Customer Reviews

The Archaic Abattoir

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After 2003's fantastically brutal "Goremageddon" album, I was very much anticipating Aborted's next release. Over the years, these Belgium death metal fanatics have been exponentially improving both their skills and their sound, so I knew "The Archaic Abottoir" was going to be something special. But I didn't expect this!

Aborted have at some point made a conscious decision to expand their sound, adding some much needed variety that has taken them from "just another Carcass rip-off" into the upper legions of modern death metal. Now don't get me wrong, this is seriously brutal, and contains all of the recognisable trademarks of an Aborted album, such as gore-themed lyrics, horror movie samples, growls, screams and awesome blast-beats. It's not what the band has taken out as much as what they've added to the mix. There's a newly acquired emphasis on melody which had only occasionally showed its face on previous outings, the occasional groove, along with much more variety in speed in general. Basically, these guys are no longer content blasting their way through 40 minutes and to be honest, I think it was a great time for the change. If this had sounded just like "Goremageddon", then the band would not have garnered any further praise or more importantly, they wouldn't have expanded their fan base the way this baby certainly will.

If anything, I don't think the production is as clear as on its predecessor, but it still sounds great. The slightly rawer sound gives it more of a live sound and some real depth to proceedings. It did take me a few listens to come to this opinion though as everything sinks in and becomes more apparent. Each track has an identity of it's own this time round, which is something that is more difficult to say about the bands past discography.

So it's fairly obvious at this stage that I think "The Archaic Abottoir" is great. I recommend it blindly to anyone that enjoys brutal death metal, especially fans of gore or horror themes. Aborted may not be that original, but that's never been what they're about. And this is just too solid and gripping to be ignored.

This a must have for fans of death metal. Aborted are very presice, and unlike the there previous albums, they are changing back between a a low death metal growl to screaching scream. I sometimes get annoyed when they slow down, but other than that the music is very fast and satisflying. Whatever comes next from Aborted though, I expect will be there masterpeice.

... the mother facko's who are giving this album a bad review are probally the same people who bought the latest in flames cd. while their not as brutal as in goremageddon, they still have claims on ownage. i saw them live w/cryptopsy and suffocation here in seattle, and they rocked, i've been listening to these guys since goremagedden and personaly knew i might not get to see them again. so jumped at the opertunity to rock out with my c*ck out to thes belgium f_*ks, and was not dissapointed. as far as the album goes, i actually hated it for months after i bought it and untill recently when i saw their new video, i thought i might give the new cd a chance again, and found myself listening to it over and over at work. now i'm freaking hooked after seeing them live. shiznit i didnt even notice they had as many guest vocalist's on the cd untill i saw them live, a little bit let down that they resorted to another mans voice, but still it owns

I dunno what's up with all these "average" reviews, but this album is pretty damn good. I listen to a helluva a lot of different music, and I'm not normally into "gore" anything. But when I heard that some guys from In Quest were involved in Aborted (at least the singer, obviously), I had to check it out. Not having followed the band through the years may be why my point of view is different from these other guys.

From the get-go you can tell what you're in for. Some (sometimes humorous) horror movie samples, death-metal style riffs & drumming, and a combination of hardcore screams and growls. Going back to the guitar and drums... Both are done quite well. It's good enough to make most musicians a little jealous. I also like the vocals more than your average growls.

Anyway, check it out, listen to the samples, buy it, and blast it through a hi-fi stereo for best results. Repeat twice daily for two months.

Review by Tyler Wagnon:

The Archaic Abattoir is Belgium's Aborted at their best. The Purity of Perversion and Engineering the Dead were decent death metal albums in their own right, but Aborted really stepped it up with 2003's Goremageddon:The Saw and the Carnage Done. Once again now, in 2005, Aborted takes another leap up the ladder into the upper echelon of metal.

Their basic style starts with a base of goregrind, but they add a lot of other elements like mid-paced death grooves, breakdowns, solos, and tons of other stuff. Everything they write has a distinct catchy edge, not poppy or melodic or anything, but they have a knack for memorable riffs. Vocally they mix a deep guttural bellow with more hardcore-ish yelling. The yelling vocals remind you of Mike Olender of Burnt By the Sun fame, in both tone and delivery.

The Archaic Abattoir takes the formula from Goremageddon and enhances it a bit. They toned down the brutality a bit, but added a little more melody and some more solos. It kind of sucks that it isn't as brutal, but the songwriting is stronger overall.

If you want to check out Aborted, listen to Goremageddon. first as a reference point. Then be prepared to be blown away by The Archaic Abattoir.

I bougth this CD because I was in the store and remembered back in the day I knew someone who was deeply in love with Goremageddon. So I figured, okay, I'll try it out.

I wasn't disappointed. Yeah, the guy uses hardcore screams in addition to the normal death metal growls, and a lot of the lyrics aren't as gory as I was expecting after reading the lyrics to Goremageddon, but whatever. There's still some nice demented stuff getting poured out, and a couple fairly humourous necrophilia songs(and where would any good death metal album be without one of those?).

The music is pretty simple. There won't be anything absolutely rocking your head off, but you'll still be rocking to a worthwhile degree.

So yeah, if you've got some money to spend, go for it.

Everything here is great, though the hardcore screams take a bit to get used to. After that they just seem natural.

First time listeners of Aborted's new album should think it's a very brutal and uncompromising affair. But, as has happened many times in the past when a band has added a little melody and groove to their music, some longtime fans are screaming "sell out!" Sure, "The Archaic Abattoir" does have a little newfound groove (some are comparing it to Carcass' breakthrough album, "Heartwork"), but it's very doubtful that Aborted have gone mainstream, because the music is still as deafening as almost any other death metal album out there. I'd say it sounds more like Hate Eternal meets Dying Fetus than Carcass. So this isn't a case of the band selling out, this is just a case of the band's natural evolution. And I, for one, applaud this progression. Some bands just pile on a relentless amount of crushing metal, but it comes across sounding like monotonous sludge. But, conversely, since there are a few melodic guitar lines and keyboards (as in the beginning and end of "Voracious Haemoglobobic Syndrome"), the music on "The Archaic Abattoir" is allowed to breathe a bit. But you won't be hearing any of these songs on the radio or MTV any time soon, because all of these songs are still skull crushing, so it should take a well-trained ear to find the melody in this album. Most of the songs are anchored by a driving blast beat, with scorching riffs and vocals which bring to mind Black Dahlia Murder (Sven isn't quite as multi-faceted, but he does lay down some low, indecipherable death metal grumbles as well as a few high-pitched, "hardcore" screams.) Unlike the aforementioned sludge-metal albums, there are some standout and memorable songs, here. The blistering album opener, "Dead Wreckoning," has thunderous, cascading riffs and an insanely fast blast beat; and songs like "Blood Fixing the Bled" and "Cold Logistic Slaughter" put pounding power chords on top of jackhammer drums. Some songs (like the rhythmic, pounding "Gestated Rabidity" and the machine gun rhythm on "Voracious Haemoglobinic Syndrome") are actually kind of catchy, and "Inertia" justifies some of the "sell out" claims, because it's kind of groovey and it begins with a melodic guitar line. But this song eventually picks up with airtight double bass drumming, a breakdown (in the chorus), and even a guitar solo. So, contrary to what some would lead you to believe, "The Archaic Abattoir" is very brutal. It's recommended to everybody--both old fans (who are looking for some more spiteful metal) and newcomers (who probably can't tell that this album has any melody whatsoever). This isn't quite the best death metal album of 2005, but it definitely gives Behemoth and Cryptopsy a run for their money.

Aborted is one of the greatest bands I have heard over the past couple of months. This CD is definite proof. It blends in the most brutal elements of death metal and adds a touch of grindcore and hardcore to it. The dual vocal assault will knock you off your feet.

Aborted is not like any other brutal death metal band. They actually tend to mix in melodic elements and leads as well. It may not be completely technical, but it's good music nonetheless. And, like almost every death metal band, some very great blastbeats. Standout tracks on this CD: "Dead Wreckoning", "Gestated Rabidity" and "Blood Fixing The Bled".

Recommended if you're into brutal death metal/deathcore style of music.

This is precise gore/death metal. The vocals are insane, no talk about the guitars, they make good riffs and the drummer makes an interesting change of tempos and bombastic double bass. They're have a couple of solos too. Recommended if you like Carcass, Impaled and Cannibal Corpse.

i bought this album today, and my jaw dropped. i personally think its much better than Goremageddon. the cd sounds better produced. everything sounds so clear. the guest vocals are great. i don't really care what these guys are classified as. it's all metal to me.

if you love aborted definitely get this. if you are into brutal metal with breakdowns a.k.a. Despised Icon or Embrace The End, you will throughly enjoy this as well