Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe

Published July 02 2008

*=Staff's pick	Morphogenesis* Timewave Zero Quantumleaper* Artificial Sun Projection The Missing Coordinates* Ghost Prototype I (Measurement Of Thought) Fear Catalyst Trapezoid Prism And Gate Holographic Universe The Three-Dimensional Shadow Ghost Prototype II (Deus Ex Machina)*

Genre	Melodic Death Metal	Christian Älvestam	Vocals
Tracks	12	Jonas Kjellgren	Guitar
Runningtime	59 Min.	Per Nilsson	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	Kenneth Seil	Bass
Release	20 June 2008	Henrik Ohlsson	Drums
Country	Sweden	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Strapping Young Lad

It's quite hard to carve out your own niche in the rather worn out genre of melodic death metal these days, but Sweden's Scar Symmetry has arguably succeeded. On the debut Symmetric In Design they appeared as above-average Soilwork-clones with a good sense for melody, but they quickly turned more progressive on the flawed follow-up Pitch Black Progress. Holographic Universe is their third album, and they carry on like earlier albeit with a few changes. This is not a conceptual album, but it becomes quite obvious that science fiction is a big inspirational source, just look at the song titles for example. Also, some of the keyboards simply ooze of sci-fi; the intro to the title track could have come from the movie Blade Runner.

Holographic Universe represents the Scar Symmetry we know by now, the guys seem obsessed by cramming as much into every single song as possible. It would be nice however with some more subtle moments, and the long running time is a concern. At almost one hour it becomes obvious that a few tracks should have been left out, such as the rather pointless pop-flirt Trapezoid for example. The production is of course excellent, and for those who prefer complex guitar solos there is plenty to like here.

Vocalist Christian Älvestam continues doing his beauty and the beast-routine from the previous albums. It's strange; his growls are actually one of the most brutal to be found in this particular genre, and at the same time his clean vocals are so pleasing to the ear that he should expect lots of phone calls from boyband-managers in the future. Sometimes it works rather poor, however. On Fear Catalyst Älvestam builds up a great atmosphere with rattling, guttural growls, and then in a second ruins it all with vocals so cheesy that even Michael Bolton would feel embarrassed. But for the most time the band gets the balance right, luckily.

What really separates Holographic Universe from the disappointing predecessor Pitch Black Progress is that the songs are so much better here. The opener Morphogenesis deserves to be a big hit, while Quantumleaper gains my interest since it reminds of my old favorite Reborn from Symmetric In Design. If you enjoyed Scar Symmetry's previous releases, this is a must-buy.

See also review of: The Unseen Empire , Pitch Black Progress , Symmetric In Design

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	7	8	5	7

Summary
7 chalices of 10 - Niklas