Release Date: June 11, 2013
The “progressive” bands of yesteryear were the first to earn this title with their unconventional instrumentation, structures, and modes. That era marked the melding of the strict theory of classical music with the openness of psychedelic rock, and the result would forever affect rock and roll, whether in opposition or in honor of that.
Now, in the realms of progressive or tech-metal, attention is paid to the same details, but the result isn’t groundbreaking like the progressive royalty of King Crimson or Yes. The progressive music of today is synonymous with heavy metal, featuring endless solos and hyper-fast arpeggios which often come at the expense of true feeling (see: Dreamtheatre).
Scale the Summit may fall into these pitfalls, but holds all of these assumptions to the litmus test of authenticity with its latest LP The Migration. The album art for The Migration seems to pay homage to its progressive predecessors—it channels the style of psychedelic landscape art found on Yes albums. A series of giant grassy knolls are stepping out of a lush field and turning into hill-beasts, and it’s as if The Migration is about the journey of these grassy, tree-headed creatures.
The journey of The Migration fires off with “Odyssey.” A quick pace is always assumed from Scale the Summit, but on “Odyssey” and other tracks, the pace slows on a dime to bring out some groovier elements of the band’s style.
There are moments in previous albums where these changes seem pointedly chosen, and other times where riffs just seem slapped together. The Migration suffers much less from this, and Scale the Summit’s new expansive sound seems to be the cure.
The epic “Atlas Novus” brings out this diversity in calmer sections that touch on Post-Rock vibes with delay-soaked arpeggios and tapped-out riffs that don a pleasant modality. The carefully selected and placed phrases come close to the hectic moments of the band Explosions in the Sky.
Being an instrumental band, Scale the Summit has more room to show off, but it seems like it’s taken a page from vocalist-fronted bands on The Migration. Some sections are stripped down, repetitive, and thus catchy. “The Olive Tree” has simplistic, chorus-like sections that could be easily envisioned alongside heavy vocals and are welcome amidst the note-assault.
However, not every fast riff comes off as frenzied. Scale the Summits maturity has brought it many things, but most notably, it’s become a jam-band. Yes, it’s a strong label ripe with connotation, but Scale the Summit moves into these moments without stepping on any toes.
“Oracle” is a mixed up mash of righteous, jammy licks carried by groovy bass lines that are slapped up against thick-toned, face-melting heaviness. Bits and pieces of “Willow” and other songs are reminiscent of the styling and tone choice of progressive jam-band Umphreys McGee.
The revolutionary Axe-FX pre-amp is what makes these choices possible, and also what gives The Migration a glossy, over-produced sound. Aside from the purists, many guitarists use this all-in-one pre-amp to imitate amp and effect tones and thus avoid lugging around countless pedals and amps.
The Migration ends with the sound of a vinyl crackling through the speaker, and this isn’t because the recording is a vinyl rip. It’s a sonic nod to all the audio junkies who love pure analog sound, despite being conceptually in conflict with the band’s use of the wholly digital Axe-FX.
For Scale the Summit, the perfectly compressed tones of the Axe-FX allow the ultra-fast successive notes to come through clear, and its style translates even better because of this. The Migration front to back has a flawless feel, and Scale the Summit brings the facet of progress back to progressive metal, a genre which seems to be drying up in a heap of death-core and Symphony X albums.
Scale the Summit – The Migration tracklist:
- “Odyssey”
- “Atlas Novus”
- “The Olive Tree”
- “Narrow Salient”
- “Oracle”
- “Evergreen”
- “The Dark Horse”
- “Willow”
- “Sabrosa”
- “The Traveler”
