Band : Scar Symmetry
Album title : Holographic Universe
Label : Nuclear Blast
Distributor : PIAS
Release date : 20/06/2008
Release : CD

I was very impressed (so was our editor-in-chief, whom immediately ordered me to make a questionnaire for an e-mail interview which we put on-line soon after) with the early 2005 debut album Symmetric In Design by this Swedish Melodic Death Metal quartet (rating of 98/100; and that review is still available so I don't have to talk about the band's antecedents here), but its 2006 follow-up Pitch Black Progress landed in the hands of one of my collegues. Now there's the third album, and I'm glad the guys haven't changed too much, simply fine-tuned their style.

Time for a little catching up in historical terms. Soon after the release of their debut, the band was signed by Germany's Nuclear Blast label for a long-term deal, and immediately after the boys started writing the material for the sophomore album. To back that record up the band was sent out on several tours (among which a co-headlining tour with The Haunted and Dark Tranquillity, plus Into Eternity; and a North-American tour) and festival appearances (among which the prestigious March 2007 ProgPower UK), and started the writing process for the current album as soon as February 2007! Recordings were started in early December, and finished exactly two months later. Recorded and mixed by guitarist Jonas Kjellgren and the rest of the band at Black Lounge Studios in the guys hometown Avesta, the material was then mastered by Tomas Johansson later that same month.

The material is just as exhilerating as the first time I heard the band. Great alternating double leads guitars with overlaying synths (which get quite a "solo" role as well as a pure backing one), a rock-steady rhythmic foundation...and of course singer Christian Alvestan's amazing vocals. How the hell that guy can go from pure clean to utterly deep growl and back again, is beyond my personal comprehension. I can only imagine that the last 4 years have been quite a rehearsal for him and that he's perfected himself in his art...because art this IS, as is the wonderful music overall!!! 12 tracks give you a total of just under one hour's time (58:44 to be exact) of pure enjoyable listening pleasure. Check out myspace.com/scarsymmetry, where you'll find 2 tracks (album opener "Morphogenesis" and "Artificial Sun Projection",thelatter including a bit of violin...or cello in the intro)off the new album posted (alongside 4 songs of the previous one). For a short while there (starting June 12), people were enabled to streamline the whole album, but apparently the band has changed that.

Upon it's release, the album enetered the German charts at a respectable #68 position, enough proof to show that at least a certain amount of people will agree with my nominating of Holographic Universe into that "Best Albums Of 2008"-list of mine! The rating, of course, is accordingly high.

98/100

Tony.