Following something of a career lowlight in 2008's Strychnine.213, Belgian deathsquad Aborted seem to have taken a few years to re-engineer their sound, resulting in far superior albums such as 2012's Global Flatline and 2014's The Necrotic Manifesto. A slight encroach of influence from superior colleagues Benighted seems to have allowed for improvements, as does a fairly stable line-up with mainman Sven joined by American drummer Ken and bassist Ian (both with time in Abigail Williams) alongside Italian guitarist Stefano (Hideous Divinity). That, plus looking for inspiration in realms other than melodeath, and Aborted are onto a pretty good run of albums in the last decade, ManiaCult being no different. A concept album based on Francis Thurston, a minor character in HP Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu, the eleventh full-length from Aborted is a more than solid addition to their catalogue.

From grimly atmospheric opener Verderf that soon bursts into the galloping title track, it's immediately noticeable how willing to toy with their formula Aborted are in this, their third decade of existence. The more overtly out-there moments like the electronic-backed interlude on Portal to Vacuity are disappointingly limited, but even the more straightforward brutalisers like said title track and Impetus Odi have a touch of deathcore to their grooving, just enough to add spice to the breakdowns without turning too core-ful. Overall there's far more tech-death influence, however, the likes of the widdly Dementophobia showing as it twists and turns without straying too far from the thrashy-death foundation. There's the odd blackened moment to some of the melodic riffing here and there, particularly when the speedy Drag Me to Hell reaches full speed, and although the more melodic Grotesque and album closer I Prediletti: The Folly of the Gods do a little more to stand out, all in all there's nothing especially notable to make ManiaCult stand out as anything more than a solid addition to a solid discography. Those who enjoy death/grind in general will probably not be surprised to be recommended the works of Benighted over this overall (and that will hopefully include Sven as he's appeared on their albums!) and there's no way that anyone should even think of listening to this over Obscene Repressed from last year! ManiaCult is, however, more than good enough to be worth checking out for fans and those who think the pro-life movement has lost its way lately...