Scale The Summit
Gig Seeker Pro

Scale The Summit

Band Rock

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Scale The Summit: Texas Instruments (GuitarWorld Magazine)"

Originally published in Guitar World, April 2009 (By: Kory Grow)

The Texas instrumentalists sheds some light on their latest album, Monument.

"I feel like, in most bands, the singer is the weakest link,” says Chris Letchford, one of the two guitarists in Houston, Texas–based instrumental prog-rockers Scale the Summit. “There are some guys I really like, but it doesn’t matter how good they are—it wouldn’t work over our music.”

You can take Letchford’s opinion with a grain of salt, but he’s right about one thing: Scale the Summit’s music is too intricate for vocals. The quartet’s second album, Carving Desert Canyons (Prosthetic), is full of tightly woven guitar interplay, irregular time signatures and tasteful licks. (This month’s CD-ROM includes a finger-tapping lesson from the album track “The Great Plains.”)

“On our last album, Monument, we played as technically as we could,” says Letchford. “On the new one, we decide to just write good songs and not concentrate so much on making it complex.”

Of course, making music sound simple is often harder than it looks, especially when you do everything you can to test yourself. Letchford, for instance, plays a custom made eight-string guitar (tuned, low to high, B E A D G B E G) after seeing jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter play a similar instrument. His co-guitarist, Travis LeVrier, plays a seven-string on Carving Desert Canyons. They keep track of their instrumental acrobatics by writing out the songs in standard notation on the fly, something each guitarist learned to do while attending GIT.

It’s this knack for discipline that lets them fine-tune their music so it can stand on its own. And as LeVrier says, “We’re not about to change how we write our music just to fit in vocals.” - Guitar World Magazine


"Somethingpunk.com Review (5/5)"

Reviewed by André Monnéy

How do you feel? What kind of a mood are you in? Who do you think can help you get in a better mood? These are all questions that aren’t necessarily asked when you are listening to music. More so, these questions are asked when visiting a shrink or getting a consultation for some prescribed pill that is suppose to make you feel better; however, all these questions apply to the aura Scale The Summit creates with their debut, Carving Desert Canyons.

Whether it’s the darker moods of “Sargasso Sea” or the uplifting yet punishing “The Great Plains,” you’ll be happy to know that while Scale The Summit is a slightly virtuoso instrumental metal band, they adhere to the policy that every genre should be incorporated into their art. Scale The Summit can fit in just about any genre of music. The band may claim to be “adventure metal,” but let’s face it they are just as much of an advertisement for Mr. Emo and Mr. Metalhead. The beauty of Carving Desert Canyons is that while it generally attracts metal fans with its 8-string guitar attack—an instrument which is generally out of reach for the casual guitar player—it will undoubtedly stick with anyone who is open enough to listen to music without vocals.

I’ve never been one to buy into the whole metal for the masses concept, but Scale The Summit has truly crafted something everyone can enjoy no matter their preference in music. I’ve had friends who were into the extreme side of Napalm Death and friends who were into the mellower side of Straylight Run thank me for introducing them to Carving Desert Canyons. If that’s not a sign of doing something right, I don’t know what is.

Recommended If You Like: Behold…The Arctopus, Pelican, A vocal free Circa Survive - Somethingpunk.com


"Carving Desert Canyons Review (9/10)"

Sound: Very intellectual metal. Not necessarily over thought, but definitely well planned. Instrumental, too complicated for vocals. Lots of different techniques used in playing, though sometimes hard to hear. I saw an interview with these guys in a very popular guitar magazine and got the low down on this way-better-than-their-last-one album. On their first album they intentionally tried to make it as complicated as possible, and it showed. Yes, it was a half step shy of a technical masterpiece (and probably darn near impossible to perform consistently), but it lacked feeling and soul. This album still retains the ridiculous level of technical playing and free form song structure, but relies heavily on feeling and groove to drive the technical runs. This album makes you want to bang your head more than read a book about it lol. The style is what I like to call 'Epic Metal'. Every song is meant to sound huge and deep. Other than that all I'd really like to add is that these guys have wonderful tone and play on the neck pickup more than any other metal player I've heard. Plus one of the guitarists plays a custom made eight string guitar and is, in my opinion, freakin' crazy for it. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: There are no lyrics, and I'm very glad of that fact. Too often these days I hear singers who just can't keep up with the band they're 'fronting'. This music was meant to be heard on it's own. It tells wonderful stories and stimulates the imagination. So I guess you could say it does have lyrics, just not ones produced by a human voice box. They're more like images that flood your mind while taking the music in. // 9

Impression: I can't say that these guys really sound like any other band out there. Yeah, you could probably argue all day about who their playing influences are and who they stole that technique from. But at the end of the day these guys make some great music that really jumps into a few genres quite easily and blurs the lines so much it's near impossible to tell which ones it's in lol. I haven't picked a favorite track yet, but give me time. I'm not sure if someone can really steal mp3 files and leave behind copies, but if some crazy fool did copy this album and then erase it from my computer I'd probably beat him severely about the lips and eyebrows until he cried for his mommy. - Ultimate-Guitar.com


"Carving Desert Canyons Review (9.6/10)"

With the release of their sophomore CD, Carving Desert Canyons, Scale The Summit are proving they are here to stay. This is a an instrumental disc with unbelievably technical yet melodic playing as the focal point .The guitar shredig is top notch and tune after tune will leave the listener spent and in awe. These guys are talented, it is even more evident on this disc than on their debut release, it is truly amazing what these guys can make their instruments do. Unconcerned with conventional boundaries these guys let loose with an unbridled metal attack.

It is a difficult feat to sustain a record on just the playing alone, if not careful it becomes a self-indulgent vanity project that more often than not leaves the listener bored within just a few minutes. Carving Desert Canyons is different. I think it’s success is due not only to the incredible playing of the band members but also to the variety and style of the songs, they are not all balls to the wall metal, there are tempo changes galore and a variety of musical styles melded in with the heaviness.

As an amateur guitarist (a self-proclaimed hack) and someone who has been in and around the music business for the past 18 years I was thoroughly impressed with this disc. This is a great CD from a group of incredibly talented and gifted musicians.

The only real downer here is that the disc is only eight tracks and thirty-nine minutes long, (not nearly long enough). I hope that we hear more from these guys in the near future because I know after hearing these tunes; I want more of this, much more. But alas, I am left salivating for more. - Thrash Magazine


"Carving Desert Canyons Review"

People say I’m a sucker for wankery, and while I’ve attended a G3 concert and own a Transatlantic live DVD, even I have my limits. That’s why I love Carving Desert Canyons, the second album from young Texas punks, Scale the Summit. This band is really the type musicians love to hate. They’re younger than you, and you’ll never be as good at your instrument as they are, but they’ve managed to write an album that blends instrumental mastery with mature songwriting that any prog-geek will eat up.

Each song features epic riff upon epic riff, all slickly layered to create some powerful and emotional tunes. The sound is BIG, and the pure tones from guitarists Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier allow the songs to breathe and take on their own unique characteristics. One thing I found interesting, is that while newer prog and metalcore bands tend to stress speed and blast out notes at furious pace, Scale the Summit slows the pace, and lets the songs evolve naturally. The riffs climb and produce intense dynamics, while the solos are tasteful and are intermixed intelligently within each song’s theme. Sargasso Sea is a highlight, with an fiery intro and lead passage that could’ve been pulled from Death’s “Human“. The Great Plains is another awesome song, with a wide-open main passage leading into a tapping groove that is smooth . The album is full of signature moments and from the harmonic ending to Dunes, to the crunching riffery of City in the Sky. Every song seems to build with a subtle and effortless expertise that is impressive and inspiring.

You may not like instrumental music, and you may not like prog metal, but I think that Scale the Summit has really produced a masterpiece here. Definitely worth a listen and so far, one of my favorite releases of a young 2009. - ReviewsResist.com


Discography

"Monument" (Full Length, Self Released)(2007)
"Carving Desert Canyons" (Full Length, Prosthetic Records)(2009)

Photos

Bio

In a music industry engulfed in replication and mediocrity, SCALE THE SUMMIT has cemented their position as young mavericks (the quartet boasts an average age of 22) with their blend of organic and melodic instrumental music. Already on a number of "most anticipated releases of 2009" lists, Carving Desert Canyons builds upon the band's self-released debut, Monument, with crisper production and songwriting that has grown exponentially over the past three years.
In 2004, guitarists Chris Letchford and Travis LeVrier moved to Los Angeles to attend the Musicians Institute where they met drummer Pat Skeffington. Several months later, the band was completed with the addition of Jordan Eberhardt, While attending M.I. Chris and Travis also attended a luthier course, where the duo learned to build their own custom guitars. 
With an unparalleled chemistry, the band easily progressed into a serious affair. At the end of 2006, SCALE THE SUMMIT moved to the Letchford’s home state of Texas (Houston to be specific), where they recorded their self-released debut album, Monument. The result of a great deal of hard work and commitment, the album stood as a testament to the dedication and perseverance of the young quartet and garnered the group international recognition. Magazines such as Kerrang, Rock Sound and Amp heaped praise upon the band while early radio play also helped to bolster their reputation and fan base.  
SCALE THE SUMMIT’s influences aren’t the obvious names you’d expect – the band reveres the technicality of Dream Theater and Cynic – but at the same time, Letchford feels the band has taken strides toward developing its own identity. "Our music is very organic-sounding. Since we started writing music, we've had people talking about how our music takes them on a journey, so we decided to call it ‘adventure metal.’ It felt better than just calling it ‘progressive metal.’"
Soon after signing with Prosthetic Records in 2008, the band began recording its second album, Carving Desert Canyons, New Jersey’s Nuthouse Recording with producer Tom Beaujour. The album taps into the many different musical textures that SCALE THE SUMMIT has mastered. One example is” Glacial Planet,” which submerses itself into everything, from great chord voicings to heavy riffs and melodic structures. Highlighting the overall dynamic scene of the album is “The Great Plains,” while a particular standout for Letchford is “Dunes,” which he says is “a little different from what we’d normally write, in that it’s slower, heavier and darker.”
“The new album has way more dynamics than Monument,” adds Letchford. “The production alone was our biggest concern for this album. On the last CD, we didn’t quite get the production we wanted or enough time in the studio. We were able to spend a lot more time writing Carving Desert Canyons, and I think it shows, with the song writing having matured”. SCALE THE SUMMIT is preparing for their most active year yet. Entering into the next stage of their careers, the band is hoping to tour throughout the entire year to promote their newest release. SCALE THE SUMMIT’s determination to grow can only be rivaled by the love they have for creating music that they are proud of, regardless of fickle trends or genre classifications. “As far as fitting in with modern music,” Letchford says, “I don’t think that we fit in with anybody-- at all.”