Another act we see revamped in 2012 is Aborted. These
Belgian death metallers didn’t do so well in the years after 2003’s wicked Goremageddon,
being accused of abusing -core breakdowns and losing the edge of their filthy
brutality. With the release of Global Flatline Aborted have changed not
only half their lineup but their entire game all over again, going at once
backwards and forwards simultaneously in their musical evolution. This is
closer to Aborted’s original brutal death metal sound than the past three
albums in terms of sheer catchy nastiness, but it is also unexpectedly manages
to push the band’s music forward in the quarters of technicality, brutality,
and production.
Global Flatline is the fastest, heaviest thing
Aborted have ever made. It is so highly-charged that it bursts forth with the
intensity of an ejaculation. And yet with so many notes crammed so brutally
into forty-three minutes (fifty-one if you have the bonus version) it is
absolutely incredible how precise and cleanly the album has been produced.
Every crunching guitar tone comes through clear as day, the diverse vocal
shrieking and bellowing is executed with attention to detail and is so crystalline
you can sometimes even understand what the words are without reading the lyrics.
Fifteen songs with the two bonus tracks, and only the introductory one is
filler, but Aborted keep it solid and don’t drop the baton with any weak songs.
Between the thrashy madness seen of “Of Scabs and Boils” and the frantic death
metal stabbings of “The Kallinger Theory” the listener is absorbed by memorable
riffing that’s been executed with incredible dexterity and clarity. Keeping a
lot of listeners’ attention has always been a problem for brutal death metal
because you have to be an extremely skilled musician to pull it off in an
interesting way and then successfully produce the typical onslaught of sounds
found in such an album, and Global Flatline is practically the perfect
example of how to do such a thing.
Gore bands are not something I’m usually interested in, but
Aborted have once again managed to cross that threshold for me and given me a
great album; modernized, yet still flexing Aborted’s original strength: catchiness
combined with brutality. Though different, this still comes in second rank from
their breakthrough Goremageddon, but it’s a close call. Global
Flatline is a big release for the band that will definitely take their
music in a more popular direction.
In summary: Excellent brutal death metal for people who don’t
like death metal. Extremely accessible yet unforgiving.
Standout tracks: “Of Scabs and Boils”, “The Kallinger Theory”,
“Our Father, Who Art of Feces”, “Grime”
Score: 8.5
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