The Unseen Empire

When former vocalist Christian Älvestam left Scar Symmetry, things got a bit complicated for the band. Later on, when the Swedes announced the recruitment of two vocalists to replace said man, many became skeptical and finally Dark Matter Dimensions was released, an album that didn’t have many of the elements that made the band a well known reference when it comes to modern metal (lets say pop-like melodies and choruses). Some stuff worked, others didn’t, still the band got to consolidate its name as a driving force in the genre thanks to extensive touring and now, years later, The Unseen Empire arrived to establish order from chaos.

First of all, I like the album, you see, all the elements that didn’t quite work that well in Dark Matter Dimensions are here but this time everything is in such balance it’s almost perfect. Things like the lyrics were placed better in the songs and the vocal duos work better too (just check Domination Agenda). The guitar licks are not excessive and they’re well located throughout the album, it’s not like they’re trying to show everybody they are talented guys (we all know they are). In the end everything here works in order to build climax instead of just throwing a lick to achieve epic choruses.

Another important fact is that many of the elements lost with the departure of Christian Älvestam are back once again. The choruses are not so pop-like oriented but still the melodies are quite reminiscent of Pitch Black Progress, which is a good thing. Kudos to Lars Palmqvist cause he finally got to shine, his vocals work better when he doesn’t go high-pitch all the time, plus he did a catchy and soulful performance. The other side, Robban Karlsson, is for an obvious reason my favorite growler, he sounds mean and ferocious. I’d have loved to hear him more but still, he delivered exactly what I expected from him and that's ace guttural growling. Music-wise everything works just fine (as always) as these guys just don’t mess around when it comes to riffs, solos, and killer drumming. That sums it all up.

The last point I would like to dissect is the concept of this album, I dig cool concepts and here we have a really interesting one. The Unseen Empire talks about an elite group of reptilian beings and its world domination agenda, pretty much what David Icke has been saying for years already or what movies like John Carpenter’s They Live show. It’s a cool fact that the band is making a proper use of their good reputation to inform people about such crucial matters so check the lyrics for eye-opening facts about the world’s current issues (because, believe it or not, these are actual facts).

The Unseen Empire shows a band polishing their skills at such level it’s safe to say they’re at the peak of their game. They just got it all music-wise, plus a killer production and cool cd artwork. I recommend this to everyone out there with a taste for guitar-driven metal music and variety. From death to heavy metal, The Unseen Empire deliver the goods.