UMUR "Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture" is the 5th full-length studio album by Belgian death metal act Aborted. The album was released through Century Media Records in February 2007. It´s the successor to "The Archaic Abattoir" from 2005. Since the predecessor the lineup has been completely revamped and the only remaining member from the lineup who recorded "The Archaic Abattoir (2005)" is frontman and founding member Sven de Caluwé. de Caluwé has among others recruited the quite prolific Australian drummer David Haley (Psycroptic, Pestilence, Ruins, The Amenta) to play on the album.

Lineup changes or not, "Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture" pretty much contineus down the same gore drenced death metal path as its predecessor. The melodic elements (mostly in the form of guitar solos and themes) which were introduced on "The Archaic Abattoir (2005)" are also present here. The core style is still relatively brutal and technically well played death metal with de Caluwé´s aggressive and intelligible snarling vocals and deep and unintelligible growling vocals in front. Aborted have more or less played this style since day one, but the melodic elements are new, and bring a more sophisticated end result with them.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts. The guitar solos are especially well played, but the many tempo changes are also handled with great skill by David Haley. The material on the 11 track, 42:43 minutes long album is generally well written although a bit more variation between tracks and more memorable moments could have lifted the music to an even higher level.

The sound production is a slight issue to my ears, as it´s not sharp enough and sounds a bit woolen. Sometimes rhythm guitar sections don´t reach the listener´s ear with all details, and often the music lacks punch. It´s too bad really as the other elements of the album are of a pretty high class. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.