SCALE THE SUMMIT

At first I could not believe it. I thought music from this genre is noise. But this album isn't. It has melody! It has harmonies! It isn't 200 beats per minute! It is rarely even over 120 bpm it seems. There is also no problem with growling vocals either, because it does not have any. And the guitars are not so distorted that you think an aeroplane is starting, no! The guitars are only slightly distorted and have a pleasant sound.

It is mainly guitar oriented music with a few ambient synthesizers, for example the way it begins in the intro track. Additionally, the musicians use more strings on the bass and guitars than is allowed (6 for bass and 7 or 8 for the guitars), which results in an extended harmony range that can be heard.

The music contains interesting rhythmical patterns, playful bass lines, harmonic shifts and chordal breaks, accompanied by atmospheric and smooth guitar solo lines, which have at times a Fripp-like feeling about it. Sometimes it reminds me a bit of post rock.

My recommendations for listening: Emersion, Secret Earth

(Thanks to Plankowner for introducing this album to me.)

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.

Even as a relatively youthful act, US instrumental metal act Scale The Summit has been met with some success. Now having opened for the legendary Dream Theater and supported some other big artists in the scene, the band now has three albums under their belts.Although their youth and inexperience shone clearly through in their live performance, the studio is where the band seems to feel best at home, and 2011's album 'The Collective' might be their most mature effort yet.

Especially when it comes to the instrumental variety of progressive metal, the style is usually wrought with egos, technical showboating, and a mission statement to boldly play faster and more complex than anyone else. In this sense, Scale The Summit almost instantly distinguishes themselves from the rest of this scene in the sense that they are almost always focused on melody, and beauty over ferocity. Although they haven't changed up their sound too much since starting out with their debut 'Monument', Scale The Summit still seem to be progressing forward, this time even putting a few jazzier nuances in to trip things up.

The music is kept fairly light, without many ominous, or incredibly dramatic moments to keep it going. Instead, it feels as if Scale The Summit has composed yet another album of technical, pleasant background music with this album. Granted, the musicianship of each member is incredibly sound, and there is some fairly technical material to delve into here. Scale The Summit may not be faulted for their presentation or even composition, but they do lack the emotional energy; Although the music is tastefully done and never stagnating, 'The Collective' rarely feels as if it has an emotional tension behind it; the music instead flows freely and doesn't allow for the listener to gain a lasting emotional impression.

A great album for tasteful, pleasantly designed progressive metal, but Scale The Summit still seem to lack some power in their formula.

Scale the Summit are an all instrumental technical metal / fusion band. THE COLLECTIVE is their third album.

I was introduced to Scale the Summit as they opened the ProgNation tour during their Carving Desert Canyons period, and was impressed with the technicality and work ethic of the young band. While that album left me a little cold, THE COLLECTIVE is a huge step forward in musicality. Taking a page from post-rock / post-metal atmospherics (or maybe from some of the djent players like Cloudkicker), this is a much more emotional record than their previous work. Where I had mentioned that the previous album seemed to be lacking a lead element, THE COLLECTIVE features some great melodic playing and the lyricism of the guitarists is to me just as impressive as the chops that have always fueled the StS sound. While the technical aspects are still present, the fast-fingered displays are much more subdued.

With the huge influence of Animals as Leaders across the guitar and metal community, it is no surprise that StS have more odd time signatures, more clean jazzy chording, and of course the requisite multi-stringed guitars and bass. But the melodicism points back toward Sean Malone's Gordian Knot project more than the more tech-y Exivious album. Still, the Cynic ethic of meaningful high technique permeates this album. The clean two-handed work on "The Levitated" is very well done and the complex rhythms are seamless. The only possible problem is that perhaps the album is too mellow. "Gallows" is initially one of the more aggressive songs but even that track slips back into the dreamy territory of modern fusion after the initial riffage. By the end of the album, usually my attention has wandered. And for a tech metal band, there aren't alot of "Wow" moments. This is where I think the Animals as Leaders album shines, as it both impresses as well as emotes.

Overall, this is a huge step forward for the young band. The musicality has improved so much, but the genre has also moved forward substantially in the last few years. There are increasingly more and more good metal fusion albums out there, and StS certainly remain in the mix of the better new bands. If asked I would definitely pick THE COLLECTIVE as their best work. But I also forsee even better work in the future if they manage to merge the excitement of pushing the boundaries of technique with their newly evolved emotional expression.

As it is, this is a great background music album for aging metalheads such as I. I can listen to this at work or home and offend no one, but still satisfy my love of great guitar playing and complexity. It's a 3-4/5 star album, and I'm feeling generous today.

Carving Desert Canyons, this band's sophomore album and a great favorite of mine from 2009, had me dying for more of this tasty band. The licks, soloing, and overall "adventurous" atmosphere of the music was purely infectious. This year, when they announced the release of "The Collective," I was ecstatic. To hear more was going to be purely sublime! The studio updates, little snipets of news from the bands, and anything else I could get just fed my desire for this new album. However, when they released "Whales" a few weeks before the release of the album, I was puzzled: where'd the adventure go? The band had turned to a bit more riff based, more "metal" album. However, with more and more listens, the track began to grow on me: the new style fused the bands already great uniue style with their influences of Cynic and Dream Theater into a jazzy and dynamic debut for the band. When the album came out, again I was not greatly impressed, but soon the album began to grow on me. Sections where at first cringed began to turn into boughs of joy, and the album took a turn for the better for me.

The album opens with an ambient soundscape the leads into the "colossal" track Colossal. Breaking off from the ambiance with a smashing riff and some sweeping riffing, the track starts the album off on a great foot. As we've known since the beginning these guys are no musical amateurs- they can rip out a kickin' solo any day of the week without a sweat- which is seen plenty of times on this song, and on this album.

Whales, as I mentioned in the intro, is certainly a grower. Opening with a more mellow lick, the song takes a slow entry. It takes a little while for the jazzy progressions to really get on their feet, but once they start to move, they certainly move. A very strong Cynic influence is heard throughout the song, giving a tasty dose of jazzy metal influence to spice things up a bit. Once the solo section kicks in, that's where the true power of Scale the Summit's composition can be heard. Complementing harmonies with spot on melodies with spot on rhythms with spot on low ends and high ends and everything in between, the band sure knows how to rip open a song and fill it with only the good song. Certainly a favorite of mine from this album.

Emersion drags the album down a bit. The opening is one of the most awkward musical pieces I've heard in a while, with the band trying to utilize chromatic jazz- and it doesn't work out very well. However, once the song starts to get started, it matures into a great and adventurous piece of music- even though it is only 2 minutes long.

The main purpose of Emersion in my opinion has to be as a great intro to the next track: The Leviated. One of the more jazzy tracks on the album, we hear more two hand tapping, just like the landmark track Great Plain on the last album. The song is very chill and laid back, building and receding, emerging and returning, throughout the whole thing. Overall, this is another one of my favorites for the album, displaying the bands more emotional and heartfelt side of composition.

Secret Earth is another very mellow and jazz-based track. Instituting a great dynamic between melodic noodling and heavier riffs behind it, the song starts off immediately on a great foot. The solos are heavily melody based and take you off on an adventure to secret earth. Another fantastic track, for sure.

Gallows is certainly the heaviest track on the album, kicking off with a rotary style drum solo and some fast riffing from the guitar department. An obvious departure from the bands usual style, the song serves a dual purpose of giving the album a nice dynamic and broadening the band's musical portfolio. The solo tapping section is a great solo also, utilizing some sublime harmony skills. Overall, although different from much of the band's usual show, the song shows the band that they can do pretty much whatever they want and get away with it.

Origin of the Species, although again being only 2 minutes, is another fast and fierce track. Fusing the adventure and riffing that have made this album more dynamic than usual, we can see a great trend here. Although it does not seem as original as some of the other track, it still proffers some great new sounds to their discography.

Alepnglow is another jazzy and melodic track. The song starts with a mellow lick, and breaks into a nice solo with a bit of a harder edge. Although the solos in this song can get a bit repetitive, they still can give a great case for musical dominance. Years spent at the Musicians Institute seem to have served these fine gentlemen well. Overall, this track is another great one, even if some transitions seem a bit sudden and soloing can be a bit repetitive.

Black Hills, the longest track in their discography as of yet (just about 8 minutes), understandably contains a lot of great material. The song has some fantastic dynamics, transitioning flawlessly from sweeping riff sections to mellow and ambient sections. The solos again are near flawless, showcasing this bands awesome musical prowess.

Balkan sees the winding down of the album. It opens slowly, and although the licking gets a little heavier, it still retains that mellow tempo at which the song with sustain through the first section of the track. Soon the track with transition into a sweeping force that quickly traverses through fields of sonic mastery, giving way to even more great output from the band.

Drifting Figures, the closing track, is a great closer. Maintaining a mellow tapping rhythm for most of the track, the song acts as a relaxing piece of music, great for letting the listener slip into a post-Collective trance to contemplate the beauty of the music they just experienced. Overall a great closer to a great album.

ALBUM OVERALL: The Collective is certainly a grower. If you are not impressed by your first listen (I wasn't), listen again. And again. The album's natural ability to wow will kick in sooner or later. Now I'm in a quandary on how this racks up against Carving Desert Canyons, seeing as the albums are so drastically different, but I think I will go for yes, this beats the great CDC, for its superb compositions and ambiances, it's great atmosphere and musical virtuosity: yes, The Collective is a very near masterpiece, and certainly the best this band has to offer us yet! 4 stars.

For awhile it seemed like Scale the Summit were everywhere, opening multiple prog metal tours, and no one can fault their work ethic. I saw the tail end of their show on the Prog Nation tour in 2009, and their talent was clearly on display. The group is a gathering of young guys who clearly love what they're doing, and have really worked to achieve a high level of technical ability. They came out after their slot and were personable and easy to like. Unfortunately, I personally don't think this kind of music works terribly well live unless the sound is remarkably good, and this was the case for STS. The quality of tech metal depends on nuance and no opening band gets the definition necessary for that. Live metal is just too loud, boomy, and is rarely mixed for detail. Because I could tell that the band had some chops, but couldn't really get a good read based on their live show, I picked up CARVING DESERT CANYONS.

The album is clearly better than the live performance I saw. But it is simply begging for vocals. There's just not enough going on, not enough central lead element for the listener to cue in on. Unlike contemporary metal albums by Exivious and Animals as Leaders, these pieces come across as constructions rather than songs. There's plenty of great playing but not a real artistic point. I'm not expecting anything terribly deep. Often in technical metal, the point of a record is a "Wow" factor in terms of chops. The listener and the player share in the excitement of "Dayyummm boy, you killin that thang." But here there is no swagger or flash, though these guys probably have the chops to match up with some of the swashbucklers. For instance the track, "The Great Plains" features some of the clean tapping hand interplay, powerful harmony leads, and some slick drumwork. But there's just not enough emotion.

Occasionally the repetitive riffs slide into a post-rockish mode but that whole genre depends on dynamic ebbs and flows. This album has almost no dynamic variation. I'm being harsh, and I must admit that this is very good playing just for the sake of playing. But the young members of this band have yet to figure out the point of music, which is to make a connection between player and listener. Simply playing in a cool style with great prowess isn't enough, at least for me. Songs need a beginning, middle, and end. Setting the scene is not enough, you actually have to have an event. Luckily STS have plenty of time to learn, and I suspect that all the touring will leave a big impression on these guys before we get the next album.

This is a 2-3 star album which I'm giving a little nudge because they seem like good kids. But I'm expecting something a little better next time. Some danger, some bite, some fire.

Scale The Summit are a relatively new progressive (or as they call it "adventure") metal band that have toured with prog metal giants Dream Theater and have gathered quite the cult following, especially amongst technique loving musicians. Carving Desert Canyons is their latest album, and it certainly delivers a tasty punch of adventurous instrumental metal that can easily leave you flying high above the clouds in the ecstasy of the band's great music.

Bloom is the killer opener that really does just that, bloom, into a wonderful little 2 minute opener. Sadly, it is only 2 minutes and does end leaving you hanging a little bit. The melody and rhythms all mesh spectacularly in one wonderful piece of music. Every member pulls their weight to start this freight train to keep on chugging throughout the album.

Sargasso Sea has a swift chugging opener that soon flows into some soaring solos from the guitars and some really epic synchronizations with the 8 and 7 string guitars, which break into some heavenly polyrhythms that are just right in every way. Oddly, this song's 5 minute length seems a little bit much for the song. The song has some great ideas, but to make it 5 minutes they needed to throw in a couple extra that make for some awkward transitions. Overall, a good track, but could have used a trim (and that excess could have gone to Bloom!!)

The Great Plains is the absolute best track on the album. A fan favorite, a band favorite, a critic favorite, the whole track is a tasty piece of music. Through the killer first section you can hear genius at work- from great harmonizations with the two guitars and the bass to the meshing of rhythm and melody. The whole thing is just great. However, the thing that really makes this track spectacular is that signature tapping section. Featured on virtually every guitar outlet around, it's obviously amazing. Every infectious note makes my body shake with excitement. The only bad part is the wait they put you through to reach the good stuff!

Dunes is a quick little riffing piece similar to the other songs, with some great harmonization, instrumentation, technical skill, and all that great stuff. Polyrhythms abound in this track also, making it even more infectious to a polyrhythm lover like myself!

Age of Tide is yet another adventurous riffing piece full of creative harmonizations and synchronization. The song has some great transitions between the band's ideas with where the music is going, from a soaring solo section to a low to the ground 7 string chugging section, and back again.

Glacial Planet is my second favorite track on the album. The song starts out slow, building in melodic steps of joy. Soon, the song breaks open into a bopping and infectious guitar riff. The solos are melodic and fun, reviving a slowly decaying system of riff-solo-riff with some more creative solos and riffs. The song is almost bipolar (in a good way), with song switching madly from soaring solo to chugging in the 8th string register, to melodic picking, back to solos and all of it again. The track is a great ride to go on, making that Glacial Planet an epic image indeed.

City in the Sky does continue the overbearing motif of adventurous riffing with adventurous soloing. Listening through the entire album, at this point the music begins to fade into a continuous stream of the same thing, but if you pick one song at a time, the music is incredibly inventive and fun. This song does feature some more interesting parts, such a much more prominent bass solo, breaking from the countless guitar solos. It also has another pseudo-tapping section, and some more creative harmonizations.

Giants is the "giant" track on the album, clocking in at over 7 minutes (gasp). The song is faster and more hard hitting that the rest of them, with a swifter rhythm and some quick and attacking rifffing. Some cool octave/harmony things are going on throughout the song that also make the song a nice treat and a fantastic ending to this great album.

ALBUM OVERALL: This album has extremely strong up sides and very few downsides. The best way to listen to this album is to listen to the first 3 tracks uninterrupted, then listen to all the other tracks individually, because over the sadly short 40 minute length of the album, the music can get somewhat repetitive and begins to seem boring. The music is insanely good, but many of the same ideas seem to be used more than once. Overall, musically the album is incredible, melodically, rhythmically, harmonizationally, and every other good aspect of music is in there in perfect quantity. However, as I said before, the music begins to taper into "been here before" territory. So, listen to the essential tracks individually or else you may ruin them for yourself. 4 stars.

Technical certainly, Extreme not as much. At least not compared to the hardcore tech of BtA or Ron Jarzombek's various projects. Closer to a less dirtied Collapsar or F*cking Champs, or maybe if Eddie Van Halen in a moment of detached inspiration made the solo album of his dreams. Either way you slice it, these guys are strong, deliberate, and definitely have something to say with their scrubbed and spotless rhythms, surprising changes, richly layered crusades, and Travis Levrier & Chris Letchford's tight-as-a-sailor's-knot guitar lines. Complaints of this CD's 'repetitiveness' are fair I suppose and the eights tracks do sometimes blend into one long opus, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Not with these guys.

'Bloom' chimes brightly with laserbeam dualities from the guitars. Pat Skeffington, one of the most kick-ass skin-whackers this veteran has heard in a while, supports Letchford & Levrier's inventions with confident fury and turns in one of the best drum performances of '09. Almost unnoticed, 'Sargasso Sea' extends the progress nicely, and 'The Great Plains' regroups to shift the direction toward a more melodic landscape, some bubbly fingering on guitar, and the sensitive response from Skeffington and bassist Jordan Eberhardt. 'Dunes' demonstrates maddening mazes of circularity, the net-less acrobatics in 'Glacial Planet' is continued for 'City in the Sky' showing a mood for sci-fi, and 'Giants' is a thematic reprise.

A great-sounding album by a group brimming with talent, and worthy of some attention.

"Bloom" An exciting way to begin the album, that opening lead is extremely inspiring.

"Sargasso Sea" Heavy, chugging chords begin this one and remain a constant feature.

"The Great Plains" Probably the best introduction on the album (allowing the music to breathe, as it were), this piece has palm-muted guitar and a fairly straightforward series of chord progressions with some really amazing riffs bridging it all together. Some elegant clean guitar makes for a beautiful middle section.

"Dunes" The heaviness resumes with two static riffs playing side-by-side.

"Age Of The Tide" The heavy drumming doesn't seem to work alongside the more graceful guitars on this one. Otherwise, it's a real peppy instrumental.

"Glacial Planet" The band tones things way down at first , laced with elegant, clean guitar and light drumming. Unfortunately, the introduction is extremely short-lived, as the heavy-handed guitar and rhythm section enter, backing up more lackluster guitar soloing.

"City In The Sky" Essentially more chugging guitars, thudding bass, heavy drums and lead guitar, this is another exercise in sameness, offering no desperately-needed variety. There is a pretty good bass solo, however.

"Giants" The lengthiest and last piece is, as expected, more dual guitar riffs and runs accompanied by over-the-top drumming and passable bass. Ultimately, it is more of the same- very little on this record stands out, but it's all right for what it is.