SCAR SYMMETRY: ANNOUNCES NEW LINEUP

Avesta, Sweden melodic death metal warriors SCAR SYMMETRY have announced drummer and founding member HENRIK OLSSON and guitarist BENJAMIN ELLIS have left the band,

 LAWRENCE DINAMARCA is SCAR SYMMETRY'S new drummer and STEPHEN PLATT is the bands new guitarist. 

 

 SCAR SYMMETRY unleashed "THE SINGULARITY (PHASE II XENOTAPH)",  6/9/2023 via NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS. . . 

 

 

ITP V.024 REVIEW: SCAR SYMMETRY "THE SINGULARITY (PHASE II XENOTAPH)"

https://spak-individualthoughtpatterns.blogspot.com/2024/03/itp-v024-review-scar-symmetry.html 

FROM SCAR SYMMETRY:

SCAR SYMMETRY ANNOUNCES NEW LINEUP

We regret to announce the departure of our drummer, lyricist and founding member Henrik Olsson and our guitarist Benjamin Ellis.

This year it's been 20 years since Henrik, Jonas and I formed Scar Symmetry. Little did we know when we recorded the demo for the song Seeds of Rebellion that it would sow the seeds for a two-decade long progressive melodeath journey that has taken us to places beyond our wildest dreams. We created seven Scar Symmetry albums together that we are immensely proud of, and Henrik's drumming and awe-inspiring lyrics have played a big part in our enduring success.

Due to family reasons, Henrik couldn't join us when we returned to the stages post-covid in 2022 and he has been sitting out all shows since. He has now made the decision to leave the band to continue to focus on his family as well as on other musical endeavours. While we will continue to miss him dearly – we did our last show with him in 2019 – we do understand and respect his decision. We are so grateful for the creativity, passion and energy that Henrik has fueled the band with and we wish him nothing but the very best as he moves on to the next chapter of his life and career.

After a couple of tours as a session player, Benjamin joined the band in 2016 and toured with us up until the end of 2022. A consummate professional, Benjamin's live performances were immaculate, as were the guitar solos he contributed to last year's release, our comeback album The Singularity (Phase II – Xenotaph). Benjamin has been working on some seriously delicious music of his own for years now and the time has come for him to step down from Scar Symmetry and to reveal his future musical plans. We thank him for his hard work and dedication and we are looking forward to following him on his continued journeys.

So, without further ado... Let's present the new guys!

It is our utmost pleasure and honor to welcome Lawrence Dinamarca into the band! Lawrence is a real drummer's drummer; he was hand-picked by Henrik to take over the live duties in 2022 and has been touring with us ever since. This tornado of a drummer has played with bands like Nightrage, Carnal Forge, Manticora and Loch Vostok in the past and the fierceness of his playing is in stark contrast with his gentle personality!

Let's set the scene for our next introduction: a couple of years back, I went to a Devin Townsend show and was blown away by the guitarist in his band, a Mancunian guitar phenomenon who was celebrating his 35th birthday that very day! After the show, at the bar, we were introduced to each other and I immediately broke out in song, singing ”HAPPY BIRTHDAY” at the top of my lungs, getting the help of a loosely assembled choir consisting of other people from the touring party as well as random bar patrons. Our birthday boy was surprised but probably not as surprised as when I called him up, about a year later, asking him to start touring with us. It is our honor and utmost pleasure to welcome mr Stephen Platt into the fold!

Please give Lawrence and Stephen a very warm welcome as well as your best wishes for Henrik and Benjamin!

Love,

Per and Scar Symmetry

 

FROM  BENJAMIN ELLIS: 

After almost a decade, my time with Scar Symmetry has come to an end. While I have loved performing live with the band, and feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to contribute some solos to the latest album, my real passion in life is creating music, and it’s time for me to finally set my focus on sharing my own music again.

While it is the right move for both myself and the band, closing this chapter is a real tough one, as Scar Symmetry has been a huge part of my life.

I can safely say that discovering “Pitch Black Progress” during my formative guitar playing years was a landmark moment for me, expanding what I thought was possible on the instrument and fuelling my imagination in the kinds of music I wanted to create. Going from being a huge fan of the band as a young wannabe-shredder, to filling in for Per on a tour in 2014, becoming an official member in 2016, and now going our separate ways, it has been a wild ride. I don’t think I could ever pinch myself enough to stop from feeling like all of this may have just been a crazy dream…

I will always be honoured and humbled that my musical heroes trusted me to help share this music, which has meant so much to me, with the world.

Per, Rob, Lars & Henrik - Thank you for sharing some truly awesome, unforgettable moments which I will never forget. I wish you all the very best in your future endeavours.

I want to also express my deepest gratitude to all of the fans, who have shown such incredible support to the band and myself these past 10 years.

It has been a joy to share this music with you and I hope that our paths will cross again someday.

The next chapter for me now is my solo project, “Mythic”, and I will be sharing some music and more details on that tomorrow.

Big love

Benjamin Ellis

 

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-