If you were to introduce someone to extreme metal, and they hadn’t heard the genre or weren’t previously a fan, you could do little better than to throw on the new Aborted album. It’s all that is right and enjoyable about the metal genre, and on their 8th full length album these Belgians show absolutely no signs of slowing down.

The first 3 tracks following the intro are pure vintage Aborted: nasty tracks with filthy death metal riffs coming from all angles, jackhammer drums and earth moving blast beats, and vocalist Sven Caluwe leading the charge. His hollow, almost digital sounding death yell is one of the most unique in the genre; you could put all my metal albums on shuffle and when an Aborted track came long, I would know it instantly by the vocals alone. Track 5, “Your Entitlement Means Nothing”, is where the band still wants to crush your skull, but would like to see it bob a little before doing so, with a nice chug riff thrown in about halfway through. Besides featuring one of the best samples to start the track (one that could not have fit this band more perfectly, so I won’t ruin it here), you also get guest vocals from The Acacia Strain’s Vincent Bennett. It’s only a slight slowdown, with “The Davidian Deceit” starting off with a flurry before showcasing a very nice solo at the 1:30 mark that shows the band can toss in a bit of melody while also trying to toss your eardrums into the abyss.

One of my favorite tracks on the album, “Die Verzweiflung”, starts out with a songwriting choice that will get me every time: a lurching, driving riff backed by some slick double bass drums to add effect; in this particular case you get some pinch harmonics over the top of them. It’s probably the slowest track on the album, but easily one of the best, adding some spoken vocals and a little tempo variety. Before that you also get the catchy (and decipherable) chorus of “Coffin Upon Coffin”, with the album closing with a bang with “Cenobites”.

As for of the guitarists, it’s worth nothing that both of them, Danny Tunker and Mendel bij de Leij, were not on the previous LP Global Flatline. While that album was solid, the newcomers add a breath of fresh air, showing off some very deft stringwork and adding killer musicianship while taking nothing away from the force of the music as a whole. The rhythm section is back intact with JB van der Wal on bass, and Ken Bedene behind the kit. The phenomenal production on the album was handled again by Jacob Hansen, wrapped up with some great artwork by Par Olofsson, who has become one of the most sought after artists in the extreme metal scene. Another great album from one of death metal’s top tier bands.

 

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