✦✦✦✧ Holy hell. This is Aborted’s best work since at least Retrogore, and may even surpass The Necrotic Manifesto (their previous high water mark). This album answers every criticism I had from the previous two efforts, sticking closer to their tech death basecamp while still being experimental and borrowing moves from almost every other modern metal genre (with the exception of black metal).

✦✦✧✧ This is as over-the-top as anything Aborted have ever given us. It’s also all over the fucking map, which is problematic. The band is at their best when they hew closely to their technical grindcore wheelhouse, but there’s enough other stuff in here to dilute the former’s efficacy.

✦✦✦✧ This album is as subtle as a root canal. But that’s what you want from these Belgian death metal masters. So what if nothing here really stands out as an instant classic? Your knuckles may wind up bloody nevertheless. There are notable cameos on “Retrogore” (from the likes of Revocation and Origin), but that’s like putting a parsley garnish on a flambé.

★★★★ This cruel bastard of an album is clearly the result of a gangbang between Malevolent Creation, Gorguts, The Acacia Strain, and Pinhead from the original Hellraiser. The aural assault is well produced, and stays tasty and scary and interesting throughout. You will listen, and its sound is like razors through flesh.