Fallen Asunder
Fallen Asunder
(self-released)

Ryan Batturs and Josh Weaver are Fallen Asunder, and they certainly can rock hard and heavy. Their new album is pretty much balls-to-the-wall kinetic guitar playing and effective songwriting with Batturs’ great growl and scream over the top of the concoction. Loud splashing drums and guitar pushes Batturs’ scream on the opener, “The World and Fate.” Along the way, we get dramatic colors of spiky, splashy drums as well as chunked power chord guitar doubling. Things get almost bright and cheery on the flicky guitar-led opening of “Meant For So Much More,” before we get into the roiling, riffing, and shouting (Batturs shows off so much vocal prowess here), then the chorus hits you and you find yourself singing along to what becomes a really clever little ditty. “Plight” is brilliant in its full-steam-ahead, spunk-you-in-the-face, wrist-splitting guitar strumming. “Upon Your Stars” is an 80’s-sounding power ballad-like tune with a retard (at least at its beginning and chorus) into, yet again, Fallen Asunder’s crazy attack in the verses. It’s true ballad city on “In Your Depths.” Big guitar single-lead notes spurt across the beginning. First, there are the obligatory slower verses, then overdriven dramatic choruses over a recognizable guitar-picking refrain. Again, the duo displays great songwriting here of this genre type. “Brought to Life” is again another almost-punk attack that’s faster than fast. The ender, “Blinded Eyes,” has some cool single-note, harmonic plinking at its beginning (this band can really start a song), then we are into chunk guitar playing we have heard throughout the album. Fallen Asunder’s debut is a truly great, hard record of speed, fun, and solid songsmithing.