REVIEW: ABORTED – “TerrorVision”

Aborted, the Belgian masters of horror metal are about to unleash their tenth album, TerrorVision, onto the world. And like previous Aborted albums, expect it to be a brutal outing from the moment you press play.

With almost two decades under their belt the band have certainly honed their niche with their formula of grindcore and death metal and Ken Bedene’s blast beats, the heavy riffs from Mendel bij de Leij and Ian Jekelis, the intense bass from Stefano Franceschini and brutal growls emanating from Sven de Caluwe’s mouth prove they aren’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon either.

It all starts with a Lasciate Ogne Speranza, a rather haunting melody that fills you with a sense of trepidation before TerrorVision, the title track and latest single from the band, which also features Seth Siro Anton (Septicflesh), punches you right in the face. And from there, true to form, Aborted don’t let up as the entire album aims to pummel you into submission.

The album deals with the concept that the media is an ancient ‘evil’ entity that is manipulating the world. It’s a theme most of us are familiar with, especially as terms such as ‘fake news’ are thrown around by world leaders to try and either get us to open our eyes to the manipulation of the media, or to try and keep our eyes shut to the god-awful things happening behind closed doors. Either way, the message from Aborted, about how they view the media, is quite clear and delivered with their usual aggression and expertise.

Tracks such as Vespertine Decay and Exquisite Covinous Drama show off their talents in spades and only remotely begins to harness their anger and viciousness.

And for the fans looking for the guests, it’s not only Seth Anton that the band have invited to work with them on this album. They have once again brought in a few guests on TerrorVision. On this album they also work with Sebastian Grihm (Cytotoxin) on the track A Whore D’oeuvre Macabre and have also brought Julien Truchan (Benighted) back into the fold, where he joins Sven on vocals on the track The Final Absolution.

The album of course, shows off one of the best things about the music from Aborted, which are the catchy melodies that can be found littered amongst the brutal. These catchy little bits show up in Altro Inferno, and in Deep Red, a song that has fast become a favourite for this reviewer.

With the artwork done by Par Olofsson, whom the band also collaborated with on The Necrotic Manifesto (2014), TerrorVision really comes to life.  It is perfectly brutal, it is intense and almost offensive (in fact, a lot will find it completely offensive) and it definitely encapsulates what the band were aiming for with the concept of the album.

Aborted are so well known for their high octane music and with TerrorVision they have raised the bar yet again and it will be exciting to see what they can do next.