A gory return to form
Long running Belgium death metal outfit Aborted have always been a band of change, both in terms of line-up’s and sound, particularly on their last couple of releases (2007’s Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture and 2008’s Strychnine.213), where they explored more melodic territory. But while Aborted’s last couple of albums were solid efforts, some fans were turned off with their change of direction, with some claiming that they had lost touch of the fire and aggression that made their Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done album from 2003 such a critically acclaimed release.
Aborted made some attempts to recapture their former glory with the release of Coronary Reconstruction E.P. in 2010. As expected, the E.P. was well received, and had many anticipating a full-fledged return to form with the eventual release of a new full-length effort.
It’s been two years since then, and after assembling a new look line-up (group founder/vocalist Sven De Caluwé is now joined by ex-They:Swarm/Whorecore guitarist Eran Segal, ex-Abigail Williams/System Divide guitarist Michael Wilson, Atrocity/Leaves’ Eyes bassist JB Van Der Wal and ex-Blood of Cain/Abigail Williams/Fallon drummer Ken Bedene), Aborted are back with their seventh full-length album Global Flatline. And what an almighty gory return to form it is!
After a brief and creepy introductory track (Omega Mortis), Aborted immediately get down to business in full-speed mode with the album’s first single and title track Global Flatline. Opening with the sample ‘I’m going to fucking rape your soul!’ over a crushing slow intro, Global Flatline turns into a furiously riffed/relentless blast-beat filled track that proves beyond any doubt that they have their edge and aggression back. Having said that, the melodic edge of the band’s recent past hasn’t disappeared entirely, with the overall feel of the song combining the best of Aborted’s venomous past and melodic sensibility of their recent past to create a sound that will please all fans.
Benighted’s Julien Trechan helps add an extra depth of aggression vocal wise to the intense blast of The Origin of Disease, while tracks such as Fecal Forgery and Of Scabs and Boils represent the other end of the band’s song writing spectrum, with the pair leaning more towards the melodic side.
In terms of guests, Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder lends a hand on the somewhat melodic and groove based Vermicular, Obscene, Obese, while Jason Netherton of Misery Index can clearly be heard on Grime (which appears in re-recorded form from their previous E.P.) and Keijo Niinimaa of Rotten Sound within the blistering Our Father, Who Art of Feces.
But it’s not like Aborted really need guest appearances to hold up Global Flatline, as the band prove beyond any doubt that they can well and truly deliver on their own with tracks such as Coronary Reconstruction (the title track from their last E.P.), the haunting slow burner Expurgation Euphoria (which is somewhat similar in direction to the lengthy album closer Endstille) and The Kallinger Theory.
Global Flatline is the kind of album that marries all of the band’s varied sounds of the past to create the kind of release that fans of any Aborted era will thoroughly embrace. Aborted may have distanced some fans with their more recent efforts, but with Global Flatline, its clear the band are back in all their gory splendour.
(Century Media Records/E.M.I. Music Australia)
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