Album review: Aborted – Vault Of Horrors

Aborted have never hidden their love for horror movies, and on their 12th full-length they've taken this even further with 10 tracks based around a specific cult classic. Upping the ante, they bring their friends to the party, with a guest vocalist featured on every track, the result being some of the most compelling, ferocious death metal you will hear in 2024.

Opener Dreadbringer nods to The Thing by commencing with some pointedly John Carpenter-y synths, and then it’s full-blown double kick armageddon to contend with. As always, they blend absolute chaos with unflinching precision, making the rampant Hellbound (based on Hellraiser and which features a killer solo) and the epic The Shape Of Hate (Halloween) utterly riveting.

Then there’s the guests. Facing off against Aborted’s Sven De Caluwé are the likes of Fleshgod Apocalypse’s Francesco Paoli on the scathing Condemned To Rot (Return Of The Living Dead), Ingested’s Jason Evans on Insect Politics (The Fly), and Despised Icon’s Alex Erian on Death Cult (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), making for quite the grunted, bellowed, and screamed smack down. Everyone brings their own flavour without corrupting the overall taste, making for some dynamics that might have eluded the band on their own.

It’s fair to say that Aborted have distinctly lit a fire under their collective arse and are revelling in the flames. They may well also make you want to discover/rediscover those badass old horrors you have not seen in years, and appreciate the inspiration.

Rating: 4/5

For fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Ingested, Cattle Decapitation

Vault Of Horrors is released on March 15 via Nuclear Blast