Sol Asunder
Asunder The Surface (Demo)
8.5
This is the fourth release from San Francisco’s Sol Asunder, who have been plugging away ever since they formed under the Minion banner back in 2000, creating the type of melodic death metal that back then was only found in Gothenburg. Fast forward to present day, and the band has added a new vocalist and a new drummer and recorded the outstanding Asunder the Surface EP, five tracks that will flash you back to the early days of European melodic death metal.
First off, you have to love the guitar tones here. Nothing overly unique, with a simple crunch to them that highlights the heaviness of the music without sounding too wimpy on the more melodic parts. Then there is that killer drum tone, crisp and clear, possibly to a fault, sounding almost mechanical, but nonetheless driving the music with authority. This strong production job elevates the album up a notch on its own in a genre where production can make or break an album. Lord knows how many times I’ve uttered the phrase, “It’s pretty good, but the production sucks ass.” Then of course there is the songwriting, which proves that Americans can create music like their overseas counterparts. The opening title track invokes the spirits of Callenish Circle’s Graceful . . . Yet Forbidding debut, while “Mislead” could have been an outtake from In Flames’s Whoracle album, and “Worth the Tears” sounds a lot like early Dark Tranquility. Another thing I notice here is the inherent hardcore influence within the sound. I’m pretty sure this band would vehemently deny fandom of the genre, but hardcore breakdowns are aplenty here, and they sound completely natural amongst everything else.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome a potential new force in the melodic death field. I seriously believe that, too. If this release falls into the right hands there is no telling how well this band could do, especially with fans who miss the classic Gothenburg days. Next up for the band is a second(!) acoustic album of dark, stripped down songs of doom and gloom. In short, Sol Asunder will blow your mind . . . er, asunder.
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