(TheMadIsraeli reviews the new 20th anniversary EP by Belgium’s Aborted.)
I fucking love Aborted, especially their last two albums. It’s no secret that here at NCS we were foaming at the mouth like a horde of ravenous hyenas and cackling as we ripped apart the carcasses of Global Flatline and The Necrotic Manifesto when they came our way. To my ears, The Necrotic Manifesto, compared to Global Flatline, signified a departure from the sound the band had always been semi-attached to. Until then, every Aborted record had included the more technical, more tempo-dynamic flare reflected on Global Flatline, although I think most would agree that Global Flatline was their sound taken about as far as you were going to get.
The Necrotic Manifesto was even more aggro than any Aborted release before it. It was streamlined, grindier, noisier, faster, and more belligerent, while largely ditching the more dynamic song-writing of previous Aborted albums. And in between those two albums, Aborted had acquired guitarist Mendel bij de Leij, whose solo project we have covered before (along with his and vocalist Sven’s side project, System Divide — which appears to have transformed into the band Oracles).
So where does that leave Termination Redux? When it comes to EPs, I see them as serving one or more of three specific purposes nowadays: You use them to introduce your craft; you use them to tide people over with some goodies before the next big release; or you use them to plant the flag — to sow the seeds of a new direction and sound in a digestible format, or sometimes to make a defiant statement of said new direction and sound.
I do believe that Termination Redux is the third of those types of EPs, signifying an interesting evolution in the band’s music, capped off by the gesture of re-recording the opening song of one of their most praised early records, Engineering the Dead.
This sounds like a statement of future intent — though since it’s a “20th anniversary” release, something else might be going on — but either way, I fucking adore it. Aborted have mixed the grind- and slam-heavy elements of Necrotic Manifesto with the more reckless technicality of their early work. This is especially apparent because of how well the three original songs on the EP fit with the re-recorded version of “The Holocaust Incarate” (or “The Holocaust Re-Incarnate”, as it’s named here), which is to say, you couldn’t even remotely tell they’re from different eras of the band. The new songs actually sound like what you might have expected to hear as a next-album progression from that re-recording of the iconic Aborted classic that caps off this new EP. It also seems intentional that, beyond a lower guitar tuning, “The Holocaust Re-Incarnate” is EXACT to the original, helping reinforce this point even more.
You should all be familiar already with the coked-up, rapid-fire, spider-biting riff fest that is the album’s post-intro opener and title track, since we premiered it last month. But in the event you haven’t yet encountered the song, listening is kind of like the sonic equivalent of being punctured with needles on every inch of your skin in the first half, and then being obliterated with a sledgehammer made from living organs and black magic in the second.
The second song, “Vestal Disfigurement Upon the Sacred Chantry”, is a carnivorous whirlwind of riffs, vomit, and one of the best slams for a midsection I’ve ever heard.
“Bound in Acrimony” is a hardcore song with grindcore dressing on it, with an infectious, bouncy breakdown in the middle used to exceptionally good effect, given the flesh-flaying speed of the rest of the song.
As noted earlier, the EP’s finale, “The Holocaust Re-Incarnate”, is almost 100% loyal to the original version of that song. It’s played straight, but given new life by the band playing it in a lower tuning than the original, by Sven’s vocals having the refinement they now have, and by the modern, titan-sized mix for which Aborted have become known with their last two albums. It serves as a pretty excellent way to end the EP. (I still love the way the protracted slam closes out this song.)
If you especially loved The Necrotic Manifesto you WILL want in on this EP. Definitely the first all-killer, no-filler nuke set to detonate soon after 2016 greets us.
This EP is a celebration of Aborted’s 20th anniversary, and it will be released on January 15, 2016, by Century Media, both in limited-edition 10″ vinyl and as a digital download. It can be pre-ordered HERE.
https://www.facebook.com/Abortedofficial/
This review is positive but I’m not surprised because “Aborted” most of the times are unable to write bad songs. The video is nice to watch and the song is a proof of their skills. There is a good moment for the riff from 0:44 to 0:59 along with the drumming of Ken Bedene who is like the calm before the storm, indeed when the first minute starts your face will be melted by the powerful and intense drumming with that powerful and acid voice by Sven and the fast and aggressive guitars execution. They are evolved in their technichal aspect, always fast and violent and “catchy” I could say, short but sweet indeed. I can’t wait to hear their upcoming album and this EP of course.
I can’t wait to get this regardless of whether it sounds like early, current or next generation Aborted 🙂
Definitely in the upper echelon of Death Metal’s elite and have been on quite the tear with their last two albums. To say I’m excited for this release and their next full length would be a colossal understatement!
From what I heard from the band this EP still features Danny Tunker on guitars.
Their Facebook doesn’t list him as a member and he left before this EP was even started I believe.
No, if you look through their Facebook posts you’ll see the EP was finished in July and he left in October or something. Plus I talked to their singer and he confirmed Danny is still on this EP and wrote songs for it.
I’m not the only one bothered by this, Danny just posted this update on his Facebook:
Danny Tunker
Hi everybody! It’s been brought to my attention by some people that there is some confusion on the new Aborted EP ‘Termination Redux’.
To answer your questions: yes, I did still write material for it and I did play guitars on it. I only left the band about 2-3 months after it was finished.
Apparently a few magazines reviewed the EP and do their entire research on the bands Facebook site where I am (obviously) no longer credited as a member. I’m sure I’m still properly credited on the release itself. So do me a favour and don’t blame the band for my name not showing up in the reviews.
I was, however, not involved in the new full length album that should be released somewhere this year.
As you were!
I’m not sure what the problem is. The review doesn’t say that Danny wasn’t on this EP. It doesn’t say that Mendel replaced him. It says that Mendel joined the band after Global Flatline. I assume both of them were involved in recording the EP.