### Abortus: Judge me not

#### 15/01/09 || Daemonomania

Abortus. Abortarium. Coathanger abortion. Consuming the Abortion. Abortos de Satan. Aborted Christ Childe. Aborted Hitler Cock. Desensitized yet? No matter where you stand on the issue, you have to admit that it does offer myriad possibilities for metal band names. I’m surprised there isn’t more metal about bombing abortion clinics, but I suppose that would be “pro-life” and those that love death metal don’t typically fall into that category.

Unspectacular name aside (they recently changed it to Herratik), Abortus is a crew of Aussies who have played unspectacular death/thrash for ten years. By no means are they bad at what they do, but anyone who has dug deep into the subgenre will realize that for every Demonoid there’s a thousand shit bands throwing a hotdog down the sloppy hallways of yore.

I’d put these guys in the same league as Hypokras; both have something going for them that elevates them above a bad production job and lack of name recognition. Bands like this struggle to stand on metal’s dreaded third tier, a slippery balance beam soaked in the blood of failed acts who plummeted to the spikes of nonexistence below. Most are doomed to toil for years and never even climb to Tier 2 – just a small entry on an Encyclopaedia Metallum page with a few poorly written reviews next to their albums.

But Abortus is worth a listen for those with one finger up their ass for Deathchain and a second wedged up there for Altar. “Seperatism” is a good opener, with a cool spoken section followed by an almost epic riff. “The shit that grits your teeth” is charmingly titled and avoids dumping in your mouth. The title track doth seem most badass, and “All that was” is an example of these guys turning their skills up to the max.

Personal faves would be the 2Pac-influenced “2U 4U Fuck You,” which was reportedly inspired by “Ambitionz az a Ridah.” And the last song, “Re-Pray,” has got some awesome samples and lyrics and blisters right through its short running time.

So the most important question: is “Judge me not” worth your hard earned New Taiwan Dollars? I would say if you love death/thrash and can stand so-so production, a short running time, and a hint of overused riffery, go for it. It shall stay in my collection, and will gather only mild amounts of dust between spins, so a 6 out of 10 would be appropriate methinks. “Judge me not,” eh? Well, I have judged you, Abortus.

Back on the subject of abortion: I suppose one argument in the eternal debate would be that if women were allowed to terminate ugly fetuses, would there be anyone left to play death metal in the future? And name their band Abortive Abortion (who also play death/thrash)? It would come down to what pro-lifers hate more – abortion or death metal about abortion. The metal chicken or the fertilized egg? Truly, a conundrum.

- Information
- Released: 1999
- Label: Self-released, which is rad
- Website: www.abortus.net
- Band
- Mark White: vocals
- George Trajkovski: guitars
- George Kozaroski: bass
- Matt Herd: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Seperatism
- 02. Tortured
- 03. The Shit That Grits Your Teeth
- 04. Soul – Less
- 05. Judge Me Not
- 06. 2U 4U Fuck You (When Thugz Cry)
- 07. All That Was
- 08. Re – Pray