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.