Modular Reaper Imager - 1NH4L3 D34TH

Modular Reaper Imager is an act that I hadn't gotten to hear yet, despite hearing a lot of good things from various people in my network of friends and accomplices. Closer inspection of their Bandcamp page boasts members of Acidrodent, VERIN, and the legendary electrowhatever band [AndroidKölon:58] having bought the act's debut album, 1NH4L3 D34TH, so I was excited to see it in the promo pool here at Brutal Resonance.

I'll start off by stating that Modular Reaper Imager isn't the type of industrial I generally listen to. I like my four-on-the-floor kicks and general clubby goodness, for the most part, while Modular Reaper Imager has more in common with acts like Skinny Puppy and :wumpscut:, going more for the dark atmosphere surrounding the music - with occasional Ministry-esque guitars thrown in for good measure. They have a great fucking sound that should be listened to at least once by anyone who has been clamoring for something new to listen to.

The album is (mostly) a very slow one, going back to that atmospheric quality I already stated, with lots of distortion sprinkled throughout, but used more sparingly than you would hear in something like a powernoise album. The vocals are distorted, but not like your typical Terror EBM nonsense - you can still make out the lyrics during the singing/speaking moments.

The only major problem I can spot with this album are the song titles. Lots of randomly capitalized letters and brackets to spell out words within the words already given. Nuclear Winter becoming 'Nu[clear] [Win]ter', for example. Not enough to detract from how good the album is, but just an annoyance (especially when filling out the track list for this review).

At the end of it all, Modular Reaper Imager knows what the fuck they are doing. 1NH4L3 D34TH is slow, punishing, cruel industrial that will make you remember why you got into the genre to begin with, and I can't wait to see where they end up later down the road as they have a lot of promise. It will run you $8 USD to grab a copy, but I can assure you that that's $8 well spent. 

Favorite Track: gOD's virUS.

Least Favorite Track: aXcess.