EP Review: La Grande Mascarade by Aborted (Century Media Records)

Belgian death metallers, Aborted are about to drop a new EP called La Grande Mascarade. The new release lands on the 17th of April via Century Media Records.

Aborted have been blazing a trail of extreme heavy metal since as far back as 1995. Known for their ferocity, they have managed to stay relevant in a difficult sub genre for nearly 3 decades. Respect! Their most recent release scored highly in Top Album lists around the globe, including my own. That album was TerrorVision, which came out in 2018. The band return now with what seems like even more fire in their bellies with a 3 track EP of face melting metal, with a touch of class.

La Grande Mascarade features blasphemous and violent art by Mitchell Nolte, two brand-new tracks plus a previously unreleased song from the TerrorVision sessions. The EP was produced by Kristian “Kohle” Kohlmannslehner.

Aborted are Svencho on vocals, Stefano Franceschini on the bass, Ken Bedene on drums with Ian Jekelis and Harrison Patuto on guitars.

La Grande Mascarade gives us three new passages of brutality, two brand new tracks and 1 unheard track from the TerrorVision sessions. We start off with Gloom and the Art of Tribulation. This track really sets the scene in the intro with a bit of creepy atmospheric work. Demonic spoken word and gentle backing sounds lull you in before the track explodes with fire and fury. A speedy riff sits nicely behind blasting drums and a vicious bass line.

The vocals are hellish, coming at a fast pace and in different tones in a track that takes no prisoners. You just get bludgeoned repeatedly by a violent assault of extreme metal with the let up only coming for a speedy solo that is to die for. It sits on a bed of dark bass and speed drumming, creating a suffocating soundscape before slowing down into a creepier tone, again lulling you in for the jump in tempo and aggression that brings us through to the close.

Serpent of Depravity is a shorter blast of a track with some wicked chug in the riffs. The vocals continue to be spat at you with unrelenting force making good use of differing tones. I love this track. It seems to occasionally descend into absolute chaos where it is hard to follow, hard to pick up a beat before suddenly dropping into a banging rhythm that forces your neck muscles to get working. There is a little faded section in the middle that allows the track to build back up into a crescendo of vicious metal with everything thrown at you at once. Extended roars and screams, blast beats, chunky riffs, a screaming lead guitar and a pounding bass all hit you at once leaving you flattened on the floor.

Funereal Malediction keeps the aggression and intensity going as is Aborted’s ways. There is a bit of added variety in the vocals that seem to move between death metal and a bit of a hardcore/deathcore shout. The riff is banging and again goes for that chaos followed by insanely catchy groove. It works so well pulling you in all sorts of directions. The drums are brilliant, Ken Bedene is a beast of a drummer but just wait for that harmonised guitar solo and the huge breakdown that follows it. Damn! As good as that is, just wait for it to start building up again. The speed and power in the build up to the songs sudden end is jaw dropping. This is seriously heavy stuff!

Get you preorder in for a copy of La Grande Mascarade from Century Media here. Look out for it appearing on your favourite streaming service on the 17th of April.

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