SCAR SYMMETRY — The Unseen Empire (review)

SCAR SYMMETRY — The Unseen Empire album cover

Album · 2011 · Melodic Death Metal

4/5 · 2011-04-21
Diogenes

Disclaimer: This review is going to try super duper hard to not involve Christian Alvestam in any way! Let’s hope I don’t blow it.

Scar Symmetry is a band that is appealing in many ways. Ever since their 2005 debut “Symmetric in Design”, they’ve written addicting melodies, juicy riffs, solos that will blow your brains out, equally addicting vocal lines, and pretty much anything a melodic death metal fan could ask for. However, their 2009 release “Dark Matter Dimensions” showed a band out of its element; people will point at a lot of different things (mainly the introduction of two new vocalists to replace that guy I mentioned above), but for whatever reason, the music was just not good. Don’t get me wrong…it was still Scar Symmetry, and it was okay. But it wasn’t anything more.

Now, here we are with “The Unseen Empire”. If you want the CliffsNotes version of this review, then here you go: this album is an improvement over the last one in virtually every way and will satisfy most longtime fans. I recommend you get it.

If you’re still reading, then you are smart and probably know that those darned “learn everything fast” things are all a scam…so allow me to embellish. There are several things on “Dark Matter Dimensions” that make me not like the album, and I can happily say that these have all been fixed on “The Unseen Empire”, for the most part. First, the production is cleaner and more vocal- and guitar-flattering, making for a better listening experience. I like muddy production, but in Scar Symmetry’s case, it doesn’t really fit what they’re trying to do, and I’m glad they addressed this. The only complaint that I have is that the cymbals might be too loud in the mix, but that’s if I’m feeling nitpicky. So, the production job here is great. Kudos to whoever did it.

When I learned that Scar Symmetry was replacing their former vocalist with two vocalists, I thought it was a smart idea. It would allow more flexibility in live shows and more diverse vocal arrangements. Then I listened to “Dark Matter Dimensions”, as well as some of their first live performances with Lars Palmqvist and Roberth Karlsson, and no longer thought it was a smart idea. It was painfully obvious that Lars did not have the range to perform Scar Symmetry classics, and that Robeth’s higher-pitched snarls were out of place in the new material. However, after a few more listens, I found a new culprit: it was that production again! With that issue resolved, the vocals sound great here, now that they are being mixed properly. Lars has improved a great deal and has found his niche as the new clean vocalist in a band that is famous for clean vocals. No, high notes are not his strength, but he does a much better job here at conveying emotion and following the themes of the songs. You could say that he and Roberth are now “being used properly”.

The better execution of vocals brings me to my final point: the songwriting. This is the big kahuna. The songwriting on “Dark Matter Dimensions” was not good. There wasn’t anything memorable or anything that made me want to listen to it again. Such a letdown was strange coming from the massively talented guitar duo of Jonas Kjellgren and Per Nilsson, but the lads are back on their game here. After having sufficient time to write some good songs, Scar Symmetry has delivered. The melodies are back, hitting hard right away with the first track “The Anomaly”. The songs have catchy choruses again. The keyboards are given a bigger role (although it's purely as a backing instrument-nothing flowery here). There are several great riffs and some killer leads to go with them; it’s no holds barred in this department. Just because a band loses a great vocalist doesn’t mean it should suddenly lose all of its songwriting talent too; rest assured, these songs are pure Scar Symmetry from start to finish. This includes some really cool lyrics to go with the album’s theme of an undercover group of dudes that control the world behind the scenes, and mankind’s war to reveal these punks and break free from their control. Yes, I like it.

With all of these good things coming together, I was slightly disappointed when I first finished listening to “The Unseen Empire”. I was like, “Wait, that’s it?” Yep, this is Scar Symmetry’s shortest album to date at just over 43 minutes. Sure, there are 9 tracks of good melodic death metal, but there are only 9 tracks of good melodic death metal! And there are no bonus tracks either (so all of you pirates can stop looking for any). Now, quality over quantity is the best policy when it comes to music, and I appreciate that the band crammed as much good material as possible into 9 songs, it’s just that I was expecting a little more.

Song recommendations fall into two categories for this one: “Melodic and accessible” and “Technical and evil”. “The Anomaly”, “Domination Agenda”, “The Draconian Arrival”, and to a lesser extent “Astronomicon” are all catchy and show the more melodic side of the band. On the other hand, “Illuminoid Dream Sequence” and “Seers of the Eschaton” both slap the listener in the face with blistering solos and crunching riffs. “Extinction Mantra”, the best song on the album in my humble opinion, combines both areas to make 5 and a half minutes of flat-out ass-kicking. Legit, bro.

To end this review on a good note, I really dig this album. “The Unseen Empire” is a great return to the Scar Symmetry ways of just being good modern metal, which will appeal to fans of many genres, as well as people interested in philosophy. So, good times all around! 4 stars

P.S. NOTE! THIS IS REAAALLLY IMPORTANT! The black and white picture of the eagles and the triangle thingamajig is NOT the real album cover. So, if you’re judging this on its cover, shame on you! Hit up Google Images to get something much more Scar Symmetry-like.