Holographic Universe

Holographic Universe is the third studio album of the melodic death metal band from Avesta, Sweden. And it is quite unfortunate that Christian Älvestam is no longer their vocalist. Termed a death metal band, Scar Symmetry and Christian Älvestam in particular, did extremely well in incorporating clean vocals in amongst the systematic din of the guitars. The first two albums were good, but Holographic Universe is their magnum opus. In this album, we see more of Christian Älvestam’s clean vocal which is extremely good and suits Scar Symmetry’s sound. Though not many bands can pull this off as well as these guys do, it is indeed a pity that Christian Älvestam has left the band. Don’t get me wrong, as some people may think I listen to pop and love clean vocals, but the barrage of death metal riffs and the stream of death metal bands that I have heard over the years, has opened my ears to that fact that clean vocals can be incorporated if done properly. Opeth is the best example.

Another aspect of Scar Symmetry’s that has improved is the guitar solos. The solos are quite brilliant and eloquent, with clear melodies being shredded out courtesy Jonas Kjellgren. His guitar playing has improved since the “Symmetric In Design” and “Pitch Black Progress” days, with better solos and pummelling riffage. “Timewave Zero,” “Quantumleaper,” and “Prism and Gate” are excellent songs with breathtaking solos. “Morphogenesis” contains a superb clean vocal which isn’t a rarity on this album, as Christian does not cease to prove how good his clean vocal is. “Fear Catalyst” starts of quite heavy but like most songs on this album, has its part where Christian Älvestam’s clean vocal shines. “Artificial Sun Projection” is another brilliant song with some spectacular guitar work and a brilliant solo.

The thing with Christian Älvestam’s vocal is that his clean vocal is extremely good unlike bands that attempt to sing clean, and he has good range. From a partially high pitch to devastating growls to outstanding clean, Christian Älvestam has an enviable array of vocal styles at his disposal. Some Scar Symmetry fans from 2004 and the fans that supported them well before 2004 may think that the growls should be more prominent as they are a death metal band, but there are those who think that the clean vocals are quite decent.

Jonas Kjellgren has unfortunately retained his title of being an underrated guitarist. His guitar work contains battering heavy riffs and blistering solos which are often taken for granted as people seem to ignore the talent that this band has. Perhaps lacking are the sweeps that used to dominate a substantial number of solos from the “Symmetric In Design” and “Pitch Black Progress” albums. In spite of that, the solos are still above par, blistering and relentless as are most of Jonas’s solos and it would be pleasing to see Scar Symmetry continue with the same tenacity and ferocity that they are know for, in spite of of Christian Älvestam’s departure.