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Sunday Old School: Aborted

Having recently been treated to a death metal extravaganza in London from Kataklysm, Septicflesh and Aborted (read the review here,) it seemed as good a time as any to revisit the history and story of one of these bands. In the interest of fairness, this week, we’ll be taking a look at the band whose country we’ve only examined twice before when covering Channel Zero and Enthroned, (which was only last week for those who need reminding.) The band whose career has been drenched in blood and fuelled by gore. The death metal band from Belgium known, quite simple, as Aborted.

Aborted was founded in 1995 by vocalist Sven de Caluwé, in the north west municipality of Waregem, West Flanders, reportedly choosing their name so that their albums would be first in the CD racks. This ambition came closer to be fulfilled, after they released two demos in 1998 entitled, "The Splat Pack" and "The Necrotorous Chronicles," which gained the attention of Uxicon Records, who released their debut album, "The Purity of Perversion" in 1999. The record received a good response from fans of extreme music, as well as disgust from onlookers at the cover art, a photograph of a mutilated woman.

It was to be their only release through Uxicon, as soon after, Aborted signed with Listenable Records, before releasing their sophomore full length, "Engineering the Dead." This second effort was very well received and is recognised as one of the best inclusions in the Aborted catalogue, with particular praise being given to the riffs on display on de Caluwé’s improved vocals, though the album continued to strive for the extreme, as shown by such titles as "Nailed Through Her Cunt" and "Sphinctral Enthrallment." It was followed by two splits, one with Exhumed and another with three other groups, namely; Misery Index, Drowning and Brodequin.

Two years after the "Engineering the Dead," the band finally released their third album, "Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done," with the title being a reference to the Neil Young song, "The Needle and the Damage Done." It was another really well received effort, with many fans again claiming it as their favourite, or the album that introduced them to the band, with the clear production and suitable use of samples providing a nice gateway into the groups’ music.

Another two year wait between albums followed and once again, the band filled the gap with an EP, this time one on their own entitled, "The Haematobic EP," which was notable for featuring a cover of the Entombed classic, "Drowned," before their fourth album, "The Archaic Abattoir" following in 2005. The album was praised by critics, as well as many fans, but there were those who felt it was a little lacking in some areas and perhaps not up to the energetic standards of prior releases. This was also their final album for Listenable, as following the release of a DVD, "The Auricular Chronicles," the group left the label and signed with Century Media.

Their first release for their new record company came in 2007 with their fifth full length album, "Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture." Once again, it received a mostly positive reception from fans and critics, and was notable for borrowing Psycroptic’s drummer, David Haley, who performed as a studio musician for the group. They wasted little time in succeeding the album too, as their sixth album, "Strychnine.213," was released only sixteen months later, which featured a cover of the Pantera song, "Slaughtered" and again garnered a good reception, though not quite as praised as some of their previous albums.

Though the wait between their fifth and sixth albums was a short one, it was to be considerably longer before fans got to hear a seventh, though their thirst was quenched a little with the EP, "Coronary Reconstruction," in 2010, which was another to feature an Entombed cover, this time in the form of, "Left Hand Path." Eventually, Aborted released a new full length, which came in 2012 under the title, "Global Flatline." Perhaps because of the wait, fans greeted the record more warmly than some critics, with the fan base claiming that the band sounded refreshed and rejuvenated from their break, while new listeners were brought to Aborted via guest appearances from members of Misery Index and The Black Dahlia Murder, amongst others.

Invigorated by this return, Aborted released a new EP, "Scriptures of the Dead" in 2014, which featured the title track from their forthcoming album, "The Nercrotic Manifesto" and a cover of the Sepultura classic, "Arise." Three months after this, “The Necrotic Manifesto" was released to positive feedback and again featured guests, this time from members of Wormed and The Acacia Strain. Since then, Aborted has been keeping very busy, not just on the road but also in the studio, releasing a new EP, "Termination Redux" only two months ago, before the announcement that they will release a new studio album, "Retrogore," next month. Let’s hope that they can keep up this energy and determination, and that we hear a lot more from one of the most popular breeders of death metal and grindcore.

Aborted - "The Lament Configuration"

Aborted - "Eructations of Carnal Artistry"

Aborted - "Clinical Colostomy"

Aborted - "Dead Wreckoning"

Aborted - "The Fool Neclues Of Resurrection"

Aborted - "???????? ??????? (The Origin Of Disease)"

Aborted - "The Extirpation Agenda"

Aborted - "Termination Redux"