First of all, I want to thank you Henrik for answering these questions for ScandinavianMetal. I'm personally a huge fan of your drumming, especially what you've created for Theory in Practice is amazing.

Thanks, man!

I noticed there isn't any official Scar Symmetry web site yet, will there be one soon?

Yeah, we have a guy working on that- hopefully it`ll be online very soon! Since things happened so fast with this band we haven`t had time to do anything else but write material and record it, I mean we formed in 2004 and recorded ”Symmetric in design” the same year!

Can you give me a background information on Scar Symmetry. Who started the band and what is your intention with the band?

I was recording drums for the debut album of my other band Altered Aeon in early 2004 when Jonas asked me if I was interested in starting up a brand new act with him. I suggested Per from Altered Aeon as the second guitarist, Jonas brought in his friend Kenneth on bass and at that point we were close to a complete lineup for Scar Symmetry. We just needed one hell of a singer and Jonas knew Christian since he had recorded with other bands in the Black Lounge studio. And when I heard some stuff that Christian sang on I was blown away, the guy was incredible. So there was no doubt that he was the man for the job. When Christian joined us we were complete as a band! The intention with Scar Symmetry was to do something new compared to what we`ve done before and to include shredding solos, multi-layered keyboards and complex but catchy rhythmwork topped with awesome and varied vocals.

What inspires Scar Symmetry?

Music in general, we try to bring lots and lots of different influences into the Scar Symmetry-material and lyrically we are inspired by the obscure theories of mysticism.

You are soon ready with your debut album, Symmetric in Design. How do you feel about it? Do you think it will be an album that people will remember for years to come?

We feel great having done such a heavy album and it`s always a pleasure to see an album come out and finally hold it in one`s hands. I think people will remember it, at least for ten years or so he he. It`s hard to say how big an impact we`re making with Scar Symmetry, it`s pretty much up to the people out there.

I'm always interested in the songwriting process. How's it like for Scar Symmetry. Do all members contribute or do you have a main songwriter?

On this album the guitarists wrote all the songs, Per wrote five songs and Jonas wrote seven songs. I wrote all the lyrics. So the process was basically that Per put his songs together on his own and Jonas put his songs together on his own and they presented the ideas to the rest of us when they were done. Christian did the vocal lines for Jonas´ songs while Per did everything on his songs. I wrote the lyrics according to the vocal lines they gave me. After a minimum of rehearsal the songs were recorded, the process of writing went really fast. It had to, because we didn`t have time for anything else.

Seeing that Scar Symmetry only features prominent members, I'm tempted to call Scar Symmetry a super band. How's it like being surrounded by

all these gifted musicians? Do conflicts occur more often due to being a "supergroup". I mean, I guess every member is interested to have a say on what's going on.....

What an honor to be called a ”supergroup”! We all respect eachother as musicians so that helps a lot, we have full confidence in eachother because we know eachother`s past and everything. There hasn`t been any ”clash of egos” yet but then again Scar Symmetry has not been around as a band for too long. We`ll see what happens and hope for the best eh? So far our roles in the band has been really clear and no one has had any problems with it and that seems promising.

I'm curious about the band name. Is there a special meaning behind "Scar Symmetry"?

I had this idea to use one raw word and one soft word, Scar being the raw one and Symmetry being the soft one. A yin/yang sort of thing. Scar Symmetry, to me, reflects the scars we get living a human life because no one goes unmarked through life. Both scars and symmetry is something very present in this world so the name is sort of a hymn to existence, I`d say.

How would you describe "Symmetric in Design" to someone completely new to Scar Symmetry? I mean, what style do you play and so on.

I`d say it`s melodic death metal because that`s the genre that we`ve been put in. But I´d also say that we have lots of keyboards and shredding guitar solos, varied vocals, complex yet catchy rhythmwork and of course – awesome songs and lyrical ideas!

What do you expect from Symmetric in Design? Or let me put in this way: what do you hope to accomplish with your music?

The greatest thing would be to live from music but that is really hard since the business is so unstable. The reason we did this was mainly to have fun so I guess we have already accomplished a lot in that aspect, we`ve also received a lot of great reponse and incredible reviews so that`s been accomplished too. We wish for things to go well for us obviously, every great thing that happens is a bonus for us.

Can you give me an insight on your lyrics and what topics Scar Symmetry care about?

The lyrics deal mostly with different kinds of mysticism, ”2012” is about all the different prophecies around that specific year. ”Reborn” deals with the fact that we`re reborn every second, ”Hybrid Cult” is about a bloodline that has survived since the dawn of man basically and it supposedly rules all media and economy today, ”The eleventh sphere” is about astral travelling so there`s all kinds of crazy shit going on. A couple of tracks has lyrics with reversed psychology (draw energy from other people`s attacks), those are ”Chaosweaver” and ”Underneath the Surface”.

Are you going on tour to support you debut album? Please come to Norway!! :)

We have booked two shows on our own so far and that`s about it at the moment, we don`t know anything else at this point. I heard some rumors that people at Metal blade is trying to get us into festivals and possibly a tour this summer but nothing has been verified. The album hasn`t even been released yet so it`s a bit too early to tell right now. Norway? Hell yeah! Maybe we could play at the Inferno festival?

You feel game to give readers of Scandinavian Metal your top 5 list of albums relreased by bands from Scandinavia only?

Arcturus ”The sham mirrors”, Entombed ”Left hand path”, Meshuggah ”Destroy Erase Improve”, Memento Mori ”Memento mori” and Dissection ”Storm of the light`s bane”. In no particular order. Damn, that list was very Swedish! I could probably have put a couple of more Norweigan releases into that list. I`ll do that next time!

I know this may be a very difficult question to answer, but who do you think is the most gifted metal musician from Scandinavia?

Oh shit, yeah that is difficult. But I`d say Snowy Shaw. He has a unique vibe to what he does and he is very talented.

This isn't related to Scay Symmtery, but I'm really anxious to know. Will there be a new Theory in Practice album?

I highly doubt it!

Thanks for answering my questions. We promise to review your debut album. You have any final words to the readers of Scandinavian Metal?

Check out the album and visit the Metal blade-site and the Cold records-site for info on Scar Symmetry. We have an official Scar Symmetry website coming up soon, a guy is working on it and hopefully it will be online in the coming weeks. Regards to all the readers!

[This interview was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]