Fans of death metal should be well aware of who ABORTED are by now. "Retrogore" is the ninth studio album by this Belgian powerhouse, being released more than 20 years after the initial formation of the band. Over these nine albums and 20 years, ABORTED have proven that they haven't grown stale or irrelevant like so many do, but have instead manged to evolve their sound (even if only slightly), and keep each new outing just as epic and intense as the last.

The thing that got me initially interested in ABORTED was their clear love of old school horror films. The fact that they have referred to Cenobites from the Hellraiser series in the past, and with lyrics covering all the bases of horror, including the gore, the sex, the murder, and the sacrilege, all of which could easily be topics for classic horror movies shows a certain vision and theme for the band that many seem to lack. "Retrogore" covers these topics yet again, with a renewed intensity and a somewhat more serious tone to the subject matter. Vocalist Sven de Caluwé admitted that while he prefers to do music about gore heavy horror, there were topics which had to be covered. As he said "I loathe the current state of our society", and as a result, "Retrogore" has songs dealing more with that state. The horror themes are still here as well, as we have come to expect from the band, so it's great to see that although there is a more serious tone to parts of the album, that certain level of sickness that ABORTED are known for is still very much present.

The album starts with a weird upbeat and happy sounding instrumental, but then slams straight in to the title track "Retrogore". This song is, even from the title, clearly a big not to retro horror films and the ridiculous amount of gore that the slasher genre is known for. It's "Whoremageddon" where we get what de Caluwé meant when he spoke about society. The song is full of hatred towards the way things are and makes me think he's talking about not just politics, but the mindless way that talentless celebrities get to a worshiped almost god-like status thanks to media. "Bit By Bit" seems to follow these same themes and remains equally thought provoking and extremely angry throughout. The one problem I found throughout "Retrogore" was that, unless you either pay close attention to the lyrics (or look them up) you usually can't tell which songs are serious and meaningful, and which are more classic ABORTED with their love of horror. Really this isn't a huge issue, as it all sounds good either way. It's just if you're trying to find a particular meaning to your music, you may have trouble figuring it out.

"Retrogore" is a fantastic album which is absolutely packed full of rage and hatred, and as usual, some great nods to classic gore fests. At only 43 minutes, it feels a little short, but if it were much longer your ears may bleed from the intensity so this is probably a good thing. 20 years after their formation, ABORTED have proven that they are still relevant, and are still as great as ever.

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