Scar Symmetry are a Melodic Death Metal band from, you guessed it, Sweden. I haven’t heard any of their previous albums, but from what I heard on this album, their style of MeloDeath is very different to other bands in the genre. Lead singer Christian Älvestam uses lots of clean vocals as well as the usual growls, making the whole album a lot more melodic than others in the genre, while the rest of the band remains quite standard stylistically.
Holographic Universe focuses around lots of futuristic themes (musically and lyrically), while still being perfectly accessible to all Metal fans.
The thing that stands out most when listening to this album, with genre and everything considered, is the vocals. I was aware that the album would contain clean vocals, but I never thought they’d be used as prominently here as they are. Christian doesn’t exactly uses the clean vocals sparingly - some songs ('Ghost Prototype I', 'Timewave Zero') do lose some of the Death Metal feel due to the lack of growls, but they're so good it's hard to complain. Most choruses are sung, but it’s not like Metalcore formula, as some verses are sung too, and some choruses are even growled. The vocals overall are excellent - the clean singing itself is highly melodic yet never sounds whiney or forced, while the growls are very solid and aggressive at the same time.
Outside of the superior vocal performance, the rest of the band is good. The guitars are handled by Jonas Kjellgren and Per Nilsson, and they do a great job. The riffs are very strong and powerful throughout the album, although they do become a little repetitive at times. Most solos are shredded at light speed (see the first solo in 'Morphogenesis' and the one in 'Artificial Sun Projection'), and I really like the guitar tone. What I dislike with say,
Dragonforce solos, is that while the guitars are played at incredible speeds, the guitar sound itself sounds too synthetic. Here, the speed is up there with the likes of DF, yet the sound is much more metallic, which as a result leaves us with some incredible solos. None of them go too long, either.
The rhythm section consists of Kenneth Seil on bass and Henrik Ohlsson on drums. They do a fantastic job, giving the music a very solid foundation while still keeping interesting. The drumming here is just masterful. Henrik keeps the beat 100% flawlessly and remains interesting with amazing bass drum independence, unpredictable fills, and good cymbal work, while never trying anything too ambitious or overpowering the listener. The bassist, like the drummer keeps it fresh with some interesting patterns here and there, but also follows the guitars a bit, giving a lower end to the riffs which is sometimes necessary, sometimes not.
The songs themselves are all very solid. Yes, there are filler tracks, but none of them really stand out as bad or awkward. Tracks like 'Morphogenesis', 'Artificial Sun Projection' and both 'Ghost Prototype's are absolutely awesome, with the first being one of my favorite songs at the moment. Every track comes out fast and smooth, and pretty much everything is easy to listen to/get into. To give a summary, here’s a track-by-track rating:
Morphogenesis − 5/5.
Timewave Zero − 4/5.
Quantumleaper − 4/5.
Artificial Sun Projection − 5/5.
The Missing Coordinates − 3/5.
Ghost Prototype I (Measurement of Thought) − 4/5.
Fear Catalyst − 2/5.
Trapezoid − 3/5.
Prism and Gate − 3/5.
Holographic Universe − 4/5.
The Three-Dimensional Shadow − 2/5.
Ghost Prototype II (Deus Ex Machina) − 5/5.
Now, the album isn’t perfect. While it’s excellent, it has one big flaw which stops it achieving higher than a 4 - lack of diversity. Apart from the epic monster that is the title track and the ballad-like closer in 'Ghost Prototype II (Deus Ex Machina)', the album can at times feel like 10 different versions of the same song (with slight variation between them). I only get the feeling when listening to some of the weaker tracks, but it’s still present. Also, considering the albums length (nearly a whole hour), the lack of diversity can really make the album seem to drag on.
Conclusion:
Pros:
- All of the musicians shine
- Excellent vocals
- Lots of great tracks
- Very easy to listen to/get into
Cons:
- Lack of diversity
Recommended Tracks:
Morphogenesis
Artificial Sun Projection
Ghost Prototype I (Measurement of Thought).
This Message Edited On 07.18.08
