Since the mid 90’s death/grind outfit Aborted has been assaulting your eardrums to the highest degree possible. All this time later in 2024, they’re still out here kicking ass and taking names. Their sound has been a unique brand in the genre maintaining their heaviness but adding some melody on occasion. They’re known to go fast but also bring out a lot of amazing groove, and well the boys delivered yet again. The band’s twelfth studio album “Vault Of Horrors” is exactly that and releases March 15th.

“It’s partially personal preference, but also stories that were interesting to write about”, frontman Sven remembers the writing process and how they chose their victims from the endless arsenal of great horror films. “‘Return of the Living Dead’ was picked not because it’s an interesting story, but because it’s a movie that hasn’t really gotten any coverage from any metal band yet and it’s a great fun film. ‘The Mist’ is another great one and carries a lot of sustenance, as does ‘Prince of Darkness’. The dark world of John Carpenter is always mesmerizing.”

Don’t get it twisted Aborted can bring some nasty groove to their music and showcase it here. Along with the horror theme, they do another spectacular job setting the mood and executing it well. Just like Deeds Of Flesh did with “Nucleus” recently, Aborted had a ton of guests on this upcoming album as well. Also, they weren’t there for just enhancing the music they’re also friends. The parts give their songs even more flavor and sound great.

 “As usual, the guest vocalists were all chosen out of friends, people we’ve known for years or got to know in the last years, toured with, or have a connection with. Hal from Engulf was also picked since I did a guest spot on their record and loved his vocals. The guys from Ingested, Carcosa, Ov Sulfur were people that we toured with last year. We also go way back with Archspire, Despised Icon, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Cryptopsy. Being able to collaborate with all these great artists is such a privilege and made the process all the more exhilarating since each of them bring their own flavour to the mix. The enthusiasm of everyone involved definitely shines through to the final product and adds yet another layer of depth to the listening experience of the album.”

“The process was different as we spent 6 weeks tracking with Dave Otero. We did the pre-production with him and he was very involved with each step. In the past, we’ve had people that were less involved or only tracked drums and vocals while the guitarists did their thing. Now everyone went through Dave’s little ‘Torture Chamber’ and it was a great experience. He has a vision and is simply fantastic to work with. I don’t think I’ve ever spent as much time on vocals as on this record. Dave is a fan of the music, he knew the band well and really wants to bring out what makes Aborted ‘Aborted’. He gets super excited working on the music which creates this infectious energy that makes for a really motivating atmosphere. Honestly, it was the best studio experience I’ve ever had and the result speaks for itself.”

The production is good on “Vault Of Horrors”. As previously mentioned in the quotes from Sven, Dave Otero worked with the band on this opus. It’s still vocal forward like most modern Aborted albums but doesn’t dominate the mix. Everything can be heard clearly and is sounding good. This might be my favorite album of theirs since 2016’s “Retrogore”. “Terrorvision” from 2018 was a good one as well. No shade against the last few releases they’re great as well. Those two albums back to back are my favorite recent outputs of theirs. That said, “Vaults of Horror” is another standout album in recent memory of the Aborted library. Go listen to it you’ll enjoy this album front to back! Horror and death metal what’s not to love?

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