UMUR "Infinite Terror" is a non-album single by Belgian death metal act Aborted, which was released as a stop gap release between the release of the band´s eleventh and twelfth full-length studio albums "Maniacult" (September 2021) and "Vault of Horrors" (March 2024). The single was released through Nuclear Blast in October 2022 and it´s the first Aborted release on Nuclear Blast after they signed to the label (after a long run with Century Media Records).

"Infinite Terror" is a one-track digital single and it features all the trademarks of Aborted. Relatively technical and brutal death metal performed by skilled musicians, featuring very well played guitar solos, and the combination of brutal growling vocals and snarling aggressive vocals which lead vocalist Sven de Caluwé have by now perfected and made his signature sound. "Infinite Terror" is a high quality song, but it´s nothing out of the ordinary for Aborted and packed in a sharp, clear, and powerful sounding production job, this is just another taste of what this great band can do. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "TerrorVision" is the 10th full-length studio album by Belgian death metal act Aborted. The album was released through Century Media Records in September 2018. It´s the successor to "Retrogore" from 2016 although the two albums are bridged by the "Bathos" single from June 2017. There has been one lineup change since the release of "Retrogore (2016)" as bassist JB van der Wal has been replaced by Stefano Franceschini.

Stylistically the material on "TerrorVision" is in the trademark sound of Aborted. Brutal and technically well played gore themed death metal featuring both deep growling vocals and higher pitched aggressive vocals. The musicianship is generally through the roof with technical precision drumming, sharp and brutal guitar riffs, well played leads, and Sven de Caluwé delivering his distinct sounding vocal arsenal in the usual convincing manner. Aborted have a relatively unique sound and are one of the artists on the more brutal end of the death metal spectrum, which manage to stand out.

The material on "TerrorVision" are well written and the album also features a fat, brutal, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well, so upon conclusion it´s another quality release by Aborted. It doesn´t reach the heights of it´s direct predecessor, which to my ears is one of the highlights of the band´s discography, and in that respect "TerrorVision" is a slight disappointment, but overall it´s a strong release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Bathos" is a single release by Belgian death metal act Aborted. The single was released through Century Media Records in June 2017. It bridges the gap between the band´s 9th and 10th full-length studio albums "Retrogore (2016)" and "TerrorVision (2018)". There has been one lineup change since "Retrogore (2016)" as bassist JB van der Wal has been replaced by Stefano Franceschini.

"Bathos" features the title track and "Fallacious Crescendo" and clocks in at 8 minutes of playing time. "Bathos" is one of Aborted´s more "core" tinged tracks, while "Fallacious Crescendo" pretty much just crushes with a brutal technical death metal sound like we´re used to from Aborted. I´m not sure if it´s true, but both could well be leftover tracks from the "Retrogore (2016)" sessions, as both are in the more average quality end of the scale for Aborted.

"Bathos" is a well produced single. Brutal, heavy, and raw sounding and perfectly suiting the equally brutal music, and while it´s not a standout release in Aborted´s discography I´ll take even a standard quality Aborted release over a lot of other artists in the more brutal end of the death metal scale. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Maniacult" is the 11th full-length studio album by Belgian death metal act Aborted. The album was released through Century Media Records in September 2021, almost 3 years to the day from the release of "Terrorvision (2018)". The two full-length albums are however bridged by the 2020 "La grande mascarade" EP. There´s been one lineup change since the release of "Terrorvision (2018)" as guitarist Mendel bij de Leijhas has left, and as the band have opted not to recruit a new second guitarist the quartet lineup who recorded "La grande mascarade" is intact on "Maniacult" with Ian Jekelis handling all guitars on the album.

"Maniacult" is a concept album release telling the story of horror author H.P. Lovecraft's fictional character Francis Wayland Thurston, who attempts to summon demons (the Lovecraftian types) to bring upon the end of the world. A classic H.P. Lovecraft theme. Thurston appeared in the 1928 Lovecraft short story "The Call of Cthulhu".

Stylistically the material on "Maniacult" is unmistakably the sound of Aborted. Brutal and technically well played death metal with Sven de Caluwé´s deep growling and high pitched aggressive snarling vocals in front. Aborted have always been an incredibly well playing act despite the multible lineup changes throughout the band´s history, but listening to "Maniacult" it quickly becomes apparent that it´s one of the band´s more sophisticated and memorable releases. de Caluwé´s vocals have always been one of the greatest assets of the band´s sound, but Aborted also excel in tempo changes and in different death- and thrash metal riffing- and drumming styles (including some ultra heavy breakdowns and even a few black metal oriented sections). The Carcass influence has always been strong in Aborted´s music, and that´s also true on "Maniacult". Just listen to the opening section of "Dementophobia", which sounds like something culled from "Heartwork (1993)".

The icing on the cake is the lead guitar work though...Jekelis deserves a special mention for his playing on "Maniacult" and for having such great impact on how memorable the tracks are. He brings a melodic touch to Aborted´s music, but still manages not to dillute the brutality and aggression of the music. It´s always a delicate balance to strike, bringing melodic elements to music this brutal, as fans of the genre often feel that melody dillutes the brutality of the music, but when it´s done right (like it´s done here), a melodic element can actually provide a brutal death metal release with something it seldom features...catchiness and memorability beyond its playing time. One other thing that needs to be mentioned about "Maniacult" is how darkly atmospheric it often is. Something which is only enhanced by the intro track "Verderf" and the eerie instrumental track "Verbolgen", which is a short breather track in the middle of the album.

"Maniacult" features a meaty, clear, and brutal sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. Definitely one of the better productions on an Aborted album so far. Paired with the high level musicianship and the effectful and memorable songwriting, the sound production is just another piece in the puzzle to make "Maniacult" the high quality death metal release it is. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "La Grande Mascarade" is an EP release by Belgian death metal act Aborted. The EP was released through Century Media Records in April 2020. Since the release of "TerrorVision" from 2018 guitarist Mendel bij de Leij has left and "La Grande Mascarade" was therefore recorded as a quartet. The EP features three tracks. Two are new tracks and one was written and recorded during the "TerrorVision (2018)" sessions.

Although the tracks were written at two different sessions and a couple of years apart, they are all consistent in quality and style. It´s the sound of Aborted as we know them. Technically well played and brutal death metal with Sven de Caluwé´s deep growling and higher pitched aggressive snarling vocals on top. The quality is high throughout from high level musical performances, to the powerful, meaty, and detailed sound production, to the professional and effective songwriting. The tracks are all in a similar style to the sound on "TerrorVision (2018)" and those who enjoyed that album will pretty surely enjoy "La Grande Mascarade" greatly too.

Personally I found "TerrorVision (2018)" one of the more standard quality releases from Aborted. Still a high quality release, but not a release which stands out much in their by now vast discography, and the same can be said about "La Grande Mascarade". It´s a high quality release but it doesn´t add much new or interesting to Aborted´s sound. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.