Aborted is a Belgian death metal band from Waregem. Formed in 1995, the group is fronted by its sole constant member, vocalist Sven de Caluwé. The first recording lineup of the band in 1997 also included guitarist Niek Verstraete, bassist Koen Verstraete and drummer Steven Logie. As of the group's latest lineup change in April 2025, Caluwé is joined by guitarists Ian Jekelis (since 2015) and Daníel Máni Konráðsson (since 2022), plus new touring drummer Kevin Paradis.
History
1995–2006 Sven de Caluwé formed Aborted during the summer of 1995. After several early incarnations with various undisclosed members, he settled on his first formal lineup of the band in the summer of 1997 with guitarist Niek Verstraete, bassist Koen Verstraete and drummer Steven Logie. This lineup recorded the band's first demo The Necrotorous Chronicles in the spring of 1998, before Christophe Herreman was added as a second guitarist, and later Frank Rosseau replaced Logie, who was fired due to "lack of motivation". After the release of the band's full-length debut The Purity of Perversion, Herreman was replaced by Thijs "Tace" de Cloedt in time for its follow-up, Engineering the Dead.
By the time the band recorded Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done starting in December 2002, Niek and Koen Verstraete had been replaced by Bart Vergaert and Frederic "Fre" Vanmassenhove, respectively. The album also featured session drummer Dirk Verbeuren of Scarve, although Rosseau remained an official member until February 2004, when he left for "musical reasons". In mid-March, the band announced French drummer Gilles Delecroix as his replacement. The new lineup recorded The Archaic Abattoir, before Vergaert suddenly quit in May 2005. The band played a few shows as a quartet, before Stephane Souteyrand took over the following month.
At the start of 2006, Aborted announced that Souteyrand, along with Thijs de Cloedt and Fre Vanmassenhove, had all left the band, with their replacements named as guitarists Sebastian "Seb Purulator" Tuvi (of Balrog) and Matty Dupont (of Emeth), plus bassist Olivia "Raziel" Scemama (also of Balrog). After the release of live video The Auricular Chronicles, Scemama and Delecroix left the band due to financial issues; Dupont's Emeth bandmate Peter Goemaere was announced as the band's new bassist, while Dave Haley of Psycroptic was drafted in for the recording of Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture, with Etienne Gallo of Negativa taking over for the subsequent tour.
2007–2015 For three shows coinciding with the release of Slaughter & Apparatus in February 2007, God Dethroned's Ariën van Weesenbeek filled in on drums. Later that month, 17-year-old Daniel Wilding from England became Aborted's new full-time drummer. Around the summer of 2007, bassist Peter Goemaere switched to guitar following the departure of Matty Dupont, with Sven "Svenchini" Janssens brought in to take over on bass. The new lineup released the band's sixth album Strychnine.213 the following year.
In December 2009, frontman Sven de Caluwé announced an entirely new lineup of Aborted consisting of his System Divide bandmate Cole Martinez on bass, former session drummer Dirk Verbeuren, plus guitarists Eran Segal and Ken Sorceron. According to Verbeuren, the new lineup came together around October, then recorded the EP Coronary Reconstruction the next month. Outgoing guitarist Seb Purulator claimed that de Caluwé had not informed him or his bandmates that they were being replaced, and that the way the band was run had created financial difficulties for all four musicians. Verbeuren was unable to tour with Aborted in promotion of Coronary Reconstruction due to his commitments with Soilwork, so he was replaced by Ken Bedene, who later became an official band member. John-Bart "J. B." van der Wal replaced Martinez during the summer of 2010.
Just before recording began for the band's next album, Sorceron announced his departure from Aborted in April 2011 to focus on his other band, Abigail Williams. He was replaced for the recording of Global Flatline by Michael Wilson. Shortly after the recording, van der Wal left the band, with Kevin Verlay filling in for shows in the fall of 2011. The following spring, Joshua Neale briefly took over as the band's touring bassist. Later in 2012, van der Wal rejoined Aborted, while guitarists Segal and Wilson were replaced by Mendel bij de Leij and Danny Tunker. This lineup released The Necrotic Manifesto in 2014 and the Termination Redux EP in 2016.
Since 2015 After recording Termination Redux in the summer, Danny Tunker left Aborted in September 2015. He was replaced by Ian Jekelis, with whom the band recorded their 2016 album Retrogore. In late 2016, J. B. van der Wal left for a second time, replaced by Stefano Franceschini. The new lineup released TerrorVision in 2018, before Mendel bij de Leij left in February 2019 and was replaced by Harrison Patuto. Originally a touring stand-in, the guitarist became an official member of the band in February 2020. After recording the EP La Grande Mascarade, Patuto left during 2021 and the band recorded ManiaCult as a quartet.
In October 2022, Aborted announced the addition of Daníel Máni Konráðsson in the vacated second guitarist position. The band released Vault of Horrors in 2024, which was the last album to feature bassist Stefano Franceschini, who announced his departure at the beginning of the year to focus on his education, with the band opting to use a bass backing track instead of replacing him. It also ended up being the last Aborted album to feature Ken Bedene on drums, who was dismissed in April 2025 after 15 years with the band. A couple of weeks after his departure, Bedene explained in his statement posted on his Instagram "I left the band to distance them from this", following allegations of sexual misconduct relating to conversations he had with an underage fan online that attended a recent show.
Bedene was replaced immediately on tour by Kevin Paradis.
Official members Current ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsSven "Svencho" de Caluwé1995–presentvocalsall Aborted releasesIan Jekelis2015–presentguitarsall Aborted releases from Retrogore (2016) onwardsDaníel Máni Konráðsson2022–present
Former ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsNiek Verstraete1997–2002guitarsall Aborted releases from The Necrotorous Chronicles (1998) to Extirpated Live Emanations (2003)Koen VerstraetebassSteven Logie1997–1998drumsThe Necrotorous Chronicles (1998)Christophe Herreman1998–2000guitarsFrank Rosseau1998–2004drumsThijs "Tace" de Cloedt2000–2006guitarsall Aborted releases from Engineering the Dead (2001) to The Archaic Abattoir (2005)Frederic "Fre" Vanmassenhove2002–2006bassBart Vergaert2002–2005guitarsDirk VerbeurendrumsGilles Delecroix2004–2006Stephane Souteyrand2005–2006guitarsnoneSeb Purulator2006–2009Matty Dupont2006–2007guitarsOlivia "Raziel" Scemama2006bassThe Auricular Chronicles (2006)Peter Goemaere2006–2009Daniel Wilding2007–2009drumsStrychnine.213 (2009)Sven "Svenchini" JanssensEran Segal2009–2012guitarsKen Sorceron2009–2011Coronary Reconstruction (2010)Cole Martinez2009–2010Ken Bedene2010–2025all Aborted releases from Global Flatline (2012) to "The Pain, Will Be Exquisite" (2025)J. B. van der WalbassMichael Wilson2011–2012guitarsGlobal Flatline (2012)Mendel bij de Leij2012–2019Danny Tunker2012–2015Stefano Franceschini2016–2024bassall Aborted releases from TerrorVision (2018) to "The Pain, Will Be Exquisite" (2025)Harrison Patuto2019–2021guitarsLa Grande Mascarade (2020)
Stand-in members ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsDetailsDave Haley2006 drumsAfter the departure of Gilles Delecroix, Haley performed on Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture.Etienne Galo2006 Galo joined the band temporarily for tour dates starting in October 2006, after Haley's brief session tenure.Ariën van Weesenbeek2007 van Weesenbeek filled in on drums for three Slaughter & Apparatus release shows in February 2007.Kevin Verlay2011–2012 bassVerlay filled in on bass during late 2011 and early 2012 after the departure of J. B. van der Wal.Joshua Neale2012 Neale took over from Verlay during the spring of 2012, before leaving due to personal reasons in May.Kevin Paradis2025 drumsParadis joined after Ken Bedene's departure in April 2025 to tour Europe.Siebe Hermans2025–present Hermans stepped in from Stefan's side project Coffin Feeder for their North American tour with Cattle Decapitation.https://www.instagram.com/p/DRCyv3riCFc/?igsh=MXY4N2JzeXY1a3J6cg==
Timeline
Lineups PeriodMembersReleasesSummer 1995–summer 1997Sven de Caluwé — vocals Other members unknownSummer 1997–1998Sven de Caluwé — vocals Niek Verstraete — guitars Koen Verstraete — bass Steven Logie — drumsThe Necrotorous Chronicles (1998)1998Sven de Caluwé — vocals Niek Verstraete — guitars Koen Verstraete — bass Steven Logie — drums Christophe Herreman — guitars1998–2000Sven de Caluwé — vocals Niek Verstraete — guitars Koen Verstraete — bass Christophe Herreman — guitars Frank Rosseau — drumsThe Purity of Perversion (1999) Split with Christ Denied (2000)2000–2002Sven de Caluwé — vocals Niek Verstraete — guitars Koen Verstraete — bass Frank Rosseau — drums Thijs de Cloedt — guitarsEngineering the Dead (2001) Created to Kill (2002) Extirpated Live Exhumations (2003)Late 2002–February 2004Sven de Caluwé — vocals Thijs de Cloedt — guitars Frank Rosseau — drums Bart Vergaert — guitars Frederic Vanmassenhove — bass Dirk Verbeuren — drums Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done (2003) The Haematobic EP (2004)March 2004–May 2005Sven de Caluwé — vocals Thijs de Cloedt — guitars Bart Vergaert — guitars Frederic Vanmassenhove — bass Gilles Delecroix — drumsThe Archaic Abattoir (2005)May–June 2005Sven de Caluwé — vocals Thijs de Cloedt — guitars Frederic Vanmassenhove — bass Gilles Delecroix — drumsrowspan="2" June 2005–January 2006Sven de Caluwé — vocals Thijs de Cloedt — guitars Frederic Vanmassenhove — bass Gilles Delecroix — drums Stephane Souteyrand — guitarsJanuary–September 2006Sven de Caluwé — lead vocals Gilles Delecroix — drums Seb Purulator — guitars, backing vocals Matty Dupont — guitars Olivia Scemama — bassThe Auricular Chronicles (2006)September 2006Sven de Caluwé — lead vocals Seb Purulator — guitars, backing vocals Matty Dupont — guitars Peter Goemaere — bass Dave Haley — drums Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture (2007)October–November 2006Sven de Caluwé — lead vocals Seb Purulator — guitars, backing vocals Matty Dupont — guitars Peter Goemaere — bass Etienne Galo — drums rowspan="3" February 2007Sven de Caluwé — lead vocals Seb Purulator — guitars, backing vocals Matty Dupont — guitars Peter Goemaere — bass Ariën van Weesenbeek — drums February–summer 2007Sven de Caluwé — lead vocals Seb Purulator — guitars, backing vocals Matty Dupont — guitars Peter Goemaere — bass Daniel Wilding — drumsSummer 2007–summer 2009Sven de Caluwé — lead vocals Seb Purulator — guitars, backing vocals Peter Goemaere — guitars Daniel Wilding — drums Sven Janssens — bass, samplesStrychnine.213 (2009)October 2009–early 2010Sven de Caluwé — vocals Dirk Verbeuren — drums Eran Segal — guitars Ken Sorceron — guitars Cole Martinez — bass, samplesCoronary Reconstruction (2010)Early–summer 2010Sven de Caluwé — vocals Eran Segal — guitars Ken Sorceron — guitars Cole Martinez — bass, samples Ken Bedene — drumsrowspan="2" Summer 2010–April 2011Sven de Caluwé — vocals Eran Segal — guitars Ken Sorceron — guitars Ken Bedene — drums J. B. van der Wal — bassSummer/fall 2011Sven de Caluwé — vocals Eran Segal — guitars Ken Bedene — drums J. B. van der Wal — bass Michael Wilson — guitarsGlobal Flatline (2012)Late 2011–early 2012Sven de Caluwé — vocals Eran Segal — guitars Ken Bedene — drums Michael Wilson — guitars Kevin Verlay — bass rowspan="2" Early/spring 2012Sven de Caluwé — vocals Eran Segal — guitars Ken Bedene — drums Michael Wilson — guitars