Review by Nathan on October 13, 2022.

For whatever reason, this album burns in my memory, because I remember seeing it on banner ads a lot while I was scoring various random metal sites.I guess the fact that I’m reviewing this (and bought it on a whim when I saw it used) is a sign that advertising works in subtle and insidious ways?

Something called “blastcore” is going to appeal a shitload to someone like me, a lover of speedfreak extreme metal. The band’s self-appointed style distinction actually makes sense when you hear this: Behold the Failure Is full of half-blasts, full blasts, crazy rolls and gravity blasts, but this doesn’t have the thin, shrill veneer of grindcore, despite the spirited punk influences in some of the bouncier riffs and the punchy, brief arrangements. The Relapse-funded beefy production and the band’s affinity for crunchy, Nasum-esque Eurogrind grooves brings to mind death metal-adjacent influences…but “deathgrind” doesn’t feel like a great fit, even though it’s probably the closest existing subgenre. The speed can still be blinding, but there’s an understated dexterity in the guitars that makes the full package a very tight, focused assault compared to grind’s usual looseness. To put it in the most succinct way I can, this is written like a grindcore album, but the end results doesn’t really grind, it’s just a handful of chunky blastbeat grooves. All twenty-seven songs are short explosions that get shit into your ears at a machine-gun pace and that’s it. There’s no slow closer, no weird ambiance, the only thing that could be considered a sudden diversion is that one part in “Useless Fucks” where the vocalist goes “YEEEEEEE” and sounds like a rooster.

As you might expect, it’s sometimes hard to get though a full run-through of this, but the snack-sized songs make it easy to rip a few whenever you’re on the go and just need your brain scrambled with heavy fuckin’ noise for a few minutes. This spends literally zero seconds meandering, and they know how to get whimsical with it and add a bit of fun, but the grooves are always done with tasteful artistry and always have more activity than some of the more smooth-brained hardcore out there. It’s hard to knock this a ton when it’s a ton of fun, albeit only in short bursts before it gets too overstimulating.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Nathan on October 13, 2022.

For whatever reason, this album burns in my memory, because I remember seeing it on banner ads a lot while I was scoring various random metal sites.I guess the fact that I’m reviewing this (and bought it on a whim when I saw it used) is a sign that advertising works in subtle and insidious ways?

Something called “blastcore” is going to appeal a shitload to someone like me, a lover of speedfreak extreme metal. The band’s self-appointed style distinction actually makes sense when you hear this: Behold the Failure Is full of half-blasts, full blasts, crazy rolls and gravity blasts, but this doesn’t have the thin, shrill veneer of grindcore, despite the spirited punk influences in some of the bouncier riffs and the punchy, brief arrangements. The Relapse-funded beefy production and the band’s affinity for crunchy, Nasum-esque Eurogrind grooves brings to mind death metal-adjacent influences…but “deathgrind” doesn’t feel like a great fit, even though it’s probably the closest existing subgenre. The speed can still be blinding, but there’s an understated dexterity in the guitars that makes the full package a very tight, focused assault compared to grind’s usual looseness. To put it in the most succinct way I can, this is written like a grindcore album, but the end results doesn’t really grind, it’s just a handful of chunky blastbeat grooves. All twenty-seven songs are short explosions that get shit into your ears at a machine-gun pace and that’s it. There’s no slow closer, no weird ambiance, the only thing that could be considered a sudden diversion is that one part in “Useless Fucks” where the vocalist goes “YEEEEEEE” and sounds like a rooster.

As you might expect, it’s sometimes hard to get though a full run-through of this, but the snack-sized songs make it easy to rip a few whenever you’re on the go and just need your brain scrambled with heavy fuckin’ noise for a few minutes. This spends literally zero seconds meandering, and they know how to get whimsical with it and add a bit of fun, but the grooves are always done with tasteful artistry and always have more activity than some of the more smooth-brained hardcore out there. It’s hard to knock this a ton when it’s a ton of fun, albeit only in short bursts before it gets too overstimulating.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Adam M on November 29, 2016.

Aborted perform a fast and vicious form of death metal. There is perhaps a similarity to Carcass, but I don’t believe this band is quite as effective at delivering the death metal blow. This is due to some more simplistic song-writing that doesn’t lend it quite the compelling approach.

It’s still a very nifty approach to the death metal genre, however. The music is abrasive and hard-hitting to the core. This voracious approach hits hard and fast. There is an aggressive side to the music that is very appropriate. There isn’t as much complexity as on Necroticism or as much melody as Heartwork, but the disc still finds a good medium to the music overall. It’s a hard edged style that has a lot going for it. After a quick intro, the band comes out of the closet firing on all cylinders with the title track. For the most part, the momentum is kept up throughout the disc, but this first true track is stormer. The brutality is harsh, but still intelligent enough to be fun. There is an element of well-conceived glory that propels an otherwise 7/10 release into the 7.5/10 range. The entirety of the work seems well composed and written. The songs have a purpose and drive to them. Still, despite the intelligent approach, it still never comes close to matching Necroticism for all of its complexities.

This leaves us with a fairly straight-forward disc that has enough abrasiveness and thoughtfulness to please. There is enough meatiness in the riffs to pummel time and time again. Make no mistake, this isn’t the greatest death metal recording, but it does have enough edge and impact to it to be quite a cool listen. Fans of Carcass, Exhumed and the like will find lots to like with Retrogore.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10