Aborted - Coronary Reconstruction (2010) [Century Media] // Grade: B

If you’ve been a fan of Belgian metal for any period of time, chances are you’ve heard of Aborted. They’ve been around for over a decade and in that time, have produced some of the best work in the genre. In fact, Engineering The Dead and Goremageddon still remain, to this day, some of the most influential work to come out of the Belgian metal scene. That’s not an easy task either and once again, Aborted delivers a taste of the flesh with Coronary Reconstruction. It’s got all the tinge of a wretchedly-twisted grindcore EP and even an Entombed cover.

Coronary Reconstruction is 20-minutes of intensity; 5 tracks of balls-out death metal-influenced grindcore. “Coronary Reconstruction”, the title track doesn’t beat around the bush. From the get-go, its intent is clear, fuck everything and chop the rest to pieces with a chainsaw. Once “From A Tepid Whiff” comes around, we’re given a nice and heavy break from the onslaught. One thing to note, the stench-filled sound clip at the end just so happens to be from Dumb and Dumber oddly enough. Hey, at least they’ve got a sense of humor. “Grime” is a mind-fuckingly brutal track, filled with overpowering blast beats and snearing vocals interwoven with the classic death growls and breaks. It ends unexpectidly with super-precise riffs and a bit of melody. Yes, really. Moments like this show the differentiating and defining talents of Aborted.

In fact, the entire EP is filled with those moments. For 20-minutes, we’re shown how Aborted are rising above the rest one bone saw at a time. “A Cadaverous Dissertation” is the last track before the aforementioned Entombed cover. With an almost goofy black metal intro, it starts with a wallop to the gut. In what’s easily the best Entombed cover ever, Aborted takes a stab at “Left Hand Path”. Now if you’ve been into Entombed for any length of time, you’ll greatly appreciate this one. It’s easy for bands to get swept up in the grindcore aspect of death metal but Aborted have proved that with a little bit of variation, even a 20-minute EP can deliver to the most die-hard fans.

- Prolly