Aborted - Vault Of Horrors (Album Review)
Aborted – Vault of Horrors
Released: March 15th, 2024
Line Up:
Sven de Caluwé // Vocals
Ian Jekelis // Guitars
Daníel Máni Konráðsson // Guitars
Ken Bedene // Drums
Stefano Franceschini // Bass
Aborted online:
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Legends of the extreme metal scene, since the mid-90s Aborted have slowly evolved from a nasty grindcore machine into a glistening death metal entity with tech-death and blackened touches. Seemingly always on the road and consistently releasing top-quality tunes, Aborted have worked long and hard to secure their legacy in the genre, and are as powerful today as they have ever been. With their last record, 2021’s Maniacult, among their best work, the new horror-movie-themed, guest-packed Vault of Horrors has a wave of anticipation riding behind it.
Straight off the bat, outside of the myriad of special appearances and consistent lyrical themes, there aren’t any surprise twists or turns on Vault of Horrors – it is clear that Aborted are happy to continue going down the same well-worn path musically. However, they are still at the top of the game when it comes to quality compositions, with the thunderous opener ‘Dreadbringer‘ and ‘The Shape of Hate‘ (featuring an unmistakable Oliver Rae Aleron of Archspire) coming to massive climatic conclusions.
The chugging, Prince of Darkness-themed ‘Brotherhood of Sleep‘, with the harmonic-coated main riff and an excellent guest spot from Angelmaker’s Johnny Ciardullo, is an immediately grabbing cut, whereas the old-school Aborted, grindcore-leaning ‘Insect Politics‘ is both a nice change of pace and a throwback to their early material.
Perhaps it’s because so much music is being thrown at the listener, but it’s not until the fourth or fifth spins that a lot of these big moments and hooks begin to truly stand out. Interestingly enough, a lot of these passages occur at the back end of the LP, with the closing pair of 'Naturom Demonto' and 'Malevolent Haze' arguably the best moments on Vault of Horrors. Boasting seriously apocalyptic vibes, David Simonich (Signs of the Swarm) and Ricky Hoover (Ov Sulfur) lend their inhuman vocals to the respective final tracks, of each would have been a suitably epic way to end the album; 'Naturom Demonto' fades out with a haunting guitar line and lurching drums, while 'Malevolent Haze' packs an ungodly breakdown and a very slight (and rare) melodic interlude. It’s not all zingers, however, with 'Hellhound', 'The Golgothan' - and even the initial single 'Death Cult' - though raging slabs of metal, are Aborted-by-numbers and don’t quite land their punches as flush.
What does hit consistently is Dave Otero’s excellent, crystal-clear mix (no easy feat with music this fast and technical), while new axeman Daníel Máni Konráðsson lends his immense talents - the aforementioned 'The Shape of Hate' packing some dazzling licks and whammy-bar tricks.
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Maybe it’s through the slight lack of massive songs, a few forgettable tunes, and/or the overload of guests - or even perhaps being victims of their prior high quality - but it feels like Vault of Horrors is a notch under the lofty heights of Retrogore and Maniacult. Still, even at a gear below normal, Aborted can comfortably blow most of their competition out of the water, both young and old. With heaps for death metal fans to sink their teeth into, there is much to explore within Aborted’s Vault of Horrors.
Aborted – Vault of Horrors tracklisting
- Dreadbringer (Ben Duerr)
- Condemned to Rot (Franscesco Paoli)
- Brotherhood of Sleep (Johnny Ciardullo)
- Death Cult (Alex Erian)
- Hellhound (Matt McGachy)
- Insect Politics (feat. Jason Evans)
- The Golgothan (feat. Hal Microutsicos)
- The Shape of Hate (feat. Oliver Rae Aleron)
- Naturom Demonto (feat. David Simonich)
- Malevolent Haze (feat. Ricky Hoover)
Rating: 7.5/10
Vault of Horrors is out March 15th on Nuclear Blast Records. Order here
Review By – Andrew Kapper. Twitter: @andrew_kapper
