SCAR SYMMETRY HIRE… TWO NEW SINGERS??
A couple of weeks ago I cried myself to sleep after Scar Symmetry announced they’d parted ways with their versatile, talented vocalist Christian Älvestam (pictured, front). Would the Swedish “Death Jovi” masters go the way of luminaries Van Halen* and AC/DC, continuing to bring the hits for years to come with a new frontman on board, or would they crash and burn as an echo of their former selves ala Skid Row? The answer remains to be seen, but today’s announcement that two vocalists have been tapped to fill the shoes of just one is a testament to how skilled Älvestam is:
“We’ve used both growls and clean vocals in our music since day one, and with each album we’ve pushed the envelope of what you can do vocally in a metal band to the point where a lot of the songs on ‘Holographic Universe’ would be hard if not impossible to sing live. So the question is: Is it really possible to push the vocals even further and manage to perform everything live?
“The answer is YES! Instead of hiring a new singer, we decided — some of you might already have figured it out by now — to recruit TWO singers! The idea of having two vocalists in the band is something that’s been in the back of our minds for a long time, and after auditioning and rehearsing with two of Sweden’s best vocalists we’re thrilled, excited, stoked-beyond-belief!!!
The two chosen vocalists will be Roberth Karlsson (ex-Edge of Sanity, ex-Facebreaker. Who? I don’t know either) — who will handle “lead growl vocals” and backing clean vocals — and Lars Palmqvist, a relative unknown who will handle “lead clean vocals” and “backing growl vocals.” Overly specific role designations and fun Swedish-sounding names aside, I guess this is a pretty good thing for SS — I’d rather two vocalists get it right than one struggle to come close. And from the looks of the audition video clip posted below, both men seem quite capable of their respective charges. Skip to about 0:50 for the good stuff. Let’s just hope they can bring it live; we’ll find out soon enough.
Check out Scar Symmetry’s latest video for “Morphogenesis” as well. It’s bad ass, and likely the last video of Christian you’ll see until the inevitable “original lineup” reunion. And lastly, why haven’t you picked up Holographic Universe yet?? It’s incredible.
-VN
*For the record, I’m firmly in the “Halen” camp when it comes to Van Halen vs. Van Hagar. Sammy never kicked ass the way DLR did — but regardless, the band kept on chugging and managed to continue their string of huge albums, yielding some of VH’s best songs in their own right.
