SCAR SYMMETRY has always been one of the most interesting bands in the Swedish Metal scene and, to be exact, the melodic Death scene. I still remember how I was swept away with "Pitch Black Progress" and how they were standing out from the other bands of this particular genre. Their ability to be diverse and "easy to listen" made them popular without tampering with the quality of their releases. "The Unseen Empire" is no exception and probably a safe venture to the success of the previous records.
Do you ever get the feeling of listening to something that sounds "too" perfect? "Too" well arranged? This is, exactly, the deal with "The Unseen Empire". Nine songs carefully composed to match the "well-known" MeloDeath recipe; catchy & groovy guitars, clean vocals with in-between growls, memorable melodic parts. SCAR SYMMETRY though push it (as always) one step forward with Hard Rock elements in "Alpha And Omega" and almost DREAM THEATER-like in "Illuminoid Dream Sequence". The existence of the two vocalists for a second album really paid off, especially in the clean vocal section where it gives you the feeling that almost every song has two "sides".
But what's with the "too" perfect comment? Well, apart from the things mentioned above, SCAR SYMMETRY are pretty much the same, same sound, same feeling, same everything since -at least- their previous album "Dark Matter Dimensions". One could say that they didn't bother to evolve-experiment (use the word of your liking) their sound, which isn't exactly bad given the abundance of the bad releases in general nowadays. Another thing that actually supports this point of view is that they are not the band that you will look forward to seeing them live. Yeah, they are really good musicians, yeah they "re-produce" their songs pretty nicely but that's all they can do. Trying to be "perfect" in the studio maybe has ruined their ability to "surprise" us with their compositions and instead they are playing it safe.
Nevertheless, "The Unseen Empire" is a really enjoyable album, fun to listen and pretty sure fans will love it no matter what. It has everything to expect from a band like them and maybe a bit more, just don't expect anything "fresh".
