Conor Fynes 'The Migration' - Scale the Summit (7/10)

It’s a sentiment I’ve restated whenever speaking of this band: where technical metal generally intends to appeal to the intellect, Scale the Summit aims straight for the heart and emotional centre of their listeners. It’s this approach that largely separates them from their less distinctive brethren, and over the course of a remarkably consistent career, they have continued to evoke the same rich feelings in me. Although their latest record, “The Migration”, does not expand upon the band’s style beyond what has already been explored on past albums, Scale the Summit’s trademark style remains fresh, engaging, and beautiful in a way most metal isn’t.

Scale the Summit’s sound and style are described perfectly in the band’s name. Not only is there an atmosphere of optimism and triumph, the band’s riffs often depend on climbing and descending patterns. Although they are rarely melodic in the conventional sense, Scale the Summit’s music has an atmosphere that washes over the listener and absolves them of the intellectual challenge generally associated with tech-centric music. This is certainly not to say that the music isn’t intelligent; rather, it is thoughtfully constructed in such a way that the numerous technical solos, riffs and fleeting moments of ambiance are all poised in a single direction, like a river. The jazzy, technical style of Cynic is a readily apparent influence in their sound, and there are even times when the band’s penchant for multi-layered arrangements reminds me of Devin Townsend. Although there are occasional moments of quasi-djenty ‘chugging’, and displays of technical wizardry aplenty, Scale the Summit’s tasteful restraint when it comes to their compositions gives their music a mellow impression in spite of the band’s more conventionally ‘metal’ elements. This approach has been with Scale the Summit since the beginning, and “The Migration” does not reinvent or add anything particularly striking to the formula. Most times, failing to develop one’s sound with each album would leave the music feeling tired, but Scale the Summit seem to have found their proper calling early on and never looked back since.

“The Migration” lays its three proudest eggs all at the start- “Odyssey”, “Atlas Novus” and “The Olive Tree” are the most impressive cuts the album has to offer, and some of the most beautiful pieces Scale the Summit have constructed to date. “Atlas Novus” in particular has an introduction that emphasizes their marriage of technicality and emotion perfectly. Precise and calculated finger-tapping has long been one of the band’s signature tools, and to hear the technique used for such melodic beauty is a very rare listening experience. The rest of the album maintains a relative par with regards to technicality and thoughtful arrangements, but unfortunately by the fourth or fifth track, the pieces begin to blur together. It all seems in keeping with the band’s stylistic decision to make music that washes over the listener, but it would have been great to have heard a few surprises along the way. Then again, this is an issue I’ve had with all of the Scale the Summit albums; their style is beautiful and awe-inspiring, but there’s only ever a handful of tracks with an identity of their own.

Barring its stunning artwork (which might just be my favourite album artwork of the year so far) “The Migration” suffers mostly from the fact that it follows too closely in the footsteps of its predecessors. In style and the emotions felt as a listener, it doesn’t feel any different than the times when “The Collective” or “Carving Desert Canyons” were first fresh in my mind. The lack of track and album identity remains Scale the Summit’s greatest obstacle in the path of creating a true masterpiece. Then again, there isn’t a band in technical metal I can think of that’s making music with the emotional depth and feeling of Scale the Summit. In that respect, “The Migration” doesn’t disappoint.

J-Man After the release of Carving Desert Canyons in 2009, Texas-based instrumental act Scale the Summit gained quite a bit of buzz in the prog metal community. Prompting a spot on the ProgNation tour with Zappa Plays Zappa, Dream Theater, and Bigelf as well as a spot on Between the Buried and Me's ticket with Cynic and Devin Townsend, you could certainly say that Carving Desert Canyons was a hit among prog and metal fans worldwide. Although that album (in my opinion, at least) feels a tad underdeveloped and immature, The Collective shows the band at their creative peak. The improvement by this band in the last two years is truly tremendous. If you generally enjoyed Scale the Summit's previous efforts, but would've enjoyed a bit more variety and melody, this is the album for you! The Collective is one of the best instrumental albums that this year has yet to offer, and is also among the best instrumental metal albums ever released.

The music here is similar to that on the previous two Scale the Summit albums, but with much more jazz fusion tendencies and melodic overtones. The Collective sounds like an extremely well-played, professional, and mature statement. If you're looking for a testosterone-drenched shredfest, you may be let down by The Collective. Songs like "The Levitated", "Alpenglow", "Black Hills", and "Drifting Figures" are all beautiful pieces of melodic prog rock, whereas tracks like "Origin of Species", "Gallows", and "Emersion" are heavy and technical, while still remaining the maturity and compositional prowess of the softer tracks. There honestly isn't a weak song on The Collective - every track is a memorable piece of instrumental prog metal. Of course, the musicianship from Scale the Summit is top-notch. These guys know how to play some of the most challenging prog metal music out there, yet still are capable of conveying power and emotion through their respective instruments. The production is also crisp and professional.

The Collective is one hell of an album, and surely Scale the Summit's most defining statement so far. If you're going to look into this band, this should be your first purchase. Seldom do I come across an instrumental album this professional, enjoyable, and all-around spectacular! 4 - 4.5 stars are warranted for this terrific achievement. This is one of the finest instrumental metal albums ever released.

topofsm Scale the Summit, for the first two albums, made a bit of a name for themselves playing some mildly technical instrumental progressive metal. Even after gaining recognition through tours with Dream Theater and BTBAM, they spent a lot of time in the same basic territory. Monument and Carving Desert Canyons, while showcasing immense talent, also unfortunately showed off a band that couldn't really put a lot of variation into what they composed.

For those who weren't sure what they felt about the first two, The Collective may change all of that. It shows a complete different side to Scale the Summit, with atmosphere all over the place and the band incorporating an enormous amount of jazz into their sound. And for those who have read my reviews where I wonder why they don't put their wonderful tapping sections into more of their songs, yes, they put more tapping into their music. Some of the compositions almost reinvent what one what one can expect from a metal band, the tones are just magical, and some parts you can hardly describe without simply saying that they "Just sound so cool".

The Collective shows an immense overhaul of Scale the Summit's sound. Everything is beefed up considerably: The Technique is a bit stronger, the compositions have more variety, and just like the production boost from the first to the second album, the Collective gains another level of production. The result is the listener being immersed in waves of sound that create a wonderful atmosphere, often accompanied energetic musicianship amd a metal backbone.

The first thing fans listening since the first two will notice is the new variety of songs on the album. The band's Cynic influence is all-too apparent with the atmospheric "Whales" which just oozes the dark prog metal found in Paul Masdival's guitar style. "The Levitated" has some very tasteful and musically proficient tapping that brings out some of the most beautiful imagery. And "Secret Earth" may be the best track on the album, where the slow, emotional lead guitar is otherworldly and the rest of the instruments simply back it up perfectly with unusual chord choices and perfect groove.

While it's still clearly Scale the Summit playing, even the more energetic songs don't really match their earlier style at all. Even the "heaviest" song (not necessarily that heavy) on the album, "Gallows" starts off with a lead that may be found on either of their first two, but instead of remaining in the same groove for the rest of the piece, the band goes into completely different sections. "Origin of Species" opens with a rather heavy-ish and epic intro, and again the band creates variations upon it. However, Scale the Summit seems to revel mostly in the newer style they have gone into, and being awash in melody and magic is part of this album's strength.

In summation, The Collective shows Scale the Summit at their best, immersed in a completely new musical world of melody and emotion. There are really very few flaws to be found on the album, there are so many soundscapes that evoke so much beautiful imagery, that it stand's thus far as Scale the Summit's best Opus yet. It will be incredibly hard for them to top themselves after this, as it is by far a highlight in their career already, and a highlight of 2011. Absolutely recommended.

topofsm For those still on the boat from Monument, you are already familiar with Scale the Summit's sound. Lots of light, sometimes a bit technical instrumental prog metal meant to evoke the experiences of nature. For those who enjoyed Monument, Carving Desert Canyons is really the next thing you need to have in your collection. The downside is, really, that is quite easily is a "Monument, Part Two".

No doubt, the band has grown some. But there's still the same sound. Rarely does it go into overblown tech-metal territory, and while some parts do evoke what most are familiar with what lots of progressive metal giants can do, it's fairly subdued. Almost like a post technical metal band. Overall, it's very similar to Monument. The only real change between the albums is the production. On Carving Desert Canyons, everything has become clearer, and lost the feeling of a band in a lackluster studio trying to piece things together.

And just like the debut, it runs into the same problems. As I have stated in my previous review, the band seems to struggle with songwriting diversity. While there is certainly a large selection of riffs that the band draws from, most of them have the same feel as the others, and a lot of the album feels like more of the same after a while. Most of the album seems to draw from variations of a 6/8 style groove, often riffs that sound vaguely metalcore-esque, though presented in a way nothing like metalcore.

Again, it is this lack of diversity that drags Scale the Summit down in this album. The band are clearly good musicians, that is apparent from the diverse opener, "Bloom" which contains plenty of time changes and unusual note choices, and within its two minute running time it introduces the album spectacularly. It really makes you wonder about a lot of the songs, especially when there is a very soft inviting intro to "Glacial Planet" that could have easily been expanded on. There's also the math-rock esque bridge to "The Great Plains", where there are wonderful smooth tapping parts that the band could have put more in all over. Instead, the rest of the album not mentioned here sounds like an overlong exercise in what can be done in 6/8 riffs.

So ultimately, while being absolutely wonderful musicians that can perform with the best of them, Carving Desert Canyons falls a bit flat in the songwriting department. The band would still have yet to find a great niche to play, and would have to for the time rehash a lot of the same sounds. Eventually, the band would grow into what happens on the Collective, but for now they're in a good comfy, and admittedly original niche. Those who liked Monument should still pick this up. Those expecting diverse and over the top tech metal should really sample this before getting, but overall it's a good band playing some overall solid music.

topofsm There are plenty of run-of-the mill progressive metal bands running around nowadays, pulling what they can from Dream Theater and Opeth. Scale the Summit definitely came out from their own and created a prog metal tangent of their very own. However, the prog metal cliche rings true, and sometimes songwriting on their albums is lacking.

For one thing, I'd be willing to challenge that half the people who have heard Scale the Summit's sound haven't really listened to it. One of the common descriptors of their music is their super technicality and virtuosity. The band has chops, but they generally stay in a very sensible range of sound, never going into fast wankery, and instead staying in a more midtempo (for metal) range. They have plenty of shred lines along with twisting guitar melodies that certainly show that they know what they're doing, but they play them very sensibly and don't try to cram as many notes as they can into a shred line, and for that they deserve plenty of respect.

However, along with that sensible midtempo style, they reveal some of their greatest weaknesses, in that much of their music is too similar sounding. The listener will find that almost all the songs are in the same tempo, and save for a bit of atmosphere at the beginning of "Crossing the Ocean" or the end of "Rode in on Horseback", most of the songs are in the same 6/8 tempo. I honestly feel when listening to Monument (along with Carving Desert Canyons) that it's an entire exercise in variations of riffs in 6/8, with riffs of an almost metalcore style. Even at a relatively short running time of about 40 minutes, this tends to get monotonous.

It's disappointing really, since they show their ability to do some other things really well too. One of the biggest exceptions to the album of similar sounds is the aforementioned "Rode in on Horseback", which still starts off with a few of these standard riffs, but later goes into a gradual build, utilizing some inventive tapping sounding similar to math rock. There's a noticeable lack of variations like this in the rest of the album, which is a real shame.

As far as other things go, there's not much to say. For a band of their popularity at the time, the production is clear, though nothing to write home about. None of the instruments really stand out, which is a definite plus since there's no pointless showing off. The songs are coherent, they just lack development.

Scale the Summit is definitely a band to keep an eye on. Since this album they've shot into the technical and prog metal scene as something different, and they have their own distinct sound. They have shown evolution, and for those who love their other stuff, they can only find enjoyment on Monument.