Scale The Summit
The Collective

In a period of experimental fermentation of music, and particularly of metal, there are those who have decided to drastically cut their approach and present themselves to the public with determination and without any hesitation. The Texan band Scale the Summit has therefore decided to develop a unique way of presenting music: an entirely instrumental heavy/prog metal, with guitar, bass, and drums each telling their own stories. Now you may be wondering what heavy/prog metal means. Don't worry: they don't sound like Iron Maiden and don't blast like Dream Theater. The sound forged by the American quartet is articulated on different pitches ranging from muscular sections with a modern thrash flavor to escapes close to post-rock shores. All played with attitude and class.

This style is what "The Collective" follows, the third album of the combo, released last month for the Prosthetic Records label two years after "Carving Desert Canyons." Positively received by most of the industry's critics, the album in question is definitely one of definitive artistic maturation, where all the ideas thrown down with the first two works here take on a more efficient and well-defined stylistic appearance. The band seems to have found the right compositional coordinates and partly abandons the robust sound of "Carving Desert Canyons" to reconnect with a path that certainly leans towards softer shores with fewer metal and more experimental contours. Compared to the rigid patterns of the aforementioned album, in "The Collective," both guitarists Letchford and Levrier and bassist Eberhardt indulge in ramblings and solitary escapes. Compared to the past, the work becomes less homogeneous but more captivating in terms of style. Evidence of this is the splendid "The Levitated" which has very little metal and where we are shown the verve of the three previously mentioned musicians. A credit note goes to bassist Jordan Eberhardt, who contributes with his instrument to give greater variety to the compositions and also demonstrates excellent technique.

Thus "The Collective" becomes a perfect ensemble of complex, heavy segments and post-rock-like digressions, but where the basic imprint remains always clearly visible. "Gallows" highlights this blend, and "Black Hills" reaffirms it with strength and sweetness at the same time.

Some have compared them to Pelican, others to God is an Astronaut. Here and there, one can hear the influence of other musical realities, but Scale the Summit has demonstrated with "The Collective" that they have a precise direction and have also managed to vary (at least in part) what they had described in their previous two works.

It is certainly not music that can be immediately assimilated, with nuances and riffs that appear new each time the CD is replayed. Yet the band's strength is noticeable from the very first notes. In short, a band to discover completely.

1. "Colossal" (3:48)
2. "Whales" (6:28)
3. "Emersion" (2:33)
4. "The Levitated" (3:02)
5. "Secret Earth" (3:39)
6. "Gallows" (4:33)
7. "Origin Of Species" (2:45)
8. "Alpenglow" (3:57)
9. "Black Hills" (7:59)
10. "Balkan" (3:44)
11. "Drifting Figures" (3:10)