Album in Review: ABORTED – La Grande Masquerade

by Scott · August 5, 2020

Overview:

2 years after their last full-length “Terrorvision” Belgian death metal masters ABORTED , in honor of 25 years as a band, release a brief 3 song ep (clocking in at only 11:50) entitled “La Grande Masquerade” on Century Media Records. This EP contains 2 brand new tracks and an unreleased song from the “Terrorvision” recording sessions. Lineup changes are frequent with this band this time losing guitarist Mendel bij de Lij and replacing him with Harrison Patuto (ex-Vail of Pnath). Artwork was done by Mitchell Nolte (Vampire, Abyssic, Psycroptic) and was mixed and mastered by Kristian Kohlmannslehner (Crematory, Powerwolf, Benighted).

Review:

Even with the addition of new guitarist Harrison Patuto not much has changed from “Terrorovision.” ABORTED are still doing what they do best: bloody brutal death metal perfection! 21 years after their first release this Belgian band has not let up one bit with their brutality. Speed, technicality, and gore soaked, yet tongue in cheek lyrics are still the name of the game from these OG pioneers. The first song “Gloom and the Art of Tribulation” starts with a manipulated sample from Rob Zombie’s 2007 version of Halloween and not only continues their horror theme but sets the tone for the whole album. All three songs have everything you would like in death metal and ABORTED know how to seamlessly interweave different styles and paces to keep these songs fresh and interesting.

Final Thoughts:

Originally this EP was put out to coincide with a US tour supporting the legendary NAPALM DEATH but like all tours this year was ultimately cancelled. This band isn’t going anywhere and softening their sound for the foreseeable future and to solidify their status as death metal legends they were recently named the best metal band of all time from Belgium via Loudwire. Lets hope this pandemic ends soon so these guys can do what they do best: return to the stage and KILL!