CD Review
This review was originally written by Jose Bernardo for www.theweeklyriff.com between 2008 and 2010.
These were Jose’s first impressions of the songs and were not written after multiple spins.
Artist: Scale The Summit
Album: Carving Desert Canyons (2009 Prosthetic)
Tracks: 8
Artist website: http://www.scalethesummit.com
OVERVIEW
Technical music seldom yields something pleasing and accessible to people who are not musicians themselves. However, the music of Scale The Summit manages to do things that most “technical” music doesn’t: captivating the listener. And that’s not all – it’s all instrumental! No flashy singer to look at. No lyrics to grab hold of to tell you where the singalong sections are.
This music is definitely written by extremely gifted and technically proficient guys. One of the things I most like about the music here is that it doesn’t feel like it would take a superhuman brain to play this stuff. It would take a lot of practice and dedication but it’s not totally unachievable.
Unfortunately, the music does get a little repetitive at times and can be a bit taxing to listen to. I hope that Scale The Summit will continue their evolution into a band that will perfect the idea of making technically challenging music while not sacrificing the idea to be musical. Carving Desert Canyons is a very good effort!
HIGHLIGHTS:
Bloom, Glacial Planet, Giants
PLAY BY PLAY
Track 1 – Bloom
Very cool short track that sets the pace for the whole album. It segues very nicely into track 2.
Track 2 – Sargasso Sea
Very beautiful themes but a bit repetitive in places.
Track 3 – The Great Plains
Very nice themes and arrangement here.
Track 4 – Dunes
Cool ideas here.
Track 5 – Age Of The Tide
Very interesting ideas here that have really been executed with precision.
Track 6 – Glacial Planet
Very cool themes in this one.
Track 7 – City In The Sky
Awesome bass solo in this one! Cool themes too.
Track 8 – Giants
Absolutely fantastic! This is my favorite track on the whole record.