“Molotov” by Front Line Assembly feat. Encephalon

A robotic voice intoning existential despair against punishing beats and harsh electronics? Yes, please, and thank you. Originally recorded as a brooding instrumental for 2018’s WarMech soundtrack, Front Line Assembly’s “Molotov” had undergone several permutations over the years. For my money, though, the best one comes via Ottawa’s Encephalon, who turn the track into an excoriation of a world devoid of meaning and purpose.

“I was born for no reason at all” intones Matt Gifford, his voice wrapped up in cold mechanical tones as he laments a life seemingly wasted: “All my life I’ve tried to live as though with humility/Though I dropped so many torches.” But the song takes a darker, more foreboding turn in its final moments, as a purpose finally emerges, albeit one that might cause most to shudder:

I was born to murder the world
To light the Molotov
Perform the cluster bomb
Yoke the throat of man
And scorch the stars

A criticism of those who resort to violence to deal with the mundanity of their lives? A glimpse into the mind of a psychopath? A call to arms and revolution? Whatever the interpretation, Encephalon’s take on “Molotov” is a certified industrial banger.

Mechviruses is currently available on Artoffact Records.