Artist: Scale The Summit Album: Monument Label: Private Pressing Website: http://www.myspace.com/scalethesummit Reviewer: Paulo André

Track List: 1. Shaping The Clouds 2. Wolves 3. Crossing The Ocean 4. Omni 5. Rode In On Horseback 6. Roof Of The World 7. Penguins In Flight 8. Holding Thunderc I promise not to mention Dream Theater, Spiral Architect or Zero Hour anywhere in this review. Well, now that I just accidentally did, I may as well warn you that if you're a fan of these bands, it's high time you check out Scale The Summit, if you don't know these Texan guys yet. Formed in 2005, "Monument" is their self-financed debut full-length and seldom have I heard pure technical metal like this that actually has... a soul. Not to diss other technical metal bands, but let's be honest. If Dream Theater are often accused of being soulless, what could be said about this kind of stuff? No matter. Scale The Summit certainly have no qualms about being very technical but that doesn't keep them from throwing in a lot of cool, intricate guitar melodies. The interplay between the two guitars, both soloing in opposite sides of the stereo most of the time, is one of the highlights of this record and part of the secret sauce in "Monument". One thing is for sure, every member of this band really knows how to play his respective instrument, no shortage of talent or technical merit here. But as with almost all debut records there's always an hiccup or two. Regardless of how many great moments every track has, sometimes the band seems to lack a little direction, especially in the way most songs abruptly end. It seems like each jam - yes, these feel like elaborate jams, in a very positive way - could simply go on for hours, which is good given their quality, but ends just because. Which is not so good. Also, despite a few mellow moments - like the intro to "Crossing The Ocean" - pretty much every song follows the same path. A good path, but a bit beaten after eight tracks. There's little doubt fans of technical metal will love "Monument" and I can speak for myself as a fan of everything from Slayer to Coltrane that these guys sound really good to my ears. When everything is said and done, Scale The Summit show potential to become a big name in the genre, having already been signed by Prostethic Records after this record came out and showing a lot of momentum in their MySpace page. More experience and mileage can only enhance this much talent. Band: Jordan Eberhardt - Bass Chris Letchford - 8-String Guitar Travis LeVrier - Guitar Pat Skeffington - Drums