Scale the Summit – Carving Desert Canyons
Prosthetic Records – 6561910070-2 – 17 February 2009
By Neil Hauer
Progressive metal has been undergoing somewhat of a renaissance lately, and the last several years have seen some household names in the genre inking major recording deals as well as an explosion in the sheer size of the scene. Riding the wave of this success are newcomers
Scale the Summit, a young quartet hailing from the unlikely location of Texas. Choosing to forego harsh, clean, or indeed any vocals at all, they have instead opted to let their musical skills speak for them, attempting to paint a panorama with a decidedly limited canvas. A risky move, perhaps, but at least a somewhat unique one.
From the onset, it’s quite clear that the technical talents of the band are beyond question, as abrupt opener ‘
Bloom’ is thoroughly riddled with shifting, interlocking guitar lines and challenging percussive acrobatics. It’s all too easy to immediately liken them to fellow instrumental virtuosos
Canvas Solaris, but as the album progresses, it becomes apparent that
Scale the Summit are playing with their self-stated goal of crafting ‘adventure metal’ in mind. There are no shortage of intricate panoramic soundscapes to be found: from the majestic, lingering guitar lines of ‘
Sargasso Sea’ to the delicate restraint of ‘
The Great Plains’ and driving rhythmic pulse of ‘
Age of the Tide’, the music provides a refreshing balance of resplendent imagery and tasteful pyrotechnics, something notably lacking from a number of their contemporaries. However, the true diamond in the rough is located in the crucial closing slot, where a tapestry of racing guitar leads spend the majority of ‘
Giants’ weaving divergent paths, only to converge at a handful of points to provide a truly sublime refrain that epitomizes the chief strength of this album: its coherence. The band avoid extended tangents and exercise capable restraint, a definite asset.
Much like their aforementioned instrumental brethren, it’s easy to get lost in the sweeping melodies of
Carving Desert Canyons, forgetting the impressive levels of refined technical skill simultaneously on exhibit. A mere sequence of notes is impressive but immediately forgettable, and the true strength of
Scale the Summit is their ability to skilfully meld virtuosity and direction into a single cohesive package. For that single all-important achievement, they have attained a landmark that seems so very difficult to reach in progressive metal recently, and it has certainly earned this release recommendation as one of the better albums to emerge this year.
Official Scale the Summit Website
Official Scale the Summit Myspace
Official Prosthetic Records Website
