Aborted - Vault of Horrors (2024)

With almost 30 years of existence, Sven de Caluwé’s Aborted is one of those quintessential Death Metal bands that while it has kept their sound fresh, it also delivers chugging tracks that will leave your neck sore from all the headbanging. With “Vault of Horrors” the band plays homage to horror movie classics in a well crafted manner. Clocking in at 40-minutes, this release delivers ten tracks of sheer brutality that any fan of the genre will enjoy.

Opening strong with the intricate drumming/riffs combo of “Dreadbringer”, the album sets a very high-octane tone and never really lets go. The band enlisted one guest vocalist per track, giving Sven’s vocals that extra kick and allowing their sound to have a more diverse range, as tracks like “Condemned to Rot”, “Brotherhood of Sleep”, “Hellbound”, and “Death Cult”.

The grindcore-ish track “Insect Politics” is definitely a cool piece to switch up the flow of this release as it is furiously fast and pummeling in a small package. Other tracks have some diverse unique elements, like the atmospheric synths like on the creepy “The Golgothan”, or the crafty Michael Myers Halloween references of “The Shape of Hate” alongside its chugging riffs and crafty guitar leads.

Never dull and always keeping things interesting, “Vault of Horrors” closes with the lively “Malevolent Haze” which features Ricky Hoover of Ov Sulfur on vocals. As a whole, Aborted has managed to take a concept that many bands have done before and yet release something engaging and unique that is far from just another copy. The band’s years of experience nicely shine in every single track on this release, as they are all well refined, masterfully executed and completely crushing. P.S. We didn’t list all guest vocalists as it is actually cooler to try to identify them yourself.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Release: March 15th, 2024

Genre: Death Metal

Country: International