Scar Symmetry

A Swedish death metal group platooned by genre veterans, Scar Symmetry pairs the supreme heaviness of death metal with the melodic scope of power and progressive metal. Early efforts like Pitch Black Progress (2006) and Holographic Universe (2008) reflected the band members’ trad-Swedish death metal pasts, albeit with a pronounced melodic streak. 2009′s expansive Dark Matter Dimensions heralded a new era for the group, adding more progressive elements and a tighter focus on narrative. Scar Symmetry continued in this vein on 2014′s The Singularity (Phase I – Neohumanity), an ambitious three-part concept album that approached completion with the release of 2023′s The Singularity (Phase II – Xenotaph).
Scar Symmetry was founded in 2004 by vocalist Christian Älvestam, guitarists Jonas Kjellgren and Per Nilsson, bassist Kenneth Seil, and drummer Henrik Ohlsson — all of them veterans of numerous prior heavy metal bands (Carnal Forge, Centinex, Altered Aeon, Incapacity, etc.) — whose diverse gamut of styles ultimately influenced the new project’s eclectic sound. Presented to the masses via 2005′s Symmetric in Design, Scar Symmetry’s material combined death and power metal with progressive flourishes, drawing comparisons to bands like Soilwork and Into Eternity. They inked a deal with Nuclear Blast ahead of the arrival of their sophomore effort, Pitch Black Progress. Released in 2005, the LP further refined the group’s penchant for pairing extreme hard-soft dynamics with accessible sing-along choruses. 2008′s acclaimed, science-themed Holographic Universe charted in Finland and Austria and leaned hard into the band’s progressive tendencies – it would be the last studio release to feature vocalist Christian Älvestam, who left the fold shortly after the album’s completion.
The band conscripted Roberth Karlsson (growls/clean backing vocals) and Lars Palmqvist (clean/backing growls) as Älvestam’s replacements, and the pair made their studio debut on 2009′s bombastic, power/progressive metal-forward Dark Matter Dimensions. 2011′s conspiracy theory-minded The Unseen Empire became the group’s most commercially successful effort, charting in multiple countries and reaching number 11 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. Scheduling conflicts with studio work and his other bands Raubtier and Bourbon Boys resulted in longtime guitarist Jonas Kjellgren leaving the band in 2013.
Composed, produced, mixed, and mastered by guitarist Per Nilsson, 2014′s conceptual The Singularity (Phase I – Neohumanity) marked the first installment of a trilogy about transhumanism and artificial intelligence. A soft hiatus, precipitated by other projects, personal issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic, preceded the arrival of part two. Scar Symmetry continued the cosmic odyssey with The Singularity (Phase II – Xenotaph). Darker and more narratively and technically complex than its predecessor, the LP was released in 2023. ~ James Christopher Monger