What makes Carving Desert Canyons by Scale the Summit notable?

Carving Desert Canyons received critical acclaim for its innovative blend of progressive metal and rock elements, showcasing the band's musicianship. It helped establish Scale the Summit as a significant act within the instrumental rock genre and contributed to the resurgence of interest in progressive music during the late 2000s. Released on February 17, 2009, Carving Desert Canyons is Scale the Summit's second studio album, following their debut, Monument, in 2007. At this point, the band was solidifying their reputation in the progressive metal scene with a distinct instrumental approach that emphasized both technical skill and atmospheric soundscapes.

How many songs are on Carving Desert Canyons?

Carving Desert Canyons has 8 tracks, running approximately 39 minutes.

Carving Desert Canyons

Scale the Summit · 2009

39 min · 8 tracks · progressive metal

Intricate guitar work and dynamic rhythms create an expansive sonic landscape that evokes vast, uncharted terrains.

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Top tracks — play these first

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Sargasso Sea — This track features complex time signatures and an atmospheric build that captures the essence of the album's thematic exploration of vast landscapes.
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Dunes — With its shifting dynamics and melodic interplay, this track exemplifies the band's ability to merge intricate compositions with emotional resonance.
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Giants — The longest track on the album, Giants showcases extended instrumental passages that highlight both technical prowess and storytelling through music.

Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

Instrumental

65 /100

Treeline

Higher than 88% of albums we've rated

The album showcases intricate compositions and strong musicianship, establishing a unique sound within its genre.

What we noticed

The album maintains an instrumental focus, with no vocals, allowing the instrumentation to convey emotion and narrative.
Tracks vary in length, with several exceeding six minutes, providing ample space for thematic development and exploration.

Composition 25% of the score: 8/10
Craft 20% of the score: 7/10
Durability 25% of the score: 6/10
Distinctiveness 18% of the score: 8/10
Sequencing 12% of the score: 7/10

Influence 4/10

Known within its scene. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

1 Bloom 2:09
2 Sargasso Sea 5:15
3 The Great Plains 5:11
4 Dunes 4:28
5 Age of the Tide 5:35
6 Glacial Planet 4:52
7 City in the Sky 5:03
8 Giants 7:20

What to play next

Listen next

The Collective

2011

Go back to

Monument

2007

Full Scale the Summit discography Artists like Scale the Summit

progressive metal progressive rock

Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata