Dark Matter Dimensions
Scar Symmetry – Dark Matter Dimensions (2009)
EAC Rip | FLAC + CUE + LOG + COVER | Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Melodic Death Metal | 470 MB
Label: Nuclear Blast | Released: 2009 | Catalog#: 2346 (US) | Credits: Producer – Jonas Kjellgren

“Throughout the history of Rock there have many bands that have lost their amazing lead vocalist and replaced him (or her) while continuing to be successful. Van Halen did it. AC/DC did it. Genesis did it. Black Sabbath did it. Can Scar Symmetry do it?

Last year Christian Älvestam left the popular Swedish band due to creative differences. I cried for days because of that. OK, I didn’t really cry, but I was saddened by that fact. While Scar Symmetry’s music was above average Gothenburg Metal, it was Älvestam’s vocals that I went crazy for. His modern guttural growl was juxtaposed with his soaring classic Heavy Metal voice. What more, the vocal melodies he wrote were really solid and memorable.

So getting back to my original question: Can Scar Symmetry make another solid album after losing it’s fantastic vocalist. Sadly the answer is ‘no’. I really hate to say it, but this is just a bad album. Christian Älvestam has been replaced by not one but two vocalists, who each have their own parts (growls and clean vocals). Is it me, or does that just seem really pathetic? Could Scar Symmetry not find a vocalist who could do both? What is worst is that Älvestam was better at both singing and growling than either of these guys.

On top of all of that, the music is boring. The great catchy melodies that used to fill their past records are gone. We’re now left with an empty shell of what the band used to be, and it sounds that way; hollow. The drummer comes across as a uninspiring Mike Portnoy wannabe and the guitarists just rehash the same old rifts we’ve heard for years. The songs all follow the same basic formula that has been done a hundred times in Gothenburg Metal and not a single one sticks out. What more, the album is so over produced I thought I was listening to Static-X.

This is without a doubt the biggest let down of the year. I really wish I could find something positive to say about this album but I just can’t. If this is your first introduction to the band, I feel sorry for you. If your a fan of their other work, I wouldn’t even recommend this. Where their past albums had the feel of an over the top 80’s action film, this is the cheesy comedy follow up.”

– Dane Train, metalstorm.ee

Tracklist:
1. “The Iconoclast” – 5:07
2. “The Consciousness Eaters” – 4:42
3. “Noumenon and Phenomenon” – 4:13
4. “Ascension Chamber” – 3:48
5. “Mechanical Soul Cybernetics” – 3:27
6. “Non-Human Era” – 4:45
7. “Dark Matter Dimensions” – 4:12
8. “Sculptor Void” – 5:23
9. “A Parenthesis in Eternity” – 4:43
10. “Frequencyshifter” – 3:15
11. “Radiant Strain” – 4:15
12. “Pariah” – 5:22 (limited-edition digipak bonus track)