Kev Rowland
Formed more than 20 years ago, Belgian brutal death metal act Aborted are back with their tenth full-length release, following on from 2016’s ‘Retrogore’. One always knows what Aborted are about, and with this album they deliver, they really deliver. From the gentle introduction through the chaos and hellstorm they unleash, this is quite some album. It is easily the best album I have heard from them, and I have seen others also asking if it is better than their 2003 monster ‘Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done’, but everyone agrees it is the best album they have released in years.
The drums are being driven by a demented human octopus, the blast beats are everywhere, and there are many times when this album is moving into grind territory, such is its ferocity and unparalleled violence. The guitars crunch, the vocals come from the gut, but just when one thinks it can’t get any heavier they slow it down, or lighten it up, all so that when they come back and put the hammer down everyone gets punched with the change in pace and attack. They remind me somewhat of Cryptopsy in the way they understand dynamics and vary the pace, of Nile in the way they can bring the technical element to bear when they need to, and Carcass and Napalm Death in terms of unrelenting attack when it is required. Luckily, the production is up to the job, and the result is a brutal death metal album that any fan of the genre definitely needs to get.