:: Aborted - Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture

Aborted

On the strength of their fourth full-length release ‘The Archaic Abattoir’, Belgian gore/grindcore come death metal act Aborted seemed to be on the cusp of true recognition. Unfortunately, dramatic line-up changes limited any real progress forward for the band, along with the prospect of shopping for a new label after having parted ways with underground label Listenable Records. Two years on, and vocalist Sven De Caluwé has once again put together a new look Aborted, and returned with their fifth full length outing ‘Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture’. Obviously with the injection of new members into the group, Aborted have once again had a slight change from ‘The Archaic Abattoir’, with ‘ Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture’ seemingly heavier and more aggressive than their last album, but also somewhat cleaner and crisper sounding on the production side of things. ‘The Chondrin Enigma’ is an intense opener with all the signs of a reinvigorated Aborted, while the crushingly heavy ‘A Methodical Overture’ and ‘The Spaying Séance’ further reinforce Aborted’s ability to inflict aural carnage. Elsewhere, tracks such as ‘Avenious’ (featuring Hatesphere’s Jacob Bredahl on backing vocals), ‘Archetype’ and ‘Odious Emanation’ (again, featuring Walker) are primarily rooted deep within the death metal framework, while songs such as ‘The Foul Nucleus Of Resurrection’, the mid-paced ‘Ingenuity In Genocide’, ‘Prolific Murder Contrivance’ and ‘Underneath Rorulent Soil’ showcase the more melodic aspect of the band’s sound. Although Aborted has long since moved away from the gore/grindcore sound of old, the album still offers brief flourishes of the band’s past, but mixed with newer elements of their current death metal sound, which only helps in making ‘Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture’ one of this year's finest death metal albums so far.