Review Summary: Aborted show they more than just another Brutal Death-grind band and show they have something to proove
As I got deeper into metal and the subgenres that lie behind it, I started to scratch off some of those subgenres that I thought I shouldn't listen to. This happened due to multiple reasons. For example, most of the bands are repetitive and I got the idea in my head that once you have heard one band within that subgenre, you have heard them all. This has happened to me with genres such as death-core, technical death metal (especially within the northern regions of Europe and all of America), djent, post-metal, and in this case death-grind. Oh how I was wrong this entire time (with death-grind at least to my knowledge) and it was Aborted who proved it to me.
When I think of death-grind I usually think of monotonic guttural vocals, with simple chugging on the guitar, and a double bass pedal firing away nonstop consisting of only blast beats or snares at half notes along with a ridiculous amount of production. While this may be true with a multitude of brutal metal bands, (Abominable Putridity and Pathology come to mind first) Aborted is definitely an exception to this formula I have seen in brutal death metal. Aborted is a Belgian band with brutal death metal at their core but are very well influenced by death-grind and technical death metal and sound much like them too.
The album starts out with the sound a door slamming open with music from an old horror film and the typical psychotic nurse voice (male) saying "the Doctor... is in". It then kicks off nonstop from there with not just both the blast beats and the snare and half notes on the snare but everything in between. Aborted just has that abrasiveness that is just spine chilling that very few bands have, even many of the other death-grind and brutal death metal bands going for that same abrasiveness don't achieve it like Aborted did. Not only do they have that effect, but they are able to keep variety with their sound and technique and have that same abrasive effect locked in place. They beat you down nonstop with not just memorable riffs, but great melodies, grooves, solos, and surprisingly non-pretentious breakdowns.
Another thing that helps them gain this abrasive effect they have is the way they have produced this album. The best way to describe it is raw. It's not raw in the sense of you have just rubbed your hands with sand paper. Its raw is the sense like being wrapped in that sand paper like a mummy and having it being pulled and dragged all across your skin and not leaving a single part of your body untouched by it. It's that raw.
While this album may be abrasive, everything moves along as comfortably and as smooth as possible. They sure know how to keep their variety in sound wide but also in check so that it doesn't throw off the listener. Also while this may have been a safety net they used in an attempt to keep the listeners attention if they thought the album were to be poor, they have voice-overs a few times to remind the listener that they are not there to be your friend, but to remind you that that this album is meant to grind your face against a concrete, cold wall covered in God knows what.
While this album may have been released almost twelve years ago, it is still one that should be checked out by any metal fan looking to broaden their horizons because this will not be an easily forgotten listening experience that may be challenging at first because of its abrasiveness. So sit back and let these guys grab you from your chair and do unfathomable things to your ears that will be very rewarding. And remember from now on don't make the mistake I've made and ignore a band just because they lie within a subgenre that you may find repetitive or whatever excuse you have to not listen to them due to their subgenre.
