Scale the Summit - The Collective

I received an e-mail last week informing me the new Scale the Summit record was out. So not knowing anything about the band I downloaded their record, ready for anything.

The Collective is pretty amazing. Instrumental prog-metal isn't for everyone but as a music nerd I'm all over it. Scale the Summit does a nice job at being interesting without getting self-indulgent. Only two songs are longer then 5 minutes (Whales @ 6:28 and Black Hills @ 7:59) while most of the tracks average between 3 and 4 minutes.

There's nothing super heavy about the Collective but it has its moments. Each guitar solo and riff moves seamlessly from one to the next creating a beautiful layers that move song to song. And while each song is short Scale the Summit does a nice job at making sure tracks move and we aren't listening to the same riff and movement for 4 minutes at a time.

The Collective's biggest flaw is that despite each song being on the short side and Scale the Summit's ability to create different textures and movements in each track, the solos begin to take on a similar form and interest starts to fade as you get into the later songs on the record.

The Collective is still worth a listen in my opinion. The musicianship is excellent on every level. Guitar, bass, and drums are all moving and creating interesting layers through out the record and when giving a critical listen, there is a lot of discover and hear on Scale the Summit's latest.