Symmetric In Design is the first offering from Sweden’s Scar Symmetry. Though the band itself is new, every member except bassist Kenneth Seil, has been around the block a couple of times. There are over 10 bands of experience between the rest of the members so they definitely bring a lot of know-how to the table and it really shows. Playing Gothenburg infused Melodic Death which takes influence from Soilwork, Construcdead, The Defaced and Edge Of Sanity, Scar Symmetry have put together an excellent CD that fans of the style should like a lot.

Within the span of the first few songs one thing that stands out as being especially excellent are the vocals. To the best of my knowledge they are entirely handled by Christian Älvestam and he’s almost as good as Dan Swano in combining a very strong and pure clean style with a mix of Death and Black harsh styles. The Death style is very deep in the style of Swano (not quite as menacing, but Swano is in a league of his own) and it works very well. A lot of Gothenburg bands in the past have used more of a shriek or mid-range harsh style that has become a staple of the Melodic Death scene, so it’s very refreshing to hear a more traditional Death vocal style. Sure, there are some mid-range growls as well but by and large the deep growls prevail throughout the CD. Ever since Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquility experimented with clean vocals in Melodic Death it seems that more and more bands are using the dual vocal approach. Soilwork made it work on A Predator’s Portrait and Scar Symmetry have mastered it on this release. Älvestam has a fantastic clean singing style that could carry a whole CD on its own (if the band played something similar to Nightingale, of course). The type of melodic approach and placement is similar to Soilwork but Älvestam has a much stronger voice. Though some people might prefer all Death vocals, I really like clean vocals in Melodic Death when done well and they’re definitely done well here.

Also making an appearance are plenty of keyboards providing atmosphere and little melodic hooks similar to what some Gothic Metal bands might use such as Evereve or Godgory… or heck, lets bring another Edge Of Sanity reference: remember what the keys sounded like on Crimson II, well, expect similar usage and style here. Though the keys tend to be in the forefront on occasion the guitars don’t take a back seat either. The riffing, dare I say it, is modern sounding. You won’t find any traditional 80’s riffs here, this is straight from the mid 90’s school of Melodic Death mixed with Nevermore, which most people either like or don’t like. Meanwhile the leads, much like the clean vocals and keys, have plenty of melodic hooks that sometimes play throughout the verses and always come in near the end of the song for a ripping solo. The guitar solos are a highlight of the CD and the twin-axe attack of Jonas Kjellgren and Per Nilsson seem to have a lot of talent, some of which is not used to its fullest extent. There are some damn good riffs on display and the best riffs are when the band plays fast (and they do play fast often), while the mid-paced sections leave a little bit to be desired on occasion.

Part of the appeal of this release is the variation in the songs. The band switches up tempos quite a bit with each song standing on its own with constant variation in the vocal approach, drumming, and riffing to make repeated listens and picking out the strong tracks very easy to do. There isn’t any blending together here. There is however one problem. That problem is very typical song progression. A lot of talent is on display here with flashes of brilliance, instrumentally, but the band seems poised to make catchy as possible Melodic Death with as many hooks as possible and never moving far from the path of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus. Scar Symmetry never gets into Stabbing The Drama or newer In Flames territory of accessible, borderline Nu-Metal sensibilities, but it seems like they’re almost there. Just as how Natural Born Chaos was an in between album for Soilwork, Symmetric In Design is that album for Scar Symmetry, though they skipped the whole Chainheart Machine phase. All I’m saying is I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere down the line Scar Symmetry becomes less Melodic Death Metal and more In Flames-ish, but then again the talent is there to make more challenging Melodic Death like the Dark Tranquility’s or Omnium Gatherum’s of the Metal world. Then again, the talent in Soilwork and In Flames didn’t stop them from writing increasingly accessible music.

Regardless of the bands future what we have here is the present, and the present looks very good for Scar Symmetry. Though part of me wants to dislike this CD for its modern tendencies and straight forward song progression I can’t deny how catchy and enjoyable the music is. I guess the melodic hooks and overt double bass head bang moments worked because I can’t stop listening to this CD. Melodic Death fans take note, just be warned, one you start listening you might not be able to stop.