The Unseen Empire

Scar Symmetry may not have helped invent the "Gothenburg sound" of death metal, but they've done more to refine and reinvent it than possibly any other band. They're one of those bands that take just about everything I like in metal (melodeath metal, power metal, and progressive metal in this case) and throw it in a blender. For five albums they have somehow managed to combine technically ridiculous guitar riffs and rhythms, almost pop-level melodies, and plenty of brutality. Similarly contrasting is their brilliant blend of clean vocals and death grunts, formerly both done by Christian Älvestam, a vocalist so talented it took two people to replace him. It's far from seamless--the craziness and dissonance are part of their souund--but it works, gloriously.

The Unseen Empire is their latest release from earlier this year. I've been enjoying it just about nonstop ever since. I'm told it's a concept album about reptilian overlords taking over the world, which is pretty much standard Scar Symmetry fare. This album really takes all the disparate elements of Scar Symmetry's sound--their melody, their crazy brutality, and their technicality, to further extremes.

Nowhere is this better seen than in the second track "Illuminoid Dream Sequence" (by the way, Scar Symmetry has possibly the best song titles I've ever seen). Starting off with a slightly industrial synth intro, the drums and guitar both slowly build an atmosphere of tension. This is quickly exploded by the highly melodic chorus riff, which almost sounds like random notes being played, only they fit together perfectly. If that's not progressive metal, I don't know what is. The band's two vocalists trade off, with Lars Palmqvist singing a narrative in the verses and Roberth Karlsson doing the voices of the demonic forces in the dream. The bridge of the song features some of the band's most ridiculous shredding ever, making the subsequent solo seem tame by comparison. Overall it's one of my favorite secular songs ever--probably top 5. Highly worth checking out even if you pass up the rest of the album.

But this would be a grave mistake, because then you'll be unprepared for the takeover of our reptilian overlords! But seriously, the rest of the album is generally cool as well. It's hard to make sweeping statements about the album beyond what I've already done, so I'll just mention some standout tracks. The third track "Extinction Mantra" slows down somewhat, with the guitar still managing to do plenty of acrobatics over the plodding drum beat. The highlight of the song is the distinctive start-stop chorus riff, which almost simulates the track skipping. "Seers of the Eschaton", on the other hand, is fast and brutal, with the rhythm of the guitar chugging and blindingly fast double-bass drumming clashing most interestingly. "Astronomicon" (which I swear didn't directly influence the naming of my game) is another standout that showcases SS's ability to blend all the elements of their style together. Great, precise riffing, melodic/brutal vocal contrasts, and an extremely impressive solo.

Overall, The Unseen Empire is a solid release by a solid band that easily meets the high bar set by their earlier albums while being more accessible. Highly recommend this album first if you're new to Scar Symmetry, and definitely if you're into technical bands like Periphery, Meshuggah, or Into Eternity, or just Swedish melodic death metal.