Stupidity is when ignorance is so blissful, that one doesn’t even know that Aborted is a 19 year old band with an army of albums behind it to back up the claims of brutality. Until a few days I was one of the aforementioned few who was barely familiar with Aborted, and given the sudden surge of bands that cast away their Core influence to embrace Death Metal (Carnifex, anyone?) considered Aborted to be one of them. Although my self-loathing for such a grievous misconception knew no bounds, “The Necrotic Manifesto” more than made up for it by offering me a chance to redeem my ignorance for the same brand of loyalty that prompted Harley to follow the Joker’s footsteps and wreak havoc on Gotham.
Aborted, as have legions of Death Metal bands, Old School or otherwise, stay true to the genre nomenclature. They write anthems on death, genocide, butchery, dismemberment, disembowelment, necro-fanaticism, and some more death. Yum. The music is at tandem with all the members in the band and their respective instruments. Short and precise compositions all lined one after, in an act of glorifying serial butchery, “The Necrotic Manifesto” also features guests who satiate their thirst for partaking in savage time passing hobbies, in the form of Vincent Benett (The Acacia Strain) on “Your Entitlement Means Nothing” and Phlegeton (Wormed) on “Excremental Veracity.” Ushering the era for tastefully produced and composed Death Metal anthems, Aborted have been pivotal in proving to the usually conservative Death Metal community about how the instruments can be exploited for tonal variety and that musical technicality can be a huge stepping stone in catapulting a record from being just another Death Metal record to being a great Death Metal album to listen to: Take “The Davidian Deceit” for example, the drumwork is absolutely destructive and the vocal work is nothing short of a calamity to the ears of the inexperienced newbie Death Metal enthusiast. Also, inserting samples from what I believe are Horror cult flicks, have lent the album a somewhat hilarious side.
Besides primarily centralizing the Death Metal elements at the heart of all their compositions, Aborted also go far and wide to incorporate elements of Grind and Thrash into the mix as well. Although I miss the kind of hard hitting bass laden groove that I usually associate with my Death Metal (Thy Art is Murder anyone?), I am more than willing to forsake that in lieu of the amazing masterpieces this Belgium based outfit is capable of producing. Also the album cover and certain lyrical themes are somewhat reminiscent of MeloDeath overlords, Carcass, so that works in favour of the band in pitching the album.
Largely a brainchild of Sven de Caluwé, the only surviving member of the original line up, Aborted have followed the same mantra, somewhat, since their inception, and truth be told, they give it a fresh perspective every time, be it the glorification of death, torture or the obscene. Production wise, this album is going to sound like someone’s wrapped your ear drums around a conga and thumping it with a lead hammer. No I’m not caught up in the torture-hype, that’s just the correct way to describe Aborted’s sound. Sven’s vocals have that raw, artful feel to it that upholds the standards for Death Metal: switching to and fro between enviable lows and shrill highs, Sven hogs the spotlight for the most part with his skilled delivery- I mean just look at the sheer range of variation on “Sade and Eibertine Lunacy”! Danny Tunker and Mendel Bij De Leij share a good chemistry between their guitar parts as they weave riff after riff and rhythm parts to complement it. The monstrous opening riff to “Die Werzeiflung” is testimony enough for this theory. JB Van der Wal and Ken Bedene have their own thing going on that filters past the vocals and facemelting guitar parts flawlessly with pulverizing fluidity. Be it the footwork or the blastbeats, Bedene is a relentless drum machine who deserves to be recognized alongside other Death Metal drumming greats, in my opinion.
Aborted, and their music is not my regular cup of tea, but “The Necrotic Manifesto” is one vile force of nature or rather one vile persona of humanity’s ugliest fetishes that should instantly turn you into a serious Death Metal enthusiast if you already aren’t one. Regardless of how much time you spend spinning this record, there is always something new about it that you haven’t fathomed in the previous listening session.
– Aurko
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