Aborted Fetus: Devoured Fetuses (2005)

I love slam death metal, but finding new bands to listen to is not always easy.  The biggest issue is the lack of a "slam" genre tag on the Metal Archives, or at least a very infrequently used one.  So I am often relying on word of mouth or reviews, neither of which is always accurate.  The other option is to stick to bands I am already familiar with, which brings me to Aborted Fetus.

I previously reviewed the Russian slam band's 2010 full-length Fatal Dogmatic Damage, and quite enjoyed it.  I especially enjoyed the ridiculous lyrics and song titles like "Aquarium with Dead Souls".  I came across this 2005 EP when I was searching for some other stuff and decided to take a chance on it since I did enjoy other material from the band and I am always on the lookout for more slam.

This is just a five-song EP and the last song is a cover of song by German pornogrind band Gut.  The EP was released a few years before the band released their first full-length album, and as such, is quite raw.  And that is saying something for slam.  The production is actually really impressive for the style with a nice tone on the guitars and clear instrumentation.  Of course the riffs are big and heavy.  At this point in the band's existence, the band has more in common with brutal death metal than slam.  There are moments where the band gets into a breakdown, but there is generally much more still going on than the typical slam parts.  The vocals are fairly typical for the genre though.

I enjoy this EP quite a bit, though it is maybe borderline in the slam genre.  It is highly competent brutal death metal that goes for quite a bit of extra brutality.  It's crushingly heavy and intense and absolutely sick and vile in all of the right ways. 

Initial Impressions: Aborted Fetus: Fatal Dogmatic Damage

Okay, this is as basic as slam gets. Seriously, this could be Slam 101, all of the elements are here, with the exception of the almost cartoonish violence-filled lyrics. Not to say the lyrics here are not violent, but they are not as extreme. Otherwise, this is what slam is.

Aborted Fetus is a Russian four-piece who has been quite prolific in releasing something almost every year since the band formed in 2000. This is the band's second full-length album amongst a number of splits, demos, and EPs.

Their music is groove-laden slam death with fairly simple riffing and blastbeat-driven drumming. Every song is basically structured the same way. The band does not really go too far out of their comfort zone. The vocals are the standard pig squealed gurgling that a lot of slam bands use.

There is virtually no originality here. Even the name is lifted from two other bands. This is just simple slam without any real standout sections. The band just simply crushes for 25 minutes. It is utterly forgettable, but that is part of its charm. It hits you like a steamroller and then leaves you afterwards wondering what happened.

Ridiculous Song Titles: Aborted Fetus: "Aquarium with Dead Souls"

I recently received the new Aborted Fetus album, a slam band from Russia. Sometimes, it's just fun to look at some of the song titles from these bands and this is an excellent example. It brings up questions:

How big of a tank do you need for dead souls?

What do you feed dead souls?

What kind of filtration system is necessary for dead souls?

What kind of pH is needed to help dead souls thrive? Freshwater, brackish water, salt water?

What are dead souls compatible with? For instance, my wife and I have a ten-inch long black ghost knifefish. Can I keep my dead souls with it? Apparently they like to kill angelfish, so I am concerned.