Well, I was certainly not expecting this radical stylistic lane change from Aborted! Twenty-three years into a storied Death Metal career and suddenly they decided to throw out the old recipe book. Who am I fucking kidding? No, Aborted hasn’t decided to abandon what got them to the dance. You want to know what TerrorVision (Century Media) sounds like? Imagine what an Aborted record sounds like in 2018. Done.

What else did you expect from this longstanding Belgian export? Over the course of what reads like 700 LPs and EPs, deviation from the norm has been few and far between (we’re looking at you Strychnine.213). At this point in their career, Aborted knows what band it is and how to deliver the goods. The Death Metal pummeling rarely lets up and is only surpassed by the horror and bloodshed that makes up the lyrics and Aborted’s art and theatrics. So, the long and short of it is that TerrorVision is a solid, if not slightly flawed album.

My chief complaint isn’t about the playing or the talent involved, but I think it’s a simple enough of a solution that it just requires the engineer to twist some knobs. For one, vocalist Sven de Caluwé, while sounding as beastly as ever, is mixed just a tad too high on songs like ‘The Final Absolution.’ And while on the mix and mastering, they could’ve thrown a bone to Ken Bedene who drums with the precision and speed of a Tesla Model S. Bedene’s controlled chaos and swift feet are the engine that propels the ripping ‘Deep Red’ and the album’s finest ‘A Whore d’Oeuvre Macabre.’

Another complaint that will come across as just getting too much of a good thing, is the reliance on the blast beat. Again, Bedene is a fucking surgeon with them, but sometimes those higher speeds just rush the song a bit too much. Trust me, when the tempos are just right, and you can really take in what shredders Mendel bij de Leij and Ian Jekelis are cooking up on the searing ‘Vespertine Decay’ and the fiery solos of ‘Exquisite Covinous Drama’ you’ll thank Aborted.

So, as it turns out, Aborted has another album to headbang until it hurts to. What else is new?

7.0/10

HANS LOPEZ