MONUMENT

Scale the Summit is a US-based band, formed in California in 2004 and currently residing in Houston, Texas according to their MySpace page. Monument is their debut album.

Musically the band plays a type of music that is a mix of fusion and prog metal, with lots of shifts in style and pace, metal riffs and heaviness, but structurally it is all about exploring themes and moods rather than exploring the long melody lines. The band seems to be quite fond of staccato playing, and also likes to explore the odd disharmonic playing. As for influences and similarities I really can't find much myself, as I'm not very familiar with this brand of music from before. Canvas Solaris has been named by others as a comparable band musically.

For me, this album was a frustrating experience. The band play very well, and sound incredibly tight. It's obvious that these guys fit well together musically, and that they have played and rehearsed much as well. Although not being masters of their trade, the musicianship as such seems to be quite good, and the band sounds really good even when venturing into real complex riff and rhythm patterns.

I do have a problem with the songs though. The repetitive short patterns, often just 3-4 seconds long, are usually explored and repeated before moving on to the next pattern. The complexity of those patterns leaves little room for proper songs, moods and atmospheres as I like them personally. The songs here showcase the band's technical abilities excellently; but for me this is sounds more like showing off and making technical exercises and less like playing songs as such.

So for me, this isn't a good album. But if you like listening to good musicianship and finds that more interesting than songs as such this album will probably be a real gem.