As I said last time, The Unseen Empire is a concept album about the domination and enslavement of humanity by extradimensional reptilian overlords. The unfolding of this dark tale is rife with conspiracies, secrets, and melodic death metal goodness. This is Scar Symmetry's second album with two vocalists and it sees them working together better than ever, while the rest of the band is at the top of their game as well.
The Anomaly
I come with both truth and lie/Is there darkness without light/Break of day without an imminent night?
This song is a foretelling of the album's concept: the approach of some kind of metaphysico-logical enigma that defies comprehension but demands loyalty. How easy it is to sign yourself away without understanding what you're doing. Musically, it's a pretty basic demonstration of the band's brand of borderline-power-melodic-death-metal; Roberth (the resident death growler) does the verses and Lars sings the choruses. I've realized that Scar Symmetry isn't so much progressive as they are intensely technical and musically brilliant. Most of their songs follow a fairly standard structure with extra guitar solos sprinkled in, but musically they still manage to be quite complex, packing many riffs and time signature changes in where other bands might squeak by with a few chords and a basic drum beat.
Illuminoid Dream Sequence
Gods without eyes drinking from your feeble mind, a thirst divine/Drain mankind and we will be born, replacing all human life...
I gave this song a bit too much attention last time--or, at least, I focused on it to the detriment of the rest of the album. Still, it is quite brilliant, featuring a crazy-awesome chorus riff that jumps frantically all over the fretboard over a plodding double-bass drum beat. And, of course, the even more-insane bridge apocalyptic-sounding guitar shredding and incredibly fast 6-time bass drumming; see my above comment on how SS never misses an opportunity to spiced up their music. Vocally, this song is an inversion of "The Anomaly" with clean verses and a growled chorus, and lyrically it is about the alien presence's first real contact with humanity via the disembodied mind of a man lost in a dream. Very poetic. Still the strongest song on the album.
Extinction Mantra
Truth, it is buried deep in dissent/Lies came to be the means to their end/Fractures of the world open wide/The blind shall lead the blind.
This song is about the formation of a massive conspiracy to deceive and mislead mankind--happy, right? "Extinction Mantra" song begins more slowly, the synthy tune rolling like desert sand dunes, before the heavy guitar chugging gets underway. The chorus is characterized by a distinctive, pounding stop-start riff with great synchronization between the guitars and drums. The vocalists trade off a lot here, especially in the chorus; they are definitely working together well here.
Seers of the Eschaton
The heaven seen by those who lead is hell concealed/The seers of the Eschaton.
This song expands on the conspiratorial nature of the previous song's lyrics, focusing on the elites who deceive the masses and the truth that they hide. Musically, probably the heaviest and most aggressive song of the album, with heavy, seemingly arhythmic guitars chugging over equally frantic double-bass. The verses are similarly harsh, but Lars' part of the trade-off chorus is surprisingly catchy. This song is also pretty awesome for its volume of guitar solos: two right at the beginning, three in the normal spot, and one more at the ending. Lots of guitar shredding to complement its breakneck pace.
Domination Agenda
The waters deep conceal monumental depth/Yet hide the vastness from our eyes...
"Domination Agenda" is a nice break after the white-hot fury of "Seers of the Eschaton", more laid-back song with a simpler main riff that is almost entirely song by Lars with Roberth mostly providing backing vocals. Lyrically, it's an exposition of the depth of the web of lies and secrets woven by the conspirators, comparing it with an endless dungeon to be explored in a cool extended metaphor.
Astronomicon
Know that we own minds that could devour the sun/And what we have done will remain although it's gone.
This song seems like a bit of a tangent from the main story, an exploration of the hidden depths and wonders of our minds and one of the nicer tracks overall. Musically, I have surprisingly little to say other than that it's an all-around solid song, with great vocalist teamwork and drumming--a good summary of the style of the entire album--heavy, but melodic and with exquisitely crafted lyrics.
Rise of the Reptilian Regime
There is proof of their grotesque presence on display throughout our world/In a gesture of invitation placed in art and written word...
Though beginning quietly, "Rise of the Reptilian Regime" quickly breaks into a riff that that is more about power and rhythm than melody. Because of this, it's one of the less interesting songs, with a plodding, ceremonial-sounding chorus that does little to help. Lyrically it's about the coming of the draconians to our dimension through our minds; the above line is probably my favorite from the album for the parallels I draw between it and the need for Christians to discern to whom they are paying cultural homage in their engagement with the world.
The Draconian Arrival
Something comes as the air's vibrating and candles die with a sigh/Now behold, as the light is fading, for the invoked has arrived.
This song is the real climax of the album: the culmination of the conspiracy in the unholy ritual that summons the reptilian god-men to our world. It's like something out of H.P. Lovecraft. This song has quite a few musical sections in a less standard, more progressive structure, with plenty to love throughout its five and a half minutes. Scar Symmetry is definitely good at telling a story without detracting from their music.
Alpha and Omega
We stand before apparent beginnings and ends/But nothing ever seems to change...
And then the falling action; the reign of the draconians is made manifest through shadow and deception, their victory near-complete. Like "The Draconian Arrival", this song is a multisegmented epic, and it provides nice closure and a glimmer of hope to the album: "Insight comes with a new worldview/And gateways will open anew".
Overall, this is a very solid post-Älvestaam release for Scar Symmetry, a very solid buy for lovers of melodic death metal and also a jumping-off point for less-extreme metal enthusiasts to get into the genre with all its concessions to beauty and melody in the music. The songs are very musically inventive (as i said, they pack a lot of songwriting into a normal-sized song), although it kind of feels like the band is filling in the same set of blanks in most of them (except the last two).
Lyrically, I really connected with the album this time for the parallels between the metaphysical invasion of the draconians, whose weapons are more epistomological than militaristic, with the Christian doctrine of spiritual warfare, or more simply the need to be discerning and know the truth when engaging with a fallen world. Of course there are no eternal reptilian demigods trying to break into our plane of existence, but all the lyrics about deception and conspiracy do get me thinking about the thought I put into what I believe and what is behind it--the kind of tendency to look beneath the surfaced of everything I've been learning from James Hunter. And besides any practical application, I am a bit of an escapist with my music and this is just a good, well-written story to be enjoyed with 45 minutes.
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