Customer Reviews

Dark Matter Dimensions

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I honestly didn't think I would enjoy and/or idolize Dark Matter Dimensions nearly as much as I did Holographic Universe, however yet again this band matches the quality of their previous release and continues experimenting with their sound. I feared for this band after hearing of the parting with long time vocalist Christian Älvestam as his ability to go from roaring deep growls to impressive clean vocals hitting notes many vocalists dream of seemed like a mistake of epic proportions, however I again have been wrong to doubt one of my favorite bands.

Roberth Karlsson manages to mimic Christians deep growls perfectly enabling Lars Palmqvist's clean vocals to shine as a drastic contrast. This new addition will also make doing the duel vocal style easier during live performances which I am assuming was the deciding force to part ways with Christian. Expect everything you love about this band to be included on Dark Matter Dimensions, whether it be the catchy sing-a-long chorus', the chaotic lead guitars and impressive guitar solos and of course the technical time changes, all are heard and exploited well on Dark Matter Dimensions.

To pin point some of the standout tracks I will focus on my personal favorites. 'The Iconoclast' kicks off the album with some impressive tranquil lead guitars but quickly turns into a pummeling barrage of strange timing signatures and a very catchy Chorus and the first amazing solo of the album is featured toward the end of the track. 'Noumenon & Phenomenon' the album's first single features a wall-of-sound style at the beginning that showcases more of those strange time signatures and a very nice usage of the growl vs clean vocal styles.

Later on the album is my personal favorite track 'Nonhuman Era' which primarily uses the bands signature chaotic technicality and time signatures making this track easily one of the heaviest on the album. Further into the album we get 'A Parenthesis in Eternity' which focuses on some of guitarist Jonas Kjellgren's most stellar lead guitars in years also I love how this song feels like it gets faster and faster as the song continues.

All in all as a long time fan of the group I can honestly say the departure of Christian hasn't slowed their musical progress what-so-ever. The duel vocalists deserve a pat on the back for stepping up to fill the shoes of one of metals best vocalists yet one has to also give Christian insane credit for having to have his shoes filled by two excellent vocalists. Honestly I can not say I like this album better then Holographic Universe, simply because I have been steadily listening to it since it released in June of 2008. However I can say that after listening to Dark Matter Dimension for a while it may surpass its predecessor as my favorite.

Needless to say I enjoyed this album very much and anyone whom has been following the career of this amazing group I can assure you that you will be enjoying yet another quality Scar Symmetry album. Highly recommend this to fans of the bands previous releases however if you are new to the group I advise looking into previous releases first and witnessing the progression of the group. Below I will list the bands discography as found on Amazon. Thank you for reading and please take a second and click 'yes' below and support a supporter of Heavy Metal music.

Symmetric in Design by Scar Symmetry 2005
Pitch Black Progress by Scar Symmetry 2006
Holographic Universe by Scar Symmetry 2008

-A Loyal Scar Symmetry Fan

Look, let's face it: Christian Alvestam is a god among men. We already knew this. He has the Midas Touch - Every band he fronts as a vocalist suddenly become amazing. However, his departure does not spell the end for this amazing band. You still have some of the best guitarists and drummers that can be found in a Melodic Death Metal band and that should be reason enough to keep hope for this band.

That aside, the two new vocalists aren't a copy of Christian. Then again, if they were, I think the sound would be stagnant and too reminiscent to Holographic Universe to justify a new album. And this is coming from one of the biggest Christian Alvestam fanboys out there...These guys are good! I would say that Lars seems to be more comfortable in the higher ranges and the growls that Roberth belts out are still as brutal as they come. Don't be afraid that Christian is gone, these two new vocalists are definitely worthy of the Scar Symmetry name.

That aside, I'm now going to take a look into the album itself. Yep, they still focus somewhat on universe-related lyrics, but they also add in other interesting topics. The Iconoclast deals with religious issues, Mechanical Soul Cybernetics is somewhat in the same vein of "Pitch Black Progress" in that it deals with the dangers of technology, and A Parenthesis in Eternity seems to deal a lot with the future. The lyrics are once again top notch, and it is definitely an album with substance to it.

This album, more so than ANY other Christian Alvestam album and even more so than most Melodic Death Metal bands focuses on the Progressive/Technical metal aspect of it. 8 string guitars, insane time signature changes, and amazing drumming all combine to make this something more than they have tried to do before. This album is definitely more experimental than the others, but this isn't unusual when you consider songs they have done before (Holographic Universe, Ghost Prototype II, Deviate from the Form). It's a refreshing change of pace from their other albums, yet...strangely still 100% Scar Symmetry. I feel that this album is far less scripted and mainstream than their other albums; in a music world filled with chorus-verse-chorus melodic death bands and pop/mainstream garbage, this album breaks from the mold. They take their music to new levels when all of the doubters and Alvestam fanboys thought they were doomed. This is the album that will dismiss all but the most closed-minded cynics. The sound is much in the same vein as what you have come to expect from them: Beautiful choruses and brutal verses mixed in with the most insane guitar work to date. If you are a fan of Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, Progressive Metal, or even just good music, this is DEFINITELY work a listen.

Here is a my rating of all the songs on this album and positive/negative aspects of each:

The Iconoclast - 90/100 - Has one of the most amazing intro and exits in any Melodic Death Metal song. Roberth delivers brutal growls at the onset, and Lars has some amazing clean vocals to complement the brutality. Very good opening track. Sets the tone for the album in a perfect manner.

The Consciousness Eaters - 95/100 - Extremely interesting track that alternates between the death vocals of Roberth and the high flying voice of Lars. Definitely one of the better tracks on the album, especially in the guitar department.

Noumenon and Phenomenon - 90/100 - This is the first single from the album. Not the best song, but then again, not the worst either. I think it's a great representation of the album's goal: Melody and Heaviness tied together with excellent drum work and amazing guitars. The only downside of this song is that, of all the songs on the album, this is the one that seems a bit repetitive. Still better than 90 percent of other death metal bands though.


Ascension Chamber - 97/100 - I love how progressive this song feels. It has the powerful choruses that define Scar Symmetry, but this is the song that I feel has Roberth Karrlson (the Growler) come into his own. This is definitely a technical song to pull off. The drums power through the song and guide you through the music. The guitars are absolutely amazing off of this one. Of particular note in this song is the middle softer section at 2:08. It allows Roberth to belt out some of the most powerful growls on the entire album. Very cool song to listen to.

Mechanical Soul Cybernetics - 98/100 - I know what you're thinking, "How the hell did this guy give this weird song a 98?" Well, I'll explain right here. First of all, the clean vocalist does a lot of screaming on this song, which adds depth that isn't in some of the other songs. Not only that, the choreography that had to have been done to perfectly switch from Roberth's growls to Lars' screams was perfect. This song delivers not only in the brutality section, but also in the experimental category. The bassist (Kenneth Seil) definitely does a tremendous job here too. However, the most stunning performance comes from Per Nillson and Jonas Kjellgren on the guitars. These guys use full on 8 string guitars throughout the whole song and do an amazing job on them too. The first time I listened to this, I said..."What the hell are they doing?!?" but after two or three listens, it's definitely in my top three on the album. Give this song a chance. Hell, this song alone allows me to call the entire album "Progressive Metal." The solo is also probably the most technically difficult one to pull off on the album (remember the 8 string guitar...) All in all, a very neat track.

Non-Human Era - 85/100 - Not my favorite on the album, but then again, I could point out many bands that couldn't even reach this level if they tried (-cough-New In Flames-cough-). The song just feels too scripted...like the verse chorus verse thing I pointed out earlier. This isn't one to skip over, as Per Nillson does a great job on the guitar work here (as usual), but this is one of the weaker tracks on this album.

Dark Matter Dimensions - 100/100 - One of the few perfect songs that they put out here. I can't name much wrong with it at all. Everything just seems so right. The drums are absolutely epic, the guitar work is flawless, you can hear Kenneth Seil (bass) going to town here. What is most notable on this track is the fact that the two new vocalists' performances are flawless also. Both of them do death vocals at various parts of the song, and Roberth even does clean vocals in the chorus! The most notable section is the part right after the 2nd chorus where Lars Palmqvist delivers an amazing performance reminiscent of power metal. Don't flame me, but I feel that Lars puts on a more powerful vocal performance in this section than Christian might have been able to do. Christian is amazing, but Lars just feels more comfortable in this role and the interlude in this song proves it.

Sculptor Void - 83/100 - This has some notable parts (for example the solo Per Nillson pulls off), but for the most part, this is an unfortunately forgettable song. I feel that Scar Symmetry could have cut this if need be, or they could have put more work into it, but either way, I don't much like it. It feels almost like the vocalists are half-doing it on this one. Again, still not a bad song at all...Scar Symmetry just doesn't make "bad songs," but they do make forgettable ones that just don't stand out among their crowd of epic songs. Cool outro though!

A Parenthesis in Eternity - 125/100 - Yes, it's THAT good. I mean, wow. Just, wow...wow. The pinnacle of the whole album for sure. The guitar work reminds me of Iron Maiden or another power metal band in its beauty. The intro clean guitar section is amazing in its simplistic awesomeness. The vocal performance by Lars (clean vocalist) here is just indescribable. Roberth has some growling sections in here, but the overall mood of this track is light, hopeful, ambitious. It tries to do so much and, well, it succeeds. I bought the album just for this song, just so I could hear in in my car on the way to work or school. Jonas Kjellgren finally does lead guitar work here and boy does he pull it off. I mean, just WOW! Perfect song. Go on YouTube to listen to it or however you can, but just preview this track alone and you'll be blown away like I was. Everything is in moderation on this song. There isn't too much growling, there isn't too much screaming, and the clean vocals fit perfect for this type of track. No, these guys don't sound like Christian Alvestam, but after hearing this track, I didn't care.


Frequencyshifter - 82/100 - Again, like Sculptor Void, this track just feels a bit lacking. The vocals are great, that isn't the issue, it's just the overall "feel" to it. It's almost like they said, "Well, we have 10 tracks, let's make it 11!" I don't know, perhaps I am being too critical here. This is what I feel is the weakest song on the album. The guitar work is perfect, hell, more than perfect. The solo is one of the best on the album, which saved it from getting a failing grade. Overall, if I had to buy the tracks one at a time, I wouldn't get this one. But since it came in with the other amazing tracks, I didn't mind it as much. Not garbage, but definitely the weakest on the album. And a little note from me to whoever reads this, "A 'weak' song from Scar Symmetry still beats anything of Soilwork or In Flames." "Weak" is a relative term. It's "weak" compared to what they could have pulled off, but it's still a very technical song and a good performance.

Radiant Strain - 90/100 - Incredible introduction. The beat that begins there is simply bad***, pardon my French :) I will say that, like with the other two weak tracks, they could have put more into it, but the performances from Per Nillson and Henrik Ohlsson (the drummer) more than compensate for the slightly weak performance from Roberth and Lars here. Pretty good overall.

*Bonus Track* Pariah - 100/100 - Beautiful. Very progressive feel to it: Everything from the way the vocals are performed to the timing of solos and drum work prove that. The vocal performance delivered from the new guys is amazing. They do this role perfectly and give the song power. Per Nillson gives the song a soul with his guitar work. Henrik Ohllson gives the song a pulse with his driving drum work, and Kenneth Seil and Jonas Kjellgren give the song substance with their noticeable additions to the track. Without these two guys, the song would feel weak, and just nowhere near as epic. The outro was also amazing. Over a minute and a half of mind melting guitar work from Per Nillson. This makes this song much in the same vein of "Deviate from the Form." A great ending track to an overall great album.


Overall rating for the Album - 95/100. The album is perfect in many regards, and, as a fan of Progressive Metal, this is definitely a step in the right direction. If you love amazing guitar work and epic drumming combined with top notch vocal presentations, then Dark Matter Dimensions is the album for you.

At some point, one begins to wonder how such a band does it. Having replaced Christian Alvestam, one of melodeath's best vocalists, with no fewer than two vocalists, Scar Symmetry have proven that new vocalists are not such a bad thing after all. The two new guys do it just as well as Alvestam. I'm always skeptical when a band must go this direction, and why shouldn't I be? It didn't exactly work out for Soil and Drowning Pool did it?

It isn't that great bands haven't gotten away with it. Arch Enemy, Nightrage, and Amorphis all have changed vocalists over the years and they have done a remarkable job staying alive in the death metal genre, if you'll pardon the pun (or was that an oxymoron?).

That said, Dark Matter Dimensions is as good an album as it could have been, under the circumstances. It has far succeeded my expectations. Not only is the music just as refined technical as before, the vocals are varied and extremely powerful. In that regard, they are on par with what Alvestam delivered.

There are alot of clean vocals on this album, but this is nothing new to Scar Symmetry fans. They are well done. The growls could have sounded mechanical and forced, but are indeed incredibly well-rounded. Guitar melodies are fewer and far between, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. The ones that are included are just as catchy as those on Holographic Universe.

Scar Symmetry is a whole different brand of Swedish melodic death metal, and they are much better than comparable bands such as Soilwork and Insomnium.

Do yourself a favor and go pick up this album immediately. You will not be disappointed. Dark Matter Dimensions grabs 4.6/5 stars. Four-tenths of a point come off due to a lackluster vocal performance on one track.

Who is responsible for this? I want to know. What in Sam hill happened here? This sounds like someone took this band, plugged them into a nuclear power source and TURNED THEM ON. WOW, this will blow your mind. My jaw dropped. Is this the same band that put out Symmetric in Design or Pitch Black Progress or even Holographic Universe for that matter? Why yes; yes it is. I've listened to this band from the beginning and I would think "Oh..good musicians here, nothing special." I would never put them up as great. After this album; I take back all my words and choke....(GLADLY). I didn't know this band was THIS good. Shame on this band for hiding their talent for this long. If you guys ever read this "SHAME ON YOU" in my Frank Costanza impression...LOL. I implore EVERYONE to pay attention to the music. These guys have gone ballistic here. Soloing is awesome. Off timing riffs are a constant. It's systematic chaos. This band is leading the charge in this genre and taking no hostages. Expanding their sound even further from the last album. VERY Progressive. I am so curious to see what others will say about this. Some might be upset with this. This band was DEVOURED by the creativity bug and I'm grinning like the Joker while I listen. Clean singing is excellent and the growls are on par with Christian Älvestam so don't be afraid to buy this. Robert Karlsson and Lars Palmqvist are no slouches to their craft. They do justice for this band. Welcome guys. Death Metal/ Thrash/Progressive/Technical riffing/Powerful clean singing/Deep growling. It's all here. I like it fellas.

Scar Symmetry is my all time favorite Progressive Melodic Death Metal band, and are amongst my top 3 of all time favorite bands in general. Their songs have always brought a taste of originality that I have never found in any other band. Their lyrics have always been awe-inspiring and ranged from science-fiction to technology. Upon hearing that Christian Alvestam was leaving the band I had a bad feeling that the two new singers would not recapture the sound that Christian had brought to the band with their first three releases. In fact, I found it quite interesting that Christian's vocal range was so unique that it required two singers to replace both his deep growls and his amazing cleanly sung vocals as well. I believe that this is the main reason behind my concern as to how the band might sound now with two vocalists.

To my surprise, the new album "Dark Matter Dimensions" has a sound that is very close to the original band, all the way down to subject matter, and on some tracks you may think that the vocals are still done by Christian himself. Many of the tracks bare a striking resemblance to tracks found on "Symmetric in Design". However, there are some tracks where you can clearly see that new "clean" vocalist Lars does not have quite the same range that Christian used to have. Robert does an excellent job of imitating Christian's growls 100% of the time; however, it's the clean vocals that are sometimes lacking. This is not to say that the singing is not good, I just feel like the original songs had a better sound when it came to cleanly sung lyrics.

Tracks such as "The Iconoclast", "The Consciousness Eaters", "Sculptor Void", and "Pariah" have a sound identical to what you would find on either "Pitch Black Progress" or even "Holographic Universe". However, songs such as "Mechanical Soul Cybernetics" do not feel like Scar Symmetry, the sound is not the same as the band's original sound that Christian had implemented. The album is great, overall. The two new singers do a great job of imitating Christian Alvestam to a certain degree, however the clean vocals by Christian still outshine the new ones found on "Dark Matter Dimensions".

Despite the changes, I still love the album. This album has still been played in my car system nonstop since purchasing two weeks ago. I highly recommend this album to fans of Scar Symmetry or Melodic Death Metal fans in general.

Another year another Symmetry cd, I was eagerly awaiting this one like many before me because of the change at the vocalist position. Like most i love the growler/grunter/screamer, the clean vox are growing on me but still leave a little be to be desired, he has moments where it seems to fit and other moments where it's like... why, but we have to accept it, I have a large collection of music and i have heard a lot worse... a lot so he's was a safe bet. as for the songs I really don't know what happened to me. When I listened to the cd while there were streaming in on myspace weeks prior to it's release i was blown away, but after receiving the cd and listening to the cd over and over and over again, i'm just left with a, this is it feeling... they have slowly grown and changed up a little with each new release, yes i have all 4 cd's, my favorite being the last one holographic universe, i'm not saying this is a bad cd, quite the contrary, in my opinion this is an average SS cd, but average for them is still years ahead of other bands out there. Maybe i just had my expectations to high after 3 amazing cd's in a row. this cd sounds like it could've fit in right after Pitch Black Progress and Holographic universe... it's a little more of everything... it's faster in parts, more technical in parts... I guess if you liked any one of there previous 3 cd's then you will like this one alot too, just don't come into it expecting alot to have changed other then the 2 new singers... it's same old Symmetry just with 2 pipes singing now not just one... guess i was just expecting a little more progression and that is why it gets a 4 star review not 5, nothing really surprised me on the cd, there were no, WOW moments after I sat down and gave it some time...
Guess I was a little spoiled over the past few weeks with my other cd's i've received... give these a listen as well if you choose Xerath "I" amazing cd, Paradise Lost "Faith divides us, Death unites us" there best in years and Megadeth "Endgame" there best since countdown to extinction...

I've always loved Scar Symmetry, holding them higher than their peers by merit of their ability to maintain brutality while complimenting it with melody, rather than letting the melody take over and water down the heaviness. While I respect genre-definers such as Dark Tranquility and In Flames, I felt that as time passed, they often got stuck in a rut or devolved into metalcore. Scar Symmetry kept things fresh by adding a grand, majestic power metal influence, as well as some industrialized atmosphere, and the results were always headbangingly delicious.

After "Holographic Universe," Scar Symmetry lost their incredible and diverse lead singer, so they went with two vocalists this time around, and while the difference isn't that noticeable, there is some excellent vocal interplay that wouldn't be possible in a live setting. And the music...oh the music. Scar Symmetry has always been a member of the melodic death metal genre but they rarely burst out of the depths of fire with blazing riffs and city-crumbling blastbeats ala straight-up br00tal death metal, but we've got it here in abundance. Of course not every song is a demonic rager but this is definitely the rowdiest Scar Symmetry album yet.

Scar Symmetry's trademark has always been the ability to soak every song in epic, soaring majesty and they are on top of their game in a big way with "Dark Matter Dimensions." This is perhaps the most majestic melodeath I've come across, and while it's not symphonic per se, you can almost see the sunrise burst across the mountains as these metal heroes blast your ears with emotion and power. In short, everything you always liked about Scar Symmetry is on full-throttle with "Dark Matter Dimensions," and I promise you won't be able to get it out of your head for a long time.

Some believed Pitch Black Progress did no justice to Symmetric in Design. But their was no argument that Holographic Universe was their best album. Well, even with the lead singer replaced by two new people, Scar Symmetry delivers their 4th album. And is it awesome. Here's a rundown of the US album and my score of each song.
1. The Iconoclast (10/10) - Kicks your ass, ask if you want seconds.
2. The Consciousness Eaters (8/10) - Not bad at all, but doesn't seem to show their full potential.
3. Noumenon and Phenomenon (9/10) - Once again at full steam, shows the work two singers can do over one.
4. Ascension Chamber (9/10) - Provides an epic sound, like you're-saving-the-world epic.
5. Mechanical Soul Cybernetics (8/10) - Like the second song, it doesn't showcase their full potential, but they do sound good.
6. Non-Human Era (7/10) - My least favorite off the album, it kind of has a sloppy sound at the beginning.
7. Dark Matter Dimensions (8/10) - Unlike "Holographic Universe", the title song is not the most epic out of the album, but it is by no means bad.
8. Sculptor Void (9/10) - Awesome. 'Nuff said.
9. A Parenthesis in Eternity (9000/10) - The greatest sound to ever grace my ears. The epicness of this song makes my brain hurt. I'm sure somebody's head exploded when they listened to this song. It's really that epic.
10. Frequencyshifter (10/10) - While no song can be as epic as A Parenthesis in Eternity, the last 3 songs end the album on a very high note.
11. Radiant Strain (9/10) - At full tier, they deliver once again.
12. Pariah (9/10) - A US bonus track that Europeans are going to want to import.

I've been a Scar Symmetry fan since day one, and was worried when they said they were getting new vocalists, but this is absolutely, 100% Scar Symmetry. These guys are so cutting-edge, heavy, colorful and creative... the solos, riffs and choruses are other-worldly. Not many bands reach this level of quality and musicianship. Absolutely fantastic album!

When I heard about the band losing their great vocalist, I was kinda worried at the time. Since I check out on myspace and other sources, I convince myself to buy the new album and totally took me to a place for the second time! Every track is what they been about all this time and seems like they stepped it up a bit w/ the 2 new vocalists. For the new fans, this is also your chance to see why they are the talk of the town and believe me they won't won't such a thing. It's definitely worth checking out for anyone who is interest in this genre!