March 25, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

Belgium’s Aborted is back with its newest release, a five-song EP titled Coronary Reconstruction that is above-board death metal for both the casual and long-running fan. Coming off the last full-length, Strychnine.213, which was both liked and dismissed quite evenly by hardcore fans, the EP hopes to keep up the traditional death metal run without any more bumps in the road.

Original vocalist Sven de Caluwe has enlisted a few new faces in the Aborted fold yet again in Eran Segal and Ken Sorceron on guitars, Cole Martinez on bass and Dirk Verburen behind drums again, fresh from his stint on Warrel Dane’s solo CD. The past members list looks like a telephone book, but the latest lineup is the one that created Coronary Reconstruction, so let’s have at it.

Overall the EP is very good, basic death metal, with nothing out of the ordinary or amazing. It’s simple and solid death with a very competent cover of “Left Hand Path” by Entombed. The four new songs are typical Aborted, and that is tight musicianship, especially evident on the title track, which is designed to get your blood flowing quicker than usual. With an Anselmo-meets-Ihsahn delivery, De Caluwe handles the vocals quite well for what might otherwise be run-of-the-mill or boring delivery. As a definite opponent of the guttural indecipherable sounds over some bands’ catalogs, a vocalist I can understand and enjoy is always a plus. It helps to have good production, which this EP has as well. “Grime” is an especially heavy track, violent and melodic without reservation. When the lines “I just had to destroy something beautiful--” are growled from your sound system, you know true death metal is unapologetically present. 

I think the newest lineup of Aborted might well become one of the better ones all around, if it’s able to remain stable. The main drawback with Aborted is the consistent inconsistency, altering the band’s sound far too often so that each release sounds like an entirely different plane from its predecessor. So for the here and now, Coronary Reconstruction sounds like a good deal, but what the next one will be like remains to be heard. If it’s this lineup we may have a solid winner.

Release Date: January 14, 2010
Label: Avernus Records/Century Media 

TRACK LISTING

1.  Coronary Reconstruction
2.  From a Tepid Whiff
3.  Grime
4.  A Cadaverous Dissertation
5.  Left Hand Path (Entombed cover)

Total playing time:  22:30

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Aborted - Coronary Reconstruction EP