Adventuring into a new genre

Matthew Goulet
Contributor
People all live with viruses, most of them benign; when these harmful tunes infect the brain, the average listener displays no signs of being completely subsumed by unexceptional music. They’re sort of like the sonic version of the human papillomavirus: symptoms don’t always show up, though the results can be deadly.
But creating public awareness for devastating viruses is not my intention – it’s to establish awareness in regard to the rapid spread of bad music (in most cases anything that falls under the umbrella of “mainstream”) and its ultimate destruction of formerly genuine bands.

Let’s scale the summit of reason, shall we? To back up my salvo of accusations and labels, I’ve formed an armada of alternatives, a formidable flotilla of funk and folk that will freak your frontal cortex. My smart bomb comes in the form of an unorthodox, independent-minded group of people that helped build up a genre and simultaneously smash it down with complicated chord progression, sporadic melodies and overall awesomeness.
Scale The Summit is out with their latest album, The Collective.
Formed in 2004, Scale the Summit has peaked on many music charts and weathered many attacks from their perch, but they’re far too high up this mountain of musical mastery to notice the petty criticisms from down here. Ass-kissing, you say? Maybe, but the accolades are well deserved.
What sets Scale the Summit apart from other bands in the same metal subgenre is their lack of vocals. ‘Instru-metal’ is their brand of vocal-free metal, and they make up for the vocals elsewhere. The music literally speaks for itself, and lacks nothing in the frontman department.
Even more astounding is how young the band members are. Their average age is just 22, so they’ve many years ahead to develop as a band. If they’re at this level now, imagine their progress in five, 10 or 20 years.
Their stylistic elements are peculiar and wonderful. The music is hard with moments of softness, always maintaining a level of complexity even in simple harmonies. It maintains a happy atmosphere, something metal bands before them have seldom achieved. Songs like “Gallows” should be listened to on headphones while walking down a sunny street. Certain parts of the songs scream uncertainty, while the mood is cemented in the very atmospheric quality of “Colossal,” the opening track of The Collective.
Whereas many bands have to rely on sound editing to get their cohesive, unified quality, Scale the Summit has it on their own. It’s a quality that makes for outstanding live performances: all of the musicians are constantly on the same wavelength.
Taking time to savour The Collective is a transcendental experience of self-reflection, comparable to the effects of psychedelic drugs. Many fans of the band have described their music as a journey, a form of exploration both musically and personally for the individual; drifting into oneself after listening to the entire album is easy. Scale the Summit’s music lends itself to introspection, and that’s why critics have coined the term “adventure metal” to replace the tired old horse that is “progressive metal.” I’m not knocking the “prog,” but change is good.
Everyone’s level of musical knowledge and fondness is different and we listen to music for different reasons. For those unseasoned listeners, your level of critical listening isn’t the same as that of a professional. You may not pick out the minuscule elements of each song, but you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy expertly performed music.
What is bad music? What is good music for that matter? The subjectivity is the attraction to the medium – what’s certain is that The Collective will take you on a musical journey through passages of the mind rarely ever examined, without ever having to leave the comfort of home.