Band Origin: Houston, Texas, USA
Genre: Instrumental Progressive
Label: Prosthetic Records
Running Time: 46 minutes
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Best Part: Has a different tone from their previous two albums which were relatively upbeat in comparison, giving the record a different feel to it altogether.
Favorite Tracks: Alpenglow, Black Hills, Whales, The Levitated, and Balkan
Grade: 4
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The Collective in way more than 20 words or less:
The Collective is a more mellowed out, somber drive into the minds of this young quartet who have literally carved their way into the progressive spotlight with their sophomore release Carving Desert Canyons back in 2009.
The Band:
Scale the Summit is a four man group out of Houston who play a mixture of laid back and upbeat instrumental progressive music. The band was originally head-manned primarily by guitarists Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier, and drummer Pat Skeffington, whom they met while attending the Musicians Institute in L.A. The future addition of bassist Jordan Eberhardt rounded out the group and the band would come to know a great deal of success following the release of their second album Carving Desert Canyons, earning them touring spots alongside progressive metal giants Dream Theater and future tour spots in support of artists including Devin Townsend, Cynic and Between the Buried and Me in 2010 - which I was lucky enough to see on tour.
Scale the Summit is a four man group out of Houston who play a mixture of laid back and upbeat instrumental progressive music. The band was originally head-manned primarily by guitarists Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier, and drummer Pat Skeffington, whom they met while attending the Musicians Institute in L.A. The future addition of bassist Jordan Eberhardt rounded out the group and the band would come to know a great deal of success following the release of their second album Carving Desert Canyons, earning them touring spots alongside progressive metal giants Dream Theater and future tour spots in support of artists including Devin Townsend, Cynic and Between the Buried and Me in 2010 - which I was lucky enough to see on tour.
Jay's Take on The Collective:
As I mentioned briefly up at the top, The Collective has a much different vibe to it than its predecessor Carving Desert Canyons. While the instrumentation and music created by the quartet inherently feels the same, the tone is overall a bit more somber, especially in the opening tracks of the album, and it carries forward less of an upbeat vibe throughout the remainder. It's an interesting change in pace but doesn't take away from the standard practices of its instrumentalists. It continues to have its moments of repetitiveness, which is not at all uncommon for the genre but can come off as a detracting element on repeat listens, as some of the elements can come off with a feeling of being 'recycled' which is not always attractive. Despite that fact, Letchford and crew continue to create interesting pieces of progressive music that are void of pretentiousness and are tastefully non-chalant. The Collective is another solid record from the group who have seemingly nowhere to go but up, and continue to be graced with great company, as their musical exploits have rightfully earned them the right to be.
Sample of the Day:
- J
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