Band:
Roberth Karlsson – lead growl vocals and backing clean vocals
Lars Palmqvist – lead clean vocals and backing growl vocals
Per Nilsson – lead guitar, rhythm guitar & keyboards
Jonas Kjellgren – rhythm guitar, lead guitar & keyboards
Kenneth Seil – bass
Henrik Ohlsson – drums
Discography:
Symmetric in Design (2005)
Pitch Black Progress (2006)
Holographic Universe (2008)
Dark Matter Dimensions (2009)
Guests:
Info:
Released 15/4-2011
Reviewed 30/3-2011
Links:
scarsymmetry.com
myspace
nuclear blast
Their music is subscribing to the ever more popular death metal branch that feature two vocalists, one that sing clean vocals and one that sing the growls and for me that look really stupid when a band like this play live with two singers running or walking around looking stupid and it also feel like a waste when at least one of the singers ought to do something more than just singing. Still, this opinion have no effect on what I think of the music as that is a completely different thing. Moreover in terms of the music, this album has a clean and polished production and it does not really feel as heavy as a regular death metal album for instance. I don’t know if the focus is to not be as heavy but the feeling is that the album is a bit more melodic than heavy.
The Anomaly is the opening track of this album and it is a great track, the melody, the chorus and everything works just magic and makes for a fantastic track and of course just a great opening of the album. This track of course promise a lot for the rest to come, it does not deliver as the rest of the album feels like it is good enough but nothing more, I quickly loose the big interest and can after hearing it deduce that it is good songs but nowhere near the first track.
There are some things with these tracks that also disturb me a little, good melodies and intentions are there but I feel like they use the different vocal styles just because they want to have different vocal styles and to cater for the two different singers but the problem with this is that the balance feels a bit off at times like they have just thrown in some growls here, some singing there when the music really should have done better without it.
Another disturbing thing about this album is the fact that it feels like the band has many good intentions with their music but they are not realised as much as I think they should have been. In some ways it is like they do the safe things, the ones that is set as standards for the kind of music they play and do not really dare to try anything of their own, the feeling is that the eight tracks after the first are just there and nothing more.
The nine tracks and 43 minutes are all good, the first one is better and to be fair I have no real complaints just these feelings that it could have been better, it could have been more and the band should have dared to try more stuff and not just do what others do and what is safe. Moreover, they should ditch the dual vocalists as I think their music would work better without this altering between different kind of vocals, I think that is what is hampering the band mostly on this album.
In the end though, it is a good album with decent songs and an excellent start, it just could have been so much more than The Unseen Empire is.
HHHHHHH
