Band:	Various Artists
Album:	Asymmetry
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	September 2005

01. Lux Incerta - Clear Water
02. Whelm - A State Of Decay
03. Remembrance - Beyond The Waters
04. Mary Bell - Armageddon Jam
05. Asofy - Luce
06. The Knell - Into Shattered
07. Mar De Grises - Mar De Grises
08. Saturnus - Murky Waters
09. Wreck Of The Hesperus - Utter Rot
10. Abysmal Darkening - End It

This doom metal compilation was the first cd ever released by Totalrust Records and it is a very good approach to the growing catalogue of this newborn label. Before anything else, I want to apologize to the readers, the bands and the label for the average quality of this review. As a matter of fact, I don't know how to review compilations: I think song-by-song reviews are quite tedious so I'll just give a brief overview of what you can find on this (very good) release.

Asymmetry proposes ten tracks of ten different bands representing the whole spectrum of doom metal. That makes up for over one hour of what they call "depressive musick". Some of the bands have already had their demo or full-length reviewed on MS (Lux Incerta, Remembrance, Mar De Grises, Saturnus), so please refer to them for more info. This compilation is aimed either at the die-hard doom fans who want to enrich their collection with not so well-known bands or to those who think that doom metal cannot be a creative and relatively broad genre. These people will be surprised to know that the ten featured bands all play one very distinct genre of doom: that goes from the classic gothic/doom of Lux Incerta to the post-hardcore/sludge of Mary Bell to the weird doom death of Mar De Grises.

The quality of all the songs is very high. Honestly, I can't really choose any standout track, since most of them have an excellent production and show a real mastery of songwriting as well as a really strong personality and even sometimes originality. The only band I didn't find all too impressive is Wreck Of The Hesperus. The sound of their song is far too chaotic and the vocals are awful. I don't mind inhuman screaming as long as it serves a purpose. This band is the living proof that the line between extreme doom and pure noise is sometimes very thin. The rest of the compilation is truly amazing for someone like me who is not the best-informed doom fan.

To sum it up, Asymmetry offers an excellent insight of doom that can hook newcomers to this style quite easily. There is no doubt that anyone who listens to this compilation will fall in love with at least three or four bands. Yes, the quality of these bands is that high. In other words, this is highly recommended to doom fans and also to those who would like to discover a genre that is often neglected and mocked by many "conventional" metal fans. This is not for all ears but if you don't mind straying far from the mainstream scene, there's one last word to say: DOOM ON!