ABORTED

Proving once and for all that Internet idiocy knows no bounds (as if a trip through this site's comment forums didn't already do that),there's actually scattered talk here and there of ABORTED's new blisterpiece, "The Archaic Abattoir", being a "sellout" for its incorporation of a little bit of "Heartwork" groove and the blasphemous inclusion of — gasp! — individual, memorable songs! If you're one of these zealots, just listen to yourself for a second. The band is called fucking ABORTED. Do you think they're gonna end up on Ozzfest any time soon? Get out of the chat room and go outside or something.

"The Archaic Abattoir" is a perfect next step from the band's "Goremageddon" opus of a couple years ago. The production is just about flawless, capturing tons of crushing low-end sludge while retaining a startling clarity. And the drums sound real! Vocalist Sven is right on the borderline between guttural and indecipherable, but his gurgling delivery is set in contrast to the guitars, so nothing is lost (and guest vocalists from ILLDISPOSED, MNEMIC and HATESPHERE add a little variety, as do his own occasional channelings of other varied pitches). Listen to "Voracious Haemoglobobic Syndrome" for an example of just the right amount of production "ear candy" (the intro and outro, a subtle keyboard line) making the song unique without losing its heaviness.

Songwriting-wise, ABORTED does owe a big debt to CARCASS — but who doesn't these days? Bits of songs like "The Inertia" give fuel to the sellout claims, with parts that could almost be taken from Swedish thrash, but what ABORTED has done is keep the CARCASS influence and stick with the death/grind mentality, wedging melodic guitar runs, emotive soloing and open-chord breathing space into songs where lesser talents simply back up the cement truck and crush the life out of an entire record with meaningless, one-dimensional "brutality."

Just dissect the song "The Inertia" for a microcosm of what makes "The Archaic Abattoir" so damn good. The opening riff and song structure are pure CARCASS, but within the first minute we get catchy guitar lines, blast beats, a breakdown in the chorus, and some solid double-kick drumming. There are enough little twists and trills throughout the song to add finesse and class without sacrificing an ounce of pure death metal intensity, and there's even a fluid, expressive guitar solo (right in the midst some of the song's most violent grinding).

Count ABORTED as one of the finer modern-day bands of the genre, flying the flag for quality songwriting and splatteriffic sickness in equal parts, both being essential to making death metal that's worth the name and legacy of their forefathers.