Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Scale The Summit

Thanks for coming back fellow progheads!  I went off on a lark this week and traveled southwest to Texas just to check out a prog band with a sound that drips of classic prog style and oozes with raw energy. Never mind that my journey was only one time zone to the left--this was a week nothing short of amazing!  I may never get used to snake skin boots, but I can definitely get used to the sounds of Scale The Summit.

Houston Texas is home base for Scale The Summit, a young and talented quartet challenging all the paradigms, norms, and corporate mindsets that believe it takes decades to build a cohesiveness and bond to produce the sound this band pushes through my Bose Acoustimass System.  I pick up traces of Yes, Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, and Porcupine Tree.  Don't be misled into thinking Scale The Summit is a mirror reflection of these prog giants--they are as unique as snowflakes in Hawaii.  Scale The Summit has cultivated an original sound that defies classification and absolutely stands alone.  A self described "progressive adventure metal" band, Scale The Summit conjures up some 60's-like animation in the mind, no?  Let's get a ticket and go for a ride...

Moving quickly to the front of the prog buffet line this week, I start with a song called "Atlas Novus." The soothing feeling of the guitar is almost immediate; the art of speed embraced by tranquility.  This has a strong flavor of Yes going off on one their famous tangents or perhaps The League of Crafty Guitarists leading the listener down the path of prog bliss.  The bass and drums chime in with just enough to fill the piece to the rim without forcing anyone to step on the other.  An outstanding start to what feels like a marvelous week...

My second choice is a song called "Black Hills."  The opening jumps right in; no sense wasting time with formalities when there is prog to be played.  Scale The Summit thumps you a bit with this one; the drums and bass come forward a bit but not so much as to overshadow the hard hitting guitar work.  The pulse you feel is not your own--your blood is flowing through your veins rhythmically courtesy of Scale The Summit.

Liner Notes...Scale The Summit is Chris Letchford and Travis LaVrier on guitars, Pat Skeffington on drums, and Mark Michell on bass.  The band  began to take shape in 2004 on the left coast; Chris and Travis were in L.A. attending The Musicians Institute and hooked up with Pat.  Shortly thereafter one Jordan Eberhardt completed the quartet--only to be replaced later by the aforementioned Mark Michell.  The band moved to Houston in 2006 and cut their debut release...and the rest, as they say, is prog history.  Some Fun Facts to ponder:  The average age of the band members hovers around 22, and Chris and Travis build their own custom guitars...

Serving number three from the prog feast this week is a tune called "The Olive Tree."  The Twilight
Zone-ish opening takes the unsuspecting listener--oh so innocently--straight into a progressive guitar hailstorm. The time changes are a thing to behold; John Petrucci would be proud.  "The Olive Tree" is the song to play when you need a reminder that the baton of progressive music has been safely passed to the next generation...



The clip posted here for your listening pleasure is called "Odyssey."  Scale The Summit hits hard and fast with this song...everyone lays their emotions out right from the get-go.  Of course it wouldn't be Scale The Summit without time changes, tempo swings, and an emotional cyclone tossing you around like a Lego building in the hands of Godzilla...strap yourself down and enjoy the ride.  Learn more about Scale The Summit at http://www.scalethesummit.com/

Once again fellow progheads seven days have fallen off the stop watch like so many raindrops...and in an odd way we are the better for it.  Scale The Summit entered the prog garden with a tiller, turned the soil, and planted a sound that is so distinctive, unique, and exceptional as to be the square prog peg you can't fit in the round rock hole.  I have often heard it said (and repeated it once or twice myself) that youth is wasted on the young...however in this instance I believe youth has been a brilliant student in the prog classroom.  Respecting the parameters of the genre while pushing the boundaries is a gift for both the artist and the listener.  Now about these snakeskin boots...until next week...








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