SCALE THE SUMMIT ARE THE COLLECTIVE TO WATCH IN 2011

Are we suffering from an embarrassment of riches or what? New Devin, new BTBAM, new Protest the Hero, new Meshuggah, new Obscura… Mastodon are writing, Opeth and Dream Theater are already recording… surely there’s never been a better year to be a prog metal nerd than 2011. And it just keeps getting better; SMN News is reporting that Scale the Summit have set a March 1st release date for their new album The Collective.

For the uninitiated, Scale the Summit are an extremely talented young instrumental band from Colorado. Their Prosthetic debut Carving Desert Canyons ranked as #11 on my 2009 year-end list. They rocked our faces off when they opened for BTBAM, Cynic and Devin Townsend last year (that they were invited on such a tour should give you an idea of their pedigree), and did so tagain when they played our 2010 SXSW showcase. Most importantly, they’re insanely talented and original. In an era when “instrumental” usually means “djent” in the metal scene, Scale the Summit are far from it. But enough waxing ecstatic; listen in for yourself to some of the tunes from their last album.

Can I get an “amen”?

-VN