Album Reviews
Holographic Universe | Scar Symmetry
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It’s been a long while since I posted on some heavy metal. Metal really does dominate my music library, and seems I’m not justly representing that statement. I guess I just didn’t want to overwhelm Nirav with too much screaming and speed guitar. Well, I recently came across Scar Symmetry from another music aficionado at school and decided they’d be a good way to bring that boat back to shore (hard to think of good analogies when I’m writing in my sleep). Between his recommendation and two whole 30-second clips… the purchase was already made.
Just when I think I’ve placed Scar Symmetry’s sound, the next track throws a curve ball. I hear influences from Opeth to Dream Theater to Ghost Machine to maybe even Malmsteen… you know, that guy that thinks someone might actually think Yngwie Malmsteen is someone other than Yngwie J. Malmsteen. In any case, I just purchased Holographic Universe (2008) and it’s the heaviest album I’ve purchased since Opeth’s Watershed (2008). So if you’re a metal-head looking for some new melodic death metal, you know where to focus your attention next.
Maybe it’s becoming main-stream to go between deep, scratchy screams and melodic singing in metal… but it’s really nothing new. Peronsally, I like having that kind of dynamic because it’s very rare that I can tolerate a band with only screaming. Isis is the only band off the top of my head that I really love that doesn’t have melodic singing. What really strikes me about Scar Symmetry is the really strong combination of fast heavy rhythm guitars with some quality shredding on the lead guitar. They certainly don’t have the fastest solos out there, but they are pretty quick and well-executed. I should mention the drummer keeps up too. Now I could pick apart the band and say why each piece is good, but Scar Symmetry was sold to me as a whole package. Just the way every band to strive to be. I’m not saying these guys are breaking down old walls or are the best in any particular way… just that they’re damn good. It’s been a long while since I’ve been introduced to a new death/speed metal band that has caught this much of my attention and was great the whole way through the album. I think the audio clip will speak for itself and it really is a good representation of the album.
Now this should go without saying… I just found a new band I like, they might not be around much longer. Know this, if you’re a good band, don’t let me find out. They all seem to break up. But hopefully that’s not quite the case with Scar Symmetry. It seems they’ve just lost their lead singer to “creative differences”. Given they said just the singer left, perhaps that means they’ll stick it out and keep cranking out good music.
Related Post: Death Metal with Talent | Opeth
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