It’s been 3 long years since we have really heard anything from Scar Symmetry. The band haven’t toured much, not really said anything about any new music and also parted ways with long time guitarist and producer Jonas Kjellgren. Quite honestly it really didn’t seem like the band had much going for them any more. Little did we know though that a new Scar Symmetry album trilogy was in the works, representative of new beginnings in the band, and a point for guitarist Per Nilsson to prove that he can bring out the best in Scar Symmetry.
The first addition of the concept album trilogy ‘The Singularity‘ proves that Nilsson is the right man to drive Scar Symmetry forward with the first album ‘Phase I – Neohumanity‘ arguably being their best album to date, and certainly their best since the departure of iconic vocalist Christian Alvestam.
The album kicks off with a 53 second intro track that quite honestly does not foreshadow brilliant things to come – representative of an album filler just to compensate for the lack of music on the album, but quickly forgetten as soon as the progressive brilliance of ‘Neohumanity‘ kicks in. THe riffs are chunking, the leads are razor sharp, the keyboards are atmospheric and both the clean vocals of Lars Palmqvist and the harsh vocals of Roberth Karlsson work in perfect harmony.
The strongest and most consistent element of Scar Symmetry has always been the production and mix of the music that is overtly complex, yet every note is crystal clear and mixed to absolute perfection. This is of course due to the fact that ex-guitarist Jonas Kjellgren being a studio engineer and producer being able to take a clinical approach to the production of Scar Symmetry’s music. Given his departure, it is easy to think that the production value might suffer, but in this case of ‘Phase I – Neohumanity‘, guitarist Per Nilsson might have even one-uped Kjellgren.
There are different and more experimental elements on the album, diving into different genres to incorporate new sounds on the album including some classic AOR / Glam sounds on the smashing chorus of ‘Limits to Infinity‘, and the dance-track that kicks off the band’s longest song to date ‘Technocalyptic Cybergeddon‘. If one were to read this they wouldn’t be most enticed to hear those elements, but they have been pulled off to perfection – largely in part to a perfect mix that all aspiring metal artists should strive to create.
While many would complain that the album only has 6 real tracks (2 are short instrumentals), those tracks kick off the album trilogy in superior style. One of my personal complaints about Scar Symmetry in the past (especially in the Alvestam-era) has been that there always seems to be 2 or 3 great tracks and 9 or 10 very mediocre ones. This time round the filler tracks have been left as short instumentals, and we have 6 tracks here that are consistent, crushing, catchy and all that you would want Scar Symmetry to be. The tracks work together to formulate the scientific ideals behind the concept trilogy that plays with the idea of singularity becoming an industry, and there are those that support it and those that fight against it.
Quite simply this is Scar Symmetry at their best. If the other two albums of the trilogy match ‘Phase I – Neohumanity‘, we can safely say the band would make a key mark on modern metal history.
