ABORTED - Vault of Horrors (Review)

Written by: The Administrator 

Inside me are two Aborted fanboys. The first acknowledges that a review posted on my little review site seven months after the release of Vault of Horrors will do approximately nothing. Such an exercise would represent nothing more than wasted time and energy that could be better spent writing about a lesser-known band. The second fanboy, however, yearns to talk about Aborted, and the only thing that will quench this terrible thirst is an overly loquacious review. After a brief and perhaps gratuitously bloody battle, the second fanboy won. Decisively. And so here we are.

On their twelfth album, the horror-themed Vault of Horrors, Aborted continues their established trend of brutality with a technical flair. The second leg of their career has continually demonstrated a move away from the grindy aesthetic of the releases that they built their reputation upon, and this latest does little to buck the trend. Indeed, Vault of Horrors arguably represents them leaning the furthest into an unabashed Cattle Decapitation-esque modern sheen. That's far from a slight--this polished territory comes with roaring low end, squirmy and discombobulating quickfire riffage, and militantly pummeling percussion that feels like sustained bombardment from automatic railguns. Aborted show no qualms when it comes to burying the audience in pursuit of all-out sonic assault, and, as such, listening to all ten tracks in the intended order requires a certain willingness to succumb to overstimulation. But isn't that why we're all here? At this point in their career, it's safe to say that Aborted seldom do things halfway. In adhering to this maximalist mindset, every single moment on this album is absolutely overflowing with sound. Vault of Horrors ​is an exercise in (mostly) justified excess.

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The riffcraft here is simply absurd: the guitar lunges and jabs with sickening belligerence alongsideacrobatic ease, launching without warning from a brutal slamming deathcore-esque barrage, to blistering and intricate tech death flourishes, to some unexpected yet welcome melodic leadwork. Given the flexibility on display, it is exceedingly difficult to pin Aborted down, and Vault of Horrors shows them demonstrating a tad more instrumental variation. For example, after an utterly bestial breakdown, closer "Malevolent Haze" opens up, spending significant time and space on some oddly expansive clean guitars, which pair nicely with the tortured shrieks that build into the climactic conclusion. "Hellbound" employs a similar trick when it comes to building in breathing room by ceding space to some tasteful soloing. The outro to "Brotherhood of Sleep and the intro to highlight track "The Golgothan" brings a more brooding atmospheric element, while a track like "Death Cult" flies the 'core flag when it comes to providing a concrete stomping ground for those gnarly Despised Icon vocals.

And that opens up the can of worms that is this album's vocal department. Guest appearances aren't exactly new for Aborted--the willingness to collaborate and showcase talent is more than likely one of the reasons for the band's longevity in this industry. With that said, they really upped their game on this one, with every single track featuring a different vocalist. I'm  While I do think some vocalists were more seamlessly integrated than others, the guest spots are all fun and grace the album as whole with a sense of differentiation that would have been difficult to achieve otherwise. 40 minutes is a lot when it comes to music that is this overtly bombastic, and the varied voices really do help Vault of Horrors from sinking too far into dreaded stagnation. Without the variety in cadence and delivery, this album would feel...long. Inviting so many guests was a smart move, and honestly a tactic that I wish many more bands took inspiration from.

​And we can't avoid addressing the elephant in the room: the modern sheen. The production on Vault of Horrors is glossy and polished to a very high degree. Listening to modern-day Aborted feels like watching IMAX with your eyelids surgically removed.  Of course, a variety of grind and death fans have bemoaned the lack of scuzziness and grit in the sound, pining for the days of yore when everything sounded grimier. But sometimes you need to pick your battles, and in this case, I understand the criticism but am personally not that bothered. While clinically precise, Aborted's songwriting and chaotic performances make damn sure that nothing feels sterile per se. No matter how clean it sounds, blood and guts are judiciously splattered across Vault of Horrors. In the pursuit of precision, Aborted have arguably not lost that grotesque death metal charm.

Given my established fanboy status, grading against their discography as a whole feels unproductive, so let's just consider the run from Retrogore onward. I've loved this era dearly, and Vault of Horrors fits right in. I return to this as frequently as I return to TerrorVision, which is saying something if you know anything of my unhealthy love for that particular project. Vault of Horrors is an exceptionally enjoyable album from a band that has frankly already proven their legendary status multiple times over. As I said in my review of 2020's EP, La Grande Mascarade, "their role in the grand scheme is further reinforced. Another project, another masterclass. So goes the life and times of Aborted."

Aborted - Vault of Horrors was released March 15, 2024 via Nuclear Blast. Find it here!

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