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Aborted > Engineering the Dead > Reviews
Aborted - Engineering the Dead

Unrelenting fucking bruality - 90%

MalignantTyrant, June 1st, 2012

Aborted are one of the bands that got me into brutal death metal. This album and Goremageddon are some of their greatest works for sure. But I guess I am in the minority when I say that I like this album better than Goremageddon. Yes, yes I know Goremageddon had its moments, but it did not have the pounding brutality that this album has. I dare even say that the production is weaker as well. On this album you will hear sickening vocals, pounding drums, prominent bass and destructive riffing.

The artwork is a bit odd looking to me, but the music absolutely makes up for it. The first thing that I noticed when I first heard Aborted was Sven. The guy just fucking nails it every time (except for that album of their's that we don't mention around here). He doesn't sound like anyone else, and nobody else sounds like him. He yells and growls throughout this album, tearing his throat out and delivering the brutality as a verbal crowbar assault. I don't think that any of his future (or past, seeing as how they had one album before this one) performances will ever match this one.

The guitars and bass are ridiculous. The riffing is well done and, even though it generally follows the guitars the whole time, the bass playing is also well done. My favorite song, To Roast and Grind, truly displays what these guys are capable of when it comes to downright kicking you in the ass with ruthlessness.

The drumming is also excellent, despite not being terribly remarkable. The guy gets the job done and he knows what he is doing. Unlike many brutal death metal albums that suffer from trash-can drum syndrome, the drum tone on this album is sufficient and isn't weak or thin by any means.

While this isn't my favorite brutal death metal album, it is not a bad album. It isn't even a good album, its excellent. The guys over in Belgium clearly knew what they were doing on this one and it shows for sure. Their latest album tries to recapture some of their old insanity, but you know what they say, you can't capture lightning twice.

Just tapping the potential - 75%

DomDomMCMG, November 24th, 2011

My introduction to this band was Nailed Through Her Cunt, which is track 2 on this release. However, I didn't start with this album. I got Goremageddon instead. It was only after becoming familiar with the three Aborted albums that followed this that I gave it a try. While Nailed Through Her Cunt is an outstanding brutal death metal song, the rest of it isn't quite up to scratch. Don't get me wrong, this is still a great Aborted album, but the band would do so much better later.

I'll start with the vocals. Svencho is as good as here as he's ever been. Providing incomprehensible gurgles and grunts and effortlessly switching to higher shouted vocals easily. He uses both styles effectively to show more of a personality and prevent the music from getting monotonous. A lot of brutal death metal vocalists usually use one continous growl and gets very dull and has no character.

The riffs are almost thrashy and Slayer influences, while the band also resort to slow breakdowns. These breakdowns are technical and well played and are only needed when the music needs to slow down and take a break from the fast punishing riffs.

Drumwork is blazing fast with lots of blast beats and technical fills. The drums keep the music going at the right pace, as drums are supposed to.

The production is quite raw, but not so much that it becomes unlistenable. Everything is clear (minus the bass, which can be only just heard through decent headphones) but it's quite fuzzy, but I don't let it bother me.

The only real flaw is the memorability factor. Minus Nailed Through Her Cunt, not much of it outstanding. Granted this was only their second album, but there was potential to do much better, which they did with follow up effort Goremageddon. Well worth getting if you're a fan of the band, but if not, get the next 3 (Goremageddon, Archaic Abattoir, Slaughter and Apparatus) first.

The Unbridled Fury of An Ethnic Cleansing - 89%

Metaphysical_Anomaly, January 19th, 2007

Within the now ominous environment and concrete walls of Auschwitz, there is buried a skull fragment of a Jewish man named Yakim Beregin. Yakim was stabbed to death by Nazi guards after trying to smuggle food to a relative punished by starvation. Before he died, Yakim looked through his blood filled cornea's and saw Hell open it's black gates to his soul. Inside was a furious caterwauling that could only be classified as Death Metal, namely "Engineering the Dead" by a band labeled Aborted.

From the very start of this album and "The Holocaust Incarnate", the listener is given the aural gas chamber with a fast paced low scale riff section that evaporates into a mass grave of low tuned madness. During the album, the dual axe wielders synchronize themselves with deadly precision and signature groove heavy melodies, rife with tempo changes. Songs like the self titled track, the aforementioned "The Holocaust Incarnate", "Nailed Through Her Cunt", and "Skullfuck Crescendo" are perfect examples of this almost Saturday Night Fever style groove fest. Never fear though Devourment fans, Aborted didn't sacrifice brutality for melody, as you'll find a nice heavy section to your liking in "Eructations of Carnal Artistry", and another near the latter portion of "Sphinctral Enthrallment" which, ironically, is my favorite song of the album.

As for the man behind the kit, the drums meet nearly all expectations set for them. We hear many examples of Frank utilizing rolls, blast beats aplenty, and tackling difficult tempo adjustments with ease. Take heed of the massive drum section near the end of "Sphinctral Enthrallment". Now close your eyes for a second and picture your face where his snare would be. If you don't open your eyes screaming from the image of your facial bones fractured and your jaw mangled beyond recognition, I believe you have no pulse and should be cremated at once. As always, Sven belts out a multi-toned, low to high, vocal bludgeoning. The song "Nailed Through Her Cunt" really accentuated the range and vocal capacity Sven has in him as well as his ability to groove right along with the music as his lyrics provided. I cannot stress this song enough at slumber party sing-alongs.

Leaving no skull unsmashed, and no body un-unburied, this quintet from Beveren, Belgium improved upon their powerful debut to produce one hell of a sophomore album. More so than any other Aborted album, the songwriting flourished in a way not duplicable. The rhythms and melodies were purposely set to give many sections a place to collapse into heavy low toned riffage and upscale melodies, translating in lay man's terms to a headbangers delight. Without a doubt, this is Aborted's finest hour, and is recommended for any fan of Death Metal with more groove than John Travolta's parachute pants and more brutality than an all snuff film festival.

Engineering the Dead - 93%

Sportswear, March 7th, 2004

Well, Aborted seemed to have matured a fuckload with this LP. Everything is tighter, Sven's vocals are more mature and consistently more serious (yet still squealed brutally). The guitarists seem to work a lot better together and the drumming suits more. They have re-recorded the song "Eructions Of Carnal Artistry", which was originally on the "Christ Denied Split", and this time it has been perfected. A lot of death metalheads say they would rather crunchy breakdowns are kept out of death metal, but when the breakdown on that song kicks in and that little sweep fill is thrown in on 0:48, I can barely decide what to do between, grinning and gritting my teeth, punching something, breaking something or fuck knows what. Funny, but good shit. I'm not too keen on the blatant Slayer rip off in "Nailed Through Her Cunt", but when you hear the great guitar work on "Sphinctral Enthrallment" (etc), it more than makes up for it. Also, nice fucking brutal breakdown on "Exhuming The Infested". Definitely a mature but still brutal death metal release. This band seem to just get better.