Scar Symmetry

The Singularity (Phase I – Neohumanity) is the sixth full-length studio album by Swedish metal band Scar Symmetry, released by Nuclear Blast on October 3, 2014.

This is the first album of the Singularity trilogy, and the first Scar Symmetry album to be composed, produced, mixed and mastered entirely by guitarist Per Nilsson, and is the last album with Kenneth Seil on bass.

The Singularity (Phase I – Neohumanity) sold 1,500 units in the USA in its first week and debuted at #199 on the Billboard 200.

The first phase of the trilogy is centered on the rise of “artilects (artificial intellects) with mental capacities far above the human level of thought” and that “by the year 2030, one of the world’s biggest industries will be ‘artificial brains,’ used to control artilects that will be genuinely intelligent and useful.” The lyrical content focuses on the divide between “those who embrace the new technology and those who oppose it” due to the social issues caused by the rise of artificial intelligence and the emergence of transhumanists who add artilect technology to their own bodies.

The Unseen Empire is the fifth full-length studio album by Swedish metal band Scar Symmetry.

It was released on April 15, 2011 in Europe, and on May 17, 2011 in North America. The album sold around 1500 copies in the United States in its first week of release, and landed at position number 11 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart. This is the last album to feature contributions from guitarist Jonas Kjellgren, who left the band in 2013 due to other commitments.

Drummer Henrik Ohlsson said that the album “seeks to expose the hidden hand of the elite that pull the strings of mankind in order to fulfill their agenda of global domination.”

Dark Matter Dimensions is the fourth full-length studio album by Swedish metal band Scar Symmetry.

It is the first album to feature new vocalists Roberth Karlsson and Lars Palmqvist after Christian Älvestam’s departure. It was released on October 2 2009 in Europe and on October 20, 2009 in North America.

According to drummer and lyricist, Henrik Ohlsson, the title Dark Matter Dimensions refers to the “appreciation and acknowledgement of the unseen worlds and dimensions, because without the existence of these unseen forces our physical universe would never be able to exist”.

Critics noted that while newcomers Karlsson and Palmqvist’s vocals could not quite match the ability of Älvestam’s, they did not detract from the album’s quality; with BBC Music commenting that they had the “ability to overlap”, adding “further depth to the complex, aggressive melodies that Scar Symmetry fans have come to expect”. Music videos were created for “Noumenon and Phenomenon“, “Ascension Chamber” and “The Iconoclast“.

Holographic Universe is the third full-length studio album by Swedish metal band Scar Symmetry.

It is the last album to feature vocalist Christian Älvestam, who parted ways with the band shortly after the album’s completion. It was released on June 20 2008 in Europe, and on July 7, 2008 in North America. The album peaked on the charts at 37 in Finland, and 65 in Austria.  A music video for the song “Morphogenesis” premiered on September 18th. The album is rumoured to be loosely based on Michael Talbot’s book The Holographic Universe.

Upon its release, the science-themed Holographic Universe was considered Scar Symmetry’s most commercially focused album, with critics drawing comparisons with progressive bands including Dream Theater.

Allmusic comments that the band “appears more serious than ever about contrasting super melodic choruses, guitar harmonies, and even intermittent synths, against aesthetic evil twinslike furious death metal growls, aggressive riffing, and torrential drumming”. Blabbermouth.net claims the album does not dramatically expand on previous releases, but is a “well-planned and structured album that comes across as accessible and heavy at the same time”.

“The Three Dimensional Shadow” was the first Scar Symmetry song to feature the use of an 8 string guitar.

Holographic Universe is also the only album where all the members of the band were credited on writing and composition.

A thirteenth track, “Disintegrate the Hourglass“, was written and recorded for the album, but was not included on the album.

Pitch Black Progress is the second studio album by Swedish metal band Scar Symmetry.

The album was released in Europe on April 21, 2006 and in North America on May 2, 2006 through Nuclear Blast.

Pitch Black Progress was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Black Lounge Studios, Avesta, Sweden, on various occasions during 2005, by Jonas Kjellgren. The album’s artwork and layout was created by Anthony Clarkson. Allmusic praised the album’s “uncompromisingly extreme hard-soft dynamics and accompanying, remarkably accessible sing-and-grunt-along choruses”.

The track “The Illusionist” was promoted with two different music videos; the second version used as the official video by releasing label Nuclear Blast. The original version is available at the band’s own YouTube site.

Symmetric In Design is the debut album by Swedish metal band Scar Symmetry.

Symmetric In Design was recorded during July through September 2004 at Black Lounge Studios, Avesta, Sweden. Symmetric In Design was released on February 7, 2005 in Europe, September 6, 2005 in the United States and April 25, 2005 in Japan.

The album was considered by critics to be a “standout first effort” from the band, drawing comparisons with other Swedish melodic death metal acts, such as Soilwork.