Too often are brutal Death Metal releases ruined by a bad production transforming them into a wall of painful noise without any sense. Hence, this kind of music is (unfortunately) rarely associated with intelligence and finesse. I am glad to report that ABORTED crush this cliché with their magnificent third release and I am not afraid to type the word “masterpiece” here. These five Belgian maniacs come up with a monument of Death Metal of which every aspects, from the music to the production passing by the visual presentation reek of class, passion, dedication, talent and maturity. All the ABORTED musicians give themselves one hundred per cent on “Goremageddon”, and the result is no less than a fantastic piece of aural carnage, a true death feast! Like I have just mentioned, the production of this album is superb, giving the imaginative compositions expanded dimension and impact. The musical skills on display here are absolutely phenomenal, just listen to the drumming parts, ultimate to say the least, this drummer has so much talent this even become too much! All the tracks are based on various rhythms and not only on continuous blast beats, so your interest will be kept on alert all the time thanks to this (controlled) complexity. The vocals are very brutal ok, with the now traditional growls, these ones being mixed with occasional frantic screams. Sometimes the band let appear their European origin, like in ‘Charted Carnal Effigy’ where ABORTED mix American-styled brutal death with Swedish overtones reminiscent of old gods of brutality like DISMEMBER. In fact the sound throughout the album stays almost crystalline and aerial (maybe there is an influence of latter days CARCASS in that regard), surprising for the kind of music ABORTED play. From what I saw in the ABORTED website, the artwork of the album is done with a dose a subtlety, offensive enough to destabilize without falling in the deep and foul pit of bad taste, this is one further element that separates ABORTED from the mass of middle of the road brutal Death Metal bands. Note that a limited edition of this release actually exists, with a cover of CARCASS (‘Carnal Forge’) included. Finally I thank you very much for your patience reading this, but I am afraid there is a better thing to do: turn your computer off, stand up, and go out to buy this fine slab of technical and surgical brutality without delay. “Goremageddon” took me completely by surprise, surely one of the highlights of the year 2003. AWESOME! www.goremageddon.be.