ALBUM REVIEW: TerrorVision – Aborted
Despite paying their dues and working hard in the underground since 1995, it’ only been in the last five or six years ABORTED have become a household name in modern death metal. 2012’s Global Flatline saw the beginning of a new era for ABORTED, with the addition of powerhouse songwriters Mendel bij de Leij and Ken Bedene raising the band from a solid modern death metal offering to one of the most exciting and successful bands in the game. Since Global Flatline, ABORTED have gone from strength to strength with 2014’s The Necrotic Manifesto and 2016’s Retrogore receiving critical acclaim across the board. Set to continue the trend, the death metal juggernauts return with their most ambitious record to date – TerrorVision.
ABORTED have been slowly evolving their sound since the addition of Benede and bij de Leij to the line-up, maintaining the brutality and the chaos they have always been known for, but injecting an oppressively dark and foreboding atmosphere into the sound. This dark style was at its strongest on 2016’s Retrogore, and 2017’s Bathos EP gave a taste of what the next stage for ABORTED had in store; more foreboding, more atmosphere, and somehow, even more brutality.
TerrorVision opens with a short piano-driven Lasciate Ogne Speranza that immediately creates an extremely sinister, unsettling atmosphere before driving into the breakneck title track. The eponymous song harnesses the atmosphere of the intro song, but do not mistake this as an atmospheric death metal song – this is a riff-heavy, guttural blast of pure modern death metal that sets the tone for the record moving forward, a barbarian brutality coupled with enough atmosphere to keep things dark and sinister.
Moving into the devastating one-two punch of Farewell To The Flesh and Vespertine Decay, ABORTED keep the momentum high. With a near breakneck speed, Farewell To The Flesh moves forward with semi-tech death riffing and an utterly hookless, unnerving chorus, giving way to a melody-tinged solo and a slower, more atmospheric passage before ramping the speed up again towards the end of the song. As TerrorVision’s longest track, clocking in at six minutes on the dot, Vespertine Decay also stands as one of the record’s highlights. Here, we see ABORTED bring the atmosphere to a new height, and though they never quite drift into BEHEMOTH territory, the track has quite a blackened vibe to it that works fantastically. Vespertine Decay showcases ABORTED at their very best, and displays a huge amount of growth in the band.
Though TerrorVision is not a melodic death album by any stretch, the record is not totally devoid of hooks. Altro Inferno is a prime example. Taking the influence of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER that has been subtly hinted at throughout the lead guitar work across the record and ramping it up a notch, Altro Inferno maintains ABORTED’s signature sound but injects the slightest of melo death inspiration into the riffing, and delivers an unnaturally catchy chorus that will make the track a live favourite. Bringing TerrorVision to a thunderous close, The Final Absolution sees the TBDM influence come back, with more touches of melody in the riffing and a little less dissonance in the atmosphere. Complete with a heavy dose of groove and bursts of neck-snapping speed, The Final Absolution is another of TerrorVision’s strongest offerings, and the perfect way to end the record on a high.
TerrorVision may just be ABORTED‘s strongest album yet. From start to finish, the record is a whirlwind of torturous brutality, creating a sonic hellscape that transports the listener to their own personal nightmare. Flourishes and hints of melody keep TerrorVision grounded, and flares of virtuosity show that there is talent behind the crushing heaviness, but this is not a record for the weak hearted. ABORTED are without a doubt one of the strongest modern death metal bands in the scene, and TerrorVision is their magnum opus.
Rating: 9/10
TerrorVision is set for release on September 21st via Century Media Records.
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