Has it really been seven years since the last Aborted album was released? Most Metalheads would probably say that they’ve recorded two albums in that time, but I beg to differ. I’m not sure what they were - certainly not Aborted albums by any stretch of the imagination.
Am I being harsh? I’m usually very open-minded and tolerant when bands I like try something new, but bloody hell, I thought ‘Slaughter and Apparatus’ was just awful. Everything I loved about the band seemed to have vanished in the space of one record. Although I’m not a Death Metal connoisseur, I’ve never heard a band who can write songs the way Sven and co. could, particularly on ‘Goremageddon’ and ‘The Archaic Abattoir.’ They had a knack of composing the most overwhelmingly savage riffs, around which they incorporated fantastic hooks and rhythms, resulting in brilliantly dynamic songs. That’s probably why tracks from those two albums still fill up the majority of their live set. If you’re not familiar with the band, just listen to ‘Sanguine Verses,’ or ‘A Cold Logistic Slaughter’ to hear what I’m harping on about.
‘Omega Mortis’ opens with a sampled piece, which really isn’t a surprise, slowly becoming more intense until ‘Global Flatline’ announces itself, with a slow, razorized riff which sounds like it’s been plucked straight from 2003’s ‘Goremageddon.’ It doesn’t take long before they’re at it, hammer and tongs. The intensity and riffs are back, thank the lord, before making way for a pretty in-keeping solo.
‘The Origin of Disease’ is more frantic in its delivery, particularly where the riffing is concerned, breaking through the frenetic blasts and Sven’s growls, with vitriol. It’s catchy at the same time though, just as it used to be (he says with a smile on his face).
‘Of Scabs and Boils’ has the tuneful nature of ‘The Inertia’ about it, but with a darker side, bringing Bloodbath’s debut to mind and propelled by tonnes of double bass.
You couldn’t accuse the band of being stuck in the past with this; as much as they’ve acknowledged their early 2000’s material, there’s a plethora of new sounds intertwined in the songs. The main thing is that the frenzied intensity levels are higher than they’ve been for years, without sacrificing dynamics.
‘Expurgation Euphoria’ is slow, sinister and has that heavy and slightly doomy razor riff sound snarled around something altogether more atmospheric. Needless to say they haven’t written anything so captivating for years.
Those who bought the ‘Coronary Reconstruction’ EP in 2010, will know ‘From a Tepid Whiff,’ with its many pace changes, chugs, and dare I say it, ‘pit moments.’
I won’t jump on the bandwagon and go as far as saying it’s one of their best albums; I still need to digest the bloody thing more for one thing, but it’s definitely, DEFINITELY their best since 2005, or at least in this humble scribe’s opinion.
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Oliver Cass
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