Thursday, June 6, 2013

Guest review of "The Migration" by Scale The Summit written by Dayle Smith, guitarist of Kynesys

My name is Dayle Smith and I play rhythm guitar and occasional leads in what we define ourselves as just a metal band because we don't like to confine ourselves to one style.

I guess it could be defined as "weird" metal. We hail from a small town called Ingersoll near London, Ontario. To check out our page and like us click here.


Buy this album
(links available the 11th)
Website
http://www.scalethesummit.com
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/scalethesummit

1. Odyssey
2. Atlas Novus
3. The Olive Tree
4. Narrow Salient
5. Oracle
6. Evergreen
7. The Dark Horse
8. Willow
9. Sabrosa
10. The Traveler

Have you ever watched a movie without needing to see the film? Have you ever read a book without reading the words? Have you ever travelled to a far away place without ever having to leave your home? Well that kind of feeling is something that stems from me ever since I started to listen to this new album by Scale the Summit. The album itself is called the Migration and it is a whimsical journey through melody and rhythms that many instrumental bands all around the world only dream of writing. Yes I may be a tad bias on this new album because I am such a big fan but that isn't the case because there has been tons of my favourite bands that have released new stuff in the past in which I didn't find nearly as good as the early stuff or I just plain hated it anyways. This album is an experience that takes you from one realm of your mind to the very last
one, its sense of technicality mixed with melody is the perfect mix for any metal head or just plain music enthusiast out there.

To me this album seems like a concept album even without having any lyrics. The songs themselves do have underlying similarities in the fact they coincide with one another so well. The first song Odyssey is as accurate as a title for it as it ever could be. It starts off technically impressive as well and easily obtainable to the ear. It whips through intense riff after riff and then brings it all back to place of serenity. Like the story itself it is a voyage but through the music itself. You can almost see a movie while listening to it because of how thought provoking it is. This song is the perfect way to start an album and making the listener almost have to listen to the next song without a second thought.

Atlas Novus is the name of the second track to come in and it sounds like something you would hear at first intense part a movie or show. It is up beat and up tempo and calm flowing, it really progresses quite nicely. It has really nice tapping sections as well as leads that catch the ear quite well and what ties it all together are the drums and bass. One of the most key things I loved about this album and like previous albums, is the tone of all the instruments. The way the guitars sound and how clear the bass is just astounding to me. They definitely sing with their strings.

The third track, the olive tree is another song show casing the talents of the band, filled with amazing melodies and insane sound leads, it can really help make you a fan. With all the bass that cut through it shows how well these musicians flow with each other and have evolved as a band, especially since the first album. With songs like the Olive Tree it definitely shows how mature they have grown in their respected styles as musicians.

The fourth track, Narrow Salient is where the movie starts to get intense! With heavier sounding riffs it calls for something more evil but with the same melodic styles they love to use. It shows the listener that they can still be brutal but keep it in the way that they want to be brutal. And like so many other songs it progresses into calmer parts while maintaining intense leads and great solos. The fifth track is called oracle and it is a short one, almost like an interlude with some very nice chill guitar. The sixth track is probably my favourite track mainly because of the rhythms. They are so intense near the end of the song that after I listened to it, I have to relisten to it right after it! It is a song that is just beautiful to my ear and to anyone who is picking this album up I definitely suggest it!

Another brutal sounding track is the next one called The Dark Horse, it is full of heavy ripping riffs from back to front, full of intricate, complicated riffs. Definitely another awesome sounding track that is not one to miss. Sabrosa is a track that veers right up the alley of any prog metal fan. It is very similar to Dream Theater/Opeth style of songs which makes it quite awesome! It makes me realise as a fan who has been listening to this band for a while that they can constantly progress even further which makes me happy to listen to it. It has many elements added to it such as more jazz type leads and softer riffs throughout it making it quite nice to listen to. The last song on the album called the traveller starts off with some cool effects leading into the main riffs. This shows the difference in the tones they played with on this album making it more unique and versatile and let alone interesting, considering they haven't used a lot of different effects on their previous stuff.

All in all, I have found myself loving this whole album from start to finish. Not one track has disappointed me in the least bit, it has left me in awe and wonder on how well a band can't write music and continuously evolve as a group, instead of writing the generic riffs that got them popular to begin with. This is an album made for any musician as well as music enthusiast and especially like myself, a scale the summit fan. It adds flavour to their entire discography, paving the road to countless amazing live shows and songs to come. Like I previously stated, it is like listening to a movie or being transported somewhere on a long journey. This album comes out on June 11th and anyone who misses it is going to miss one of the best albums of the year, that is for sure! I give this a 9.5 out of 10, hands down!

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