Aborted – Le Grande Mascarade [EP]

THE Death Metal flagship from Belgium is back with another modern slab of Death Metal the brutal way. This time “only” 12 minutes of brutality, an EP called “La Grande Mascarade”. Which mask do they wear now?

The 3 tracks presented are no less than great and present the band very creative, playing with different styles, different atmospheres using different techniques and are capable to put everything together in a way that it fits without sounding alien. The cosmos of Aborted is expanding once more in terms of refinement.

I remember very well when I grabbed a copy of “Engineering The Dead” in a record store and was blown away. Well, a lot of things happened since then. The band went through changes (line-up and soundwise) but was always able to deliver top notch stuff.

In terms of variation reminds me a lot of recent Cattle Decapitation, there is a lot going on, be it brutal and techy as fuck, melodic dreamy and slower paced or just straight and catchy.

The production is modern and crushing, yet it captures the vision and I wouldn’t change a thing here. The occasional guitar solos give a moment to breath before hell breaks loose once again (“Funereal Malediction”) in a really panzer-like way. Needless to say that everyone’s performance is killer here (I don’t know how they do it) and Sven still is one of the best vocalists in Death Metal.

“La Grande Mascarade” gives me the kind of feelings I had when “Coronary Reconstruction” came out 10 years ago (damn, time…..). My favorite release by Aborted since “Global Flatline” and the best way to celebrate 25 years of existence. Excellent EP for fans who like their Death Metal modern, yet brutal and versatile. Congrats! (DPF)