{"product_id":"collective-5","title":"Collective","description":"Personnel: Chris Letchford, Travis LeVrier (guitar); Pat Skeffington (drums).\u003cbr\u003eAudio Mixer: Mark Lewis .\u003cbr\u003eRecording information: Audiohammer Studios, Sanford, FL; Starlight Studies, Caselberry, FL.\u003cbr\u003ePhotographer: Steven Gilmore.\u003cbr\u003eInstrumental metal will always have a more limited appeal than metal with vocals, but Scale the Summit's particular brand might have more crossover potential than that of their shred-happy peers. This quartet -- two guitarists, bass, and drums -- writes proggy compositions that gradually unfold, rather than brief heads followed by endless wanky solos. They're much more about two-guitar interplay, and even expressive rhythm section work, than about mere showboating. This is a crucial strategy that permits their albums -- not only The Collective, but its predecessor Carving Desert Canyons, too -- to be listened to from front to back without the listener growing weary. A piece like \"Drifting Figures\" lives up to its title: it's a multifaceted composition, starting out as a spacy ballad with repetitive figures from one guitar balancing long notes from another, as the bass performs jazz fusion-ish loops beneath and the drummer goes tastefully wild, but then picks up speed and becomes more rockin' -- and that's typical of Scale the Summit, not only the complexity and multi-stage writing, but the smooth transitions between sections and between tracks. The Collective is a cohesive aesthetic experience, meant to be heard from beginning to end, and listeners with the (relatively minimal -- it's only 45 minutes long) patience to do that will find themselves amply rewarded. ~ Phil Freeman","brand":"MovieMars","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48896771621151,"sku":"656191009027","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0679\/7833\/0399\/files\/6349a97c5b31cc929fa4343b9ff58dac.jpg?v=1777869078","url":"https:\/\/www.moviemars.com\/products\/collective-5","provider":"MovieMars","version":"1.0","type":"link"}