Up next on the chopping block is another band from Sweden. Some may have heard of it and some may have not. The band I am talking about is Scar Symmetry and I would say they are probably one of the lesser known bands. So here we go…..
Symmetric In Design- so first impressions of this album are that opening riff if really good and in fact the guitar work is awesome. That being said, this is one of those bands who goes from guttural vocals to clean vocals. There are a lot of bands who can do it such as Fear Factory and Soilwork but I find the clean vocals to get a little annoying. There needs to be more harsh vocals. Again like I said the guitar playing is top notch. I give this album 4/10
Standouts: Reborn, Hybrid Cult, Chaosweaver
Pitch Black Progress- so thinking back, I actually remember seeing these guys live with The Haunted and Dark Tranquility during this album. I really don’t remember them but I actually remember thinking they were pretty good live. Now as far as the album goes, it’s kind of more of the same. I mean the songs themselves seem to be more focused but I feel like there is too much “singing” on this one. Again the guitar playing is awesome and a lot of these songs to me start off strong but then fall flat. Not the worst thing I’ve heard but it’s just ok. I give it 6/10
Standouts: Slaves To The Subliminal, Retaliator, The Path Of Least Resistance
Holographic Universe- this one feels slightly uneven to me. I feel like at this point either make a record with only clean vocals or make one with more death metal style vocals. I will say that this one has elements of power metal. Again I have to say that the instrumentals on this are really good. I’m just not a fan of the clean singing. I give this one 4/10
Standouts: Trapezoid
Dark Matter Dimensions- ok so here things are a little better. This one kind of has a sound reminiscent of the Pitch Black album. It feels more dialed in than the previous album and there is a little more emphasis on the harsh vocals. Overall their best one so far and it gets 7/10
Standouts: The Iconoclast, A Parenthesis in Eternity, Mechanical Soul Cybernetics
The Unseen Empire- so if the last one had more of an emphasis on the harsh vocals, this one does the opposite. Yes it’s still a heavy album but this is what I was talking about earlier, either make it all clean vocals or all harsh. For me the back and forth so far doesn’t work very well with this band in my opinion. Overall, it’s not terrible but it’s just ok. I give it 5/10
Standouts: Astronomicon, The Anomaly, Seers of the Eschaton
The Singularity (Phase 1-Neohumanity)- this album is more of the same and I feel like it’s a combination of the last two or three albums. It goes back and forth between harsh and clean vocals. To me it’s not a bad album but just ok. I’m pretty sure their next album will be a part 2 at some point but this one came out in 2014 and it’s 2020 so I guess we’ll see. I give it 6/10
Standouts: The Spiral Timeshift, Neohuman
Well that was my look into Scar Symmetry and honestly, I was expecting something different which is what I got. However, I would have to say the best way to describe them would be Soilwork lite or Diet Soilwork. Like seriously if I wanted to listen to this style of music then I’ll just listen to Soilwork. Not a bad band but I don’t see myself revisiting them anytime soon.
Album Rankings:
- Dark Matter Dimensions
- Pitch Black Progress
- The Singularity (Phase 1-Neohumanity)
- The Unseen Empire
- Symmetric In Design
- Holographic Universe
Sinister Reviews 