My name is Dayle Smith and I play rhythm guitar and
occasional leads in what we define ourselves as just a metal band because we
don't like to confine ourselves to one style.
I guess it could be defined as "weird" metal. We
hail from a small town called Ingersoll near London , Ontario
(links available the 11th)
Website
http://www.scalethesummit.com
http://www.facebook.com/scalethesummit
1. Odyssey
2. Atlas Novus
3. The Olive Tree
4. Narrow Salient
5. Oracle
6. Evergreen
7. The Dark Horse
8. Willow
9. Sabrosa
10. The Traveler
Have you ever watched a movie without needing to see the
film? Have you ever read a book without reading the words? Have you ever
travelled to a far away place without ever having to leave your home? Well that kind of feeling is
something that stems from me ever since I started to listen to this new album
by Scale the Summit .
The album itself is called the Migration and it is a whimsical journey
through melody and rhythms that many instrumental bands all around the world
only dream of writing. Yes I may be a tad bias on this new album because I am such a big fan but
that isn't the case because there has been tons of my favourite bands that have
released new stuff in the past in which I didn't find nearly as good as the early stuff or I
just plain hated it anyways. This album is an experience that takes you from
one realm of your mind to the very last
one, its sense of technicality mixed with melody is the
perfect mix for any metal head or just plain music enthusiast out there.
To me this album seems like a concept album even without
having any lyrics. The songs themselves do have underlying similarities in the
fact they coincide with one another so well. The first song Odyssey is as accurate as a title
for it as it ever could be. It starts off technically impressive as well and
easily obtainable to the ear. It whips through intense riff after riff and then
brings it all back to place of serenity. Like the story itself it is a voyage
but through the music itself. You can almost see a movie while listening to it
because of how thought provoking it is. This song is the perfect way to start
an album and making the listener almost have to listen to the next song without
a second thought.
Atlas Novus is the name of the second track to come in and
it sounds like something you would hear at first intense part a movie or show.
It is up beat and up tempo and calm flowing, it really progresses quite nicely.
It has really nice tapping sections as well as leads that catch the ear quite
well and what ties it all together are the drums and bass. One of the most key
things I loved about this album and like previous albums, is the tone of all
the instruments. The way the guitars sound and how clear the bass is just
astounding to me. They definitely sing with their strings.
The third track, the olive tree is another song show casing
the talents of the band, filled with amazing melodies and insane sound leads,
it can really help make you a fan. With all the bass that cut through it shows how well these
musicians flow with each other and have evolved as a band, especially since the
first album. With songs like the Olive Tree it definitely shows how mature they have grown in
their respected styles as musicians.
The fourth track, Narrow Salient is where the movie starts
to get intense! With heavier sounding riffs it calls for something more evil
but with the same melodic styles they love to use. It shows the listener that they can still be
brutal but keep it in the way that they want to be brutal. And like so many
other songs it progresses into calmer parts while maintaining intense leads and great solos. The
fifth track is called oracle and it is a short one, almost like an interlude
with some very nice chill guitar. The sixth track is probably my favourite track mainly
because of the rhythms. They are so intense near the end of the song that after
I listened to it, I have to relisten to it right after it! It is a song that is just beautiful to my
ear and to anyone who is picking this album up I definitely suggest it!
Another brutal sounding track is the next one called The
Dark Horse, it is full of heavy ripping riffs from back to front, full of
intricate, complicated riffs. Definitely another awesome sounding track that is not one to miss.
Sabrosa is a track that veers right up the alley of any prog metal fan. It is
very similar to Dream Theater/Opeth style of songs which makes it quite awesome! It makes me
realise as a fan who has been listening to this band for a while that they can
constantly progress even further which makes me happy to listen to it. It has many elements
added to it such as more jazz type leads and softer riffs throughout it making
it quite nice to listen to. The last song on the album called the traveller
starts off with some cool effects leading into the main riffs. This shows the
difference in the tones they played with on this album making it more unique
and versatile and let alone interesting, considering they haven't used a lot of
different effects on their previous stuff.
All in all, I have found myself loving this whole album from
start to finish. Not one track has disappointed me in the least bit, it has
left me in awe and wonder on how well a band can't write music and continuously
evolve as a group, instead of writing the generic riffs that got them popular
to begin with. This is an album made for any musician as well as music
enthusiast and especially like myself, a scale the summit fan. It adds flavour
to their entire discography, paving the road to countless amazing live shows
and songs to come. Like I previously stated, it is like listening to a movie or
being transported somewhere on a long journey. This album comes out on June 11th
and anyone who misses it is going to miss one of the best albums of the year,
that is for sure! I give this a 9.5 out of 10, hands down!
No comments:
Post a Comment