ABORTED
ABORTED– “Vault of Horrors”
by Thor
ABORTED—the veteran pan-global tech-death machine—does this death metal thing about as well as it can be done, particularly over the past 15 years or so. Specifically, the band’s been elite since American drummer-extraordinaire Ken Bedene joined back in 2010. And that’s really saying something if you consider the murderer’s row of badass drummers ABORTED’s had over the years. Bedene, though, is one of several elite sticksmen to usher metal drumming toward some truly extreme territory throughout the late-aughts and into the 2010s, and his presence alone is always worth the price of admission.
“Vault of Horrors”, the band’s new LP from Nuclear Blast Records, is a collection of macabre songs inspired by its titular emotion—both real and imagined—though, mostly the imagined cinematic variety of frights. In other words, it couldn’t be more up my blood-soaked alley, and that’s without hearing a single note of it.
In fact, if this were an album COVER review, “Vault of Horrors” would be an All-Timer. The artwork puts us inside a dim, dingy cabin in which sits a stack of VHS horror movies, a TV, a VCR … and a giant skull sculpture made of human body parts! It’s the perfect homage to those great, gnarly MORTICIAN album covers by Wes Benscoter back in the ‘90s.
“But Thor,” you say. “In the age of streaming, who gives a fuck about album art? How are the tunes?”
Well, they’re pretty standard ABORTED fare. That’s to say the songs are all tech-leaning death metal with both brutal and melodic elements. This album in particular is strongest when the music is heaviest. Fortunately, that’s most of the time.
However, when the band meanders into melodic waters, my attention span leaves the pool. I react the same way to all their albums, though, so it’s probably fair to say I’m not a melo-death guy. Even so, when the opening track “Dreadbringer” kicked in, I reflexively blurted out, “Holy shit!” It was one of a few literal holy-shit moments “Vault of Horrors” evoked from me.
The best thing this album has going for it (besides the sick artwork) is its sonics. This thing sounds absolutely huge, particularly the massive and clean low end. The punch of the kick drum is borderline dangerous yet articulate at high speeds, and the guitars sound organic and wide. It’s an aggressive production with an attention to clarity.
This album’s packaging, production, and the vast majority of its music make ABORTED’s “Vault of Horrors” and elite-level slab of death metal. Go grab it, now!