SCALE THE SUMMIT — Carving Desert Canyons (review)

SCALE THE SUMMIT — Carving Desert Canyons album cover Album · 2009 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
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.
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