaughter instead? You tryin' to be "underground," asshole? No, motherfucker, I'm not. Judas Priest gets their own category because they're the first band that readily identified themselves as heavy metal (Black Sabbath still insists they play hard rock, so Halford took it upon himself to accept the position as the original Heavy Metal band). I've always preferred Priest to Maiden, since they were heavier (I got into them with the Painkiller record, which got heavy play on Headbanger's Ball when I was a kid). From there I followed Halford over to Fight, then disregarded the Two thing he did. I also followed them through the Ripper period, and Jugulator remains my favorite record from that period to this day. The newest Priest record is incredible - soaring melodies, furious solos, memorable songs each and every one. I also follow KK's Priest, and I look at it like I get two versions of Priest, and I'm 100% fine with that! More for me, man. 

That's a wrap on the favorites. If I listed all the honorable mention, it would just be a book-length post with nothing but band names, so I had to have a cutoff somewhere. One special one is Molder, who recently elevated themselves almost into this list with their recent record.

Molder "Catastrophic Reconfiguration" (Review)

Molder “Catastrophic Reconfiguration”

2024 Prosthetic Records - CD, LP / Headsplit Records - Cassette

www.prostheticrecords.com / headsplitrecords.storenvy.com

BADASS TRACKS: Pulped, Bursted Innards, Corpse Copulation, Nothing Left to Ooze

BADASS SHORT DESCRIPTION: Real fucking death metal

I don’t think I remember a record in the last handful of years that I was as excited about as this one, with the exception of the last Nunslaughter full-length, since they’ve been my favorite band for almost the last 25 years. Molder has now become a contender for that throne, and although they’ll never unseat the Devil Metal Masters in my hierarchy of favorite bands, they’re a strong second. Yes, they’ve surpassed Obituary for me, and Cannibal Corpse, as well as Immortal. I love all of those bands, but not like I love this band now. I’d grabbed their first two records on cassette from Headsplit a while back and was blown away, so when I learned a new Molder release was imminent I was truly excited.

Let me tell you, I was fuckin’ rewarded for hitting play. From the opening salvos to the final notes, this is a real death metal record of the sort that doesn’t really rise out of the scene much any more. I can probably count on two hands the records that smashed my skull like this one in the last few years (Torture Rack, Nunslaughter always does, Mutual Hostility, maybe Blastomycosis, and a few others come to mind). I listened to it three times through, checking song titles the first time, and then just letting it happen. Some of the goddamn stress went away that I’d been laboring under recently. Thank you, fellas. I needed it.

Some of the riff structures remind me very much of what Nunslaughter does, while Molder does it in their own way. The solos, in many songs, have what my brother used to call a “dead air” quality, which is how he described the solos on “Cause of Death,” when he heard that album. That’s a compliment. He meant morbid, scary, and evil with that phrase, or haunting. They have the same feel. I can hear the history of death metal in Molder’s sound, with Autopsy coming to mind as well here and there. In the vocals I hear Possessed, Asphyx, Obituary. I hear much of the early Florida sound (very early, mind you) in the structures and sound, while being less focused on technicality than some of those bands. I can hear some demo-era Swedish influence just here and there, maybe Nihilist coming to mind at times. Don’t think that makes Molder derivative at all – it’s as fresh as the day death metal was born. They simply wear those influences loud and proud, and that’s no problem. When you’ve heard as much death metal as me, and I’ve been listening to death metal since I was 11 years old in 1991, you tend to be reminded of other bands when you hear a record, and that’s inevitable.

The vocal delivery itself is excellent, standing out for me on the record. Some of these songs sound like fun to sing – I like rhythmic deliveries, and Molder delivers on that front, with the occasional rapid-fire verse and excellent lyrics. “Nothing Left to Ooze” sounds like a lot of fun to sing, and it’s how I would write lyrics for the same riffs. The entire album is strong in the same way, across all of the instruments. The rhythm section is excellent, as well, with the bass player doing more than just following the riff. He’s behind the music but audible, adding low end but is also clearly a great player. The drums are right there in the pocket but have plenty of time to shine as they carry the tempo forward – always forward, and never stagnant. Headphones revealed a lot of interesting cymbal work, also. There is no weakness in any of the playing, and it’s clear Molder could play much more intricate music if they wanted to, but they clearly love this style like I do, and they do it so well. They’ve got an uncompromising aesthetic, and weak-ass pretend death metal doesn’t fly with them. They’re too busy making good death metal – and at the heart of all good death metal is excellent heavy metal, and I’ve got a feeling they’re aware they have an excellent heavy metal album on their hands here.