Aborted – Vault Of Horrors
Reviewed by: Kenneth Gallant
Review Score: 9
Let’s address the elephant in the room right from the get go. The gloriously explicit cover art really hit me hard and I knew instantly why it did. As some already know, I am a voracious horror fanatic and I tend to be drawn to music that is horror inspired. This album cover directly rips off Sergio Stivaletti’s horrific menagerie (centrepiece) from The Church made in ‘89 by Italian film maker Michele Soavi. Obviously, this is also a homage to gorier days as seen in the 80’s VHS horror movie craze, so all good in my books.
There are some neat visual cues placed in the art with references to VHS tapes like Hellraiser, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead and The Church; plus a Dawn Of The Dead movie poster on the wall. I simply love it, but I will stop there because you didn’t come to this review to get my thoughts on album art. You came here to find out if Aborted’s latest release is any good.
The answer is quite simple. The latest opus from these Belgium-based death masters is an absolute “hell yeah” in my opinion. There’s tons of maniacal riffs and razor-spitting vocals on every track and put through a blender of brutalized grindcore to boot. The end result is an album appropriately entitled Vault of Horrors. So, let’s take a deep-dive into this sucker and find out what makes it so putrid sounding and infectious all at the same time.
Aborted started out in ‘99 playing a rabid induced brutal death/grind style and came charging out of the gate with a strong debut entitled The Purity of Perversion. The album was fast, vicious and complete with gore-obsessed lyrics; also featuring a cover utilizing a scene sourced from the horror film Split Second. I think this album surprised many and it helped launch a successful career in the death/grind scene. The only thing I will add is the slight change (leaning heavily) into grind on later releases, but it hasn’t affected my enjoyment at all.
Case in point here on Vault Of Horrors which takes the best of death and grind and comes up with a blenderized diet of gory goodness. This new release follows the same formula as heard previously on 2021’s Maniacult, so if you liked that album, then you will love this new effort. The big notable difference here is the band switching labels, leaving Century Media and joining the Nuclear Blast family. A move that will serve them well moving forward just based on the diverse roster of bands found on Nuclear Blast. Also, they have a new guitarist in Daniel Konradsson who contributes a great deal of music and lyrics on this new release.
The opening number ‘Dreadbringer’ rips straight into the proceedings and chugs along with much voracity. I love the energy here, along with the razor-like guitar tone that fuels it. ‘Condemned To Rot’ provides a ton of metallic flourishes and a mellifluous riff, but never forgets its rabid nature. ‘Brotherhood Of Sleep’ will bludgeon you hard and will not spare you a breather at all. I really loved the opening moments of ‘Deathcult’ and must give props to Sven’s vocal delivery right from the start. The song makes reference to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and those lyrics wax poetically the true nature of devotion to the saw!
‘Hellbound’ turns up the heat and delivers an intense, brutal listening experience with lightning-fast guitar riffs and pummelling drums to bring up the rear. ‘Golgothan’ pulls from the same formula, so do not expect any respite at all. Right after these two songs, ‘The Shape Of Hate’ erupts and it becomes an instant toe-tapper. I love how the song is a love letter to the Halloween films; appealing largely to horror fans who love Michael Myers. The last few tracks are both vicious affairs. ‘Naturom Demonto’ is about demon possession and the final track ‘Malevolent Haze’ is a song referencing Stephen King’s short story The Mist. I liked this track quite a bit and found the bombastic pacing a real treat to these ears. The vocals are monstrous, the guitars soaring in parts, and heaping amounts of voracity are the pure highlights here. What a way to close out this album.
Overall, this was a pleasurable listening experience. I started out talking about all the explicit and horrific details found in the cover art, and it certainly transcended into the music. The modern approach to Aborted’s sound might turn off older fans who loved Purity Of Perversion, but this is still good twenty years later. Sure, the evolution is slicker and less raw, but the gore-obsession remains and the rabid attitude fuels every song.
Sven is the only original member. His vocals are gnarly and very distinct, but he continues to steer the ship and keep it lively and fast on every outing. The addition of Dan Konradsson also helps to refine the guitars and expand the histrionic sounds found here. Tracks like ‘Deathcult’, ‘The Shape Of Hate’ and ‘Malevolent Haze’ homage and reference horror films I really adore, so that’s a big plus for me. If you are new to Aborted, give this a go and enjoy the mayhem.
Vault Of Horrors is out March 15th via Nuclear Blast.