Aborted – Vault of Horrors (Review)

Aborted are a death metal band from Belgium and this is their twelfth album.

I can’t help but love Aborted. Their addictive blast and groove approach to death metal is tried, tested, and brutally efficient. I’ll link my reviews for Retrogore, Bathos, Terrorvision, and Maniacult, and urge you to check them all out, as they’re definitely all worth your time. Which brings us to Vault of Horrors, the new 40-minute Aborted offering.

One of the first things you’ll notice about Vault of Horrors is that every song features a guest vocalist. These are drawn from Shadow of Intent, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Angelmaker, Despised Icon, Cryptopsy, Ingested, Engulf, Archspire, Signs of the Swarm, and Ov Sulfur, in that order. With such a high calibre of vocal talent on board a lesser band’s singer might feel intimidated, but thankfully the Aborted vocalist has one of the most iconic and charismatic voices in the business, and the guests simply sit alongside his formidable roars, growls, and screams neatly.

Aborted abuse and batter with their precision brutality and lethal intensity. The punishing drums are murderous, the savage guitars are laced with technical venom, and the vocals individualised for each song, yet carry through them all the inimitable voice of Aborted themselves. The crunchy guitars are heavy, the drumming merciless, and the vocals savage. It’s all very good indeed. Aborted’s macabre melody is well-represented, adding texture to the death metal carnage, while deathcore breakdowns pepper the album like colossal weights dropped from a big height.

Packed with horror atmosphere and professional barbarity, and enriched with a sophisticated edge, Vault of Horrors is effortlessly enjoyable. Aborted know exactly what to do with this sort of material, and all of the ten tracks shine with a brutal lustre. As should be readily apparent, I’m a big fan of Aborted, so this is easy listening for me. Consider my recommendation in this light, but if you’re a fan of heavy extremity played with crushing heaviness and brutal character, then I fail to see what’s not to like here.

Destroy!