To many, 2006 will be remembered as the year Britney Spears' vagina was opened to the world. To others, it will be remembered for the synthesis of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie into one super compassionate human being. And to those into doom metal, 2006 will be remembered for Profound Lore's release of Asunder's Works Will Come Undone.
What Spears' lacked, and Paris Hilton realized this when she closed Spears' legs, was two songs that captured the essence of gloom played at an inch per hour. For us, that is okay, because Asunder wrote these two songs for us.
In the seventy-two minutes of music, there are quieter welcoming vocals. There are low guttural screams that sound like misery being ripped out of someone's neck. There are Gregorian-like chanting notes shouted. The vocals are sparingly sprinkled throughout the music making the morose isolation feel that much sharper. Asunder wanders through doom metal with the type of tempo that is so slow it's at first uncomfortable. Trying to band head alongside would be as difficult as to, on the opposite spectrum, bang finger to Discordance Axis.
As the brooding guitars, bass, and drums bang on, it's Jackie Perez-Gratz's cello work that really yanks on the heartstrings. And while her string sailing isn't always present, the moments when it is become that much more profound. Otherwise, expect non-stop bleakness with the occasional stoner groove (i.e. 9:28 in the first song, "A Famine"). Instead of reaching for an epic crescendo, Asunder continuously drives on and emulates feelings of non-stop hopelessness. The recording/production captures the tightness of Asunder without making anything sound too "digital" and instead really heavy.
The second song, "Rite of Finality," goes with a similar formula as the first track. But about twenty-five minutes in, Asunder breaks into a quiet void that slowly seeps into twenty-five more minutes of dark atmospheric sounds. Eventually the background music becomes fucking scary with loads of rumbling chanting. To some the end ambience could be seen as an early excuse to end the CD. To others, it adds a lot of depth to Works Will Come Undone.
On a sidenote, all CDs should be packaged in digipacks like Works Will Come Undone. Everybody seems to be complaining how CDs no longer feel personal, well; this CD packaging looks awesome and won't crack when you drop it in your friend's car.
It should be noted that listening to Asunder will make the creamiest/sugar cube filled coffee black. It should also be noted that with all of the great metal releases of 2006, there's a reason why Works Will Come Undone is rising to the top of many lists. That reason may have something to do with Asunder's exceptional rendition of funeral doom, even if it didn't hatch from Spears' or Jolie's vagina.
