SCAR SYMMETRY
Holographic Universe
Nuclear Blast, 2008

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m pretty much in the bag for Sweden’s Scar Symmetry. Having caught the band on last year’s Metal for the Masses tour, I was immediately taken with their ability to combine sweet melody with brutal crunch. I dig this band for the same reason I love good Thai food: it’s all about the contrasts. Hot and sour, salty and sweet all combining in a resulting dish far greater than the sum of its parts. On their first two releases, Scar Symmetry accomplished the same musically. Could they make it three straight?

Holographic Universe rockets out of the gate with “Morphogenesis”, continuing the band’s penchant for ultra-catchy openers. The band arms the track with two top notch solos and a chorus destined to lodge itself in many a cranium. It is followed by the slower paced if equally catchy “Timewave Zero”, and the raging intro of “Quantumleaper”, perhaps the heaviest tribute to a Scott Bakula vehicle in music history. Or not. Either way, this track is notable for its nimble solo and King Diamond-style vocal line in the pre-chorus, an extremely cool touch echoed a few songs hence in the schizophrenically driving, then mellow then driving again “Missing Coordinates.”

Next up, the crunching riffs that lead into one of my faves, “Artificial Sun Projection”, its heavy initial chords detour around a cheesy verse, before returning for a monster head-banging chorus. “Ghost Prototype 1” features a series of skittering guitar lines that converge at a stuttering Meshuggah breakdown midsong. Very cool.

I have mixed feelings about the ambitious “Fear Catalyst”, which begins with a roar and then alternates lightweight vocal moments with a badass solo, some more Messuggah-esque riffing, and an unmistakable nod to Arch Enemy come chorus time. Parts of the song are damn cool, but as a whole the experiment never really gels.

The band clears the palate with the straightforward rocking of “Trapezoid”, and the futuristic flavor of “Prism and the Gate”, setting the stage for the sprawling 9 minute title track, which thunders with epic sci-prog grandeur.

Then comes “3 Dimensional Shadow”, another track with a too sweet pre-chorus, but subtly shifting riffs and a brutal verse are the real treat here. The cd closes out with the "Ghost Prototype 2", which alternates balladic sections with chunky shredding, another great chorus, and a final soulful solo.

There’s a lot to like here, as Scar Symmetry’s strengths are evident throughout. To whit, Christian Alvestam’s amazingly varied vocals, tremendous guitar work from Per Nilsson and Jonas Kjellgren, a load of great classic metal soloing, and the band’s excellent, musically adventurous songwriting. The band takes a few chances here, and while they don’t always pan out, it’s never a boring listen. Most importantly, SS are never at a loss for another cool riff, so much so that many are used once and discarded, left to be discovered by the listener like money on the sidewalk.

The only imperfections that mar this gem are a series of pre-chorus vocal melodies that stray uncomfortably past sweet into “Feelin’ 7 Up” commercial jingle territory, and a bit of clunky ESL in drummer Henrik Ohlsson's lyrics. Admittedly, I have no business acting as the world’s grammar monitor, but if you are going to sing in English, please have someone proofread your work. Case in point: “The Illusionist” from 2006’s Pitch Black Progress is still my favorite Scar Symmetry song ever, but I feel like a frigging idiot singing “Those who call me avatar, knows not what they’re looking for” out loud.

Seriously guys, next time, email me, I’ll be glad to look the lyrics over for you.

So there you have it. On the whole, Holographic Universe is absolute ear candy for lovers of supremely melodic death metal. It's not perfect, and Scar Symmetry may not appeal to those who need their music all-brutal, all the time, but I for one will be listening to this one all summer. Check it out.

8/10

1. Morphogenesis (3:54)
2. Timewave Zero (5:13)
3. Quantumleaper (4:09)
4. Artificial Sun Projection (4:00)
5. The Missing Coordinates (4:37)
6. Ghost Prototype I (Measurement of Thought) (4:35)
7. Fear Catalyst (5:03)
8. Trapezoid (4:17)
9. Prism and Gate (3:46)
10. Holographic Universe (9:05)
11. The Three-Dimensional Shadow (3:57)
12. Ghost Prototype II (Deus Ex Machina) (6:03)