Most of the time, the "tech" in my "Tech Tuesday" posts is shorthand for "technical metal", usually of the "technical death metal" variety. But we all know that technical proficiency doesn't have to be all 200bpm blast beats and sweeps, right? Sometimes, just sometimes, stuff other than straight-up metal can have chops for days.
OK, so maybe when you're the guys in Scale the Summit "sometimes" is more like "all the time" but I think you get where I'm going with this. Scale the Summit isn't always "heavy" in a traditional metal sense, but they do always bring their instrumental A-game, and when you're looking for something a little less crushing that'll still impress, they should be near the top of your list.
Even better, Chris and the guys seem to be cranking it out like clockwork the last couple of years, with a pretty stable two-year release schedule going all the way back to their self-released 2007 debut record Monument. The band's latest and fifth album V presents yet another collection of soaring and proggy adventure metal, but for your Tech Tuesday song this week I'm going with intricate affair "Oort Cloud" -- that little bass solo starting about three minutes in should be enough to get you through even the longest journey through space all by itself.
Showing posts with label Chris Letchford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Letchford. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Tuesday, 15 September 2015
Saturday: Scale the Summit - Blue Sun
Most of Scale the Summit's material, especially their newer stuff, is heavy in a more chill and laid-back kind of way, if at all. The band's latest single seems tailor-made for reminding us that the guys can still lay down some riffage.
Indeed, guitarist Chris Lecthford has said in so many words that "Blue Sun" is aimed at those who're also on the hunt for more shred. Even at their most laid back, Scale the Summit's chops are always on display, so something even shreddier and, yes, a little heavier -- even if the chill vibe is still very much in evidence -- pretty much has to turn things up to eleven, right? Check it out and see for yourself.
Indeed, guitarist Chris Lecthford has said in so many words that "Blue Sun" is aimed at those who're also on the hunt for more shred. Even at their most laid back, Scale the Summit's chops are always on display, so something even shreddier and, yes, a little heavier -- even if the chill vibe is still very much in evidence -- pretty much has to turn things up to eleven, right? Check it out and see for yourself.
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Friday: islnds - Momnts
My segue into your belated Friday post isn't quite as direct as Wednesday-to-Thursday was, but bear with me and we'll get there alright. To start: you know instrumental prog act Scale the Summit, right? Well guitarist Chris Lecthford has some more solo work just over the horizon that you might be interested in.
This time around it's in the form of new project islnds (rather than simply Chris Letchford solo stuff) and accompanying new album History of Robots, which features some guest vocal work from a few familiar faces. First single "Momnts", for example, features Joey from The Reign of Kindo, and promo material indicates Tesseract alumnus Ashe O'Hara is involved as well.
Musically speaking, things are a bit more mellow than Scale the Summit (not that StS is the heaviest thing in the instrumental prog world) but Chris' musicianship and melodic sensibility is still plainly evident. Spin this if you need a laid back jam tonight.
This time around it's in the form of new project islnds (rather than simply Chris Letchford solo stuff) and accompanying new album History of Robots, which features some guest vocal work from a few familiar faces. First single "Momnts", for example, features Joey from The Reign of Kindo, and promo material indicates Tesseract alumnus Ashe O'Hara is involved as well.
Musically speaking, things are a bit more mellow than Scale the Summit (not that StS is the heaviest thing in the instrumental prog world) but Chris' musicianship and melodic sensibility is still plainly evident. Spin this if you need a laid back jam tonight.
Monday, 9 June 2014
Album of the Week: Trioscapes - Separate Realities
The other day I featured the latest from Scale the Summit's Chris Letchford, and it got me thinking about instrumental music generally, and instrumental jazz in particular, and, for my money, any conversation about modern instrumental jazz has to include the titans in Trioscapes.
Drums, bass, and saxophone might sound like a somewhat limited palette, but it's more than enough for the boys in Trioscapes (among whom is Dan Briggs, bassist from Between the Buried and Me, for those of you who need a metal connection to justify some jazz). Exemplifying the term "power trio", Trioscapes weave funky, labyrinthine grooves that can't help but appeal to the riff-oriented mind of this metalhead.
I've said before, and will no doubt say again, that Trioscapes are a great equalizer. Put them on in a roomful of different musical tastes and watch as everyone miraculously becomes a jazz convert. OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much; I most definitely have put Trioscapes' debut Separate Realities on for friends of mine who don't normally share my musical tastes and discovered that lo, we have come ground after all. So why don't you spend some time with Separate Realities this week and see if you too have a little jazz in you.
Drums, bass, and saxophone might sound like a somewhat limited palette, but it's more than enough for the boys in Trioscapes (among whom is Dan Briggs, bassist from Between the Buried and Me, for those of you who need a metal connection to justify some jazz). Exemplifying the term "power trio", Trioscapes weave funky, labyrinthine grooves that can't help but appeal to the riff-oriented mind of this metalhead.
I've said before, and will no doubt say again, that Trioscapes are a great equalizer. Put them on in a roomful of different musical tastes and watch as everyone miraculously becomes a jazz convert. OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much; I most definitely have put Trioscapes' debut Separate Realities on for friends of mine who don't normally share my musical tastes and discovered that lo, we have come ground after all. So why don't you spend some time with Separate Realities this week and see if you too have a little jazz in you.
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Chris Letchford - The Star Boys
Time for a little something light and jazzy for your Saturday evening courtesy of Chris Lecthford, whose work I'm sure you're familiar with even if you can't quite place his name.
Chris's guitar work with instrumental prog-heads Scale the Summit already has a decidedly jazzy bent to it, so it should come as no surprise that his forthcoming solo LP Lightbox is shaping up to be a pretty solid instrumental jazz record. He's even had the good fortune to get Evan Brewer (bassist extraordinaire, lately of The Faceless), Mark Michell (bassist from Scale the Summit), Steven Padin (drummer to the stars in The Reign of Kindo) and Danny Pizarro (pianist/keyboardist, also from Kindo) to combine their powers as his backing band. So basically, this record has had bucketloads of talent thrown at it.
Lead single "The Star Boys" is a little all over the place, but in a good way. Chris changes direction just enough to keep you guessing, but not so much as to leave you disoriented. Well, you might be disoriented, but it'll be by the intricacy and complexity of the musicianship rather than the meandering course of the song. Instrumental fans and jazz freaks alike should take notice of this one.
Chris's guitar work with instrumental prog-heads Scale the Summit already has a decidedly jazzy bent to it, so it should come as no surprise that his forthcoming solo LP Lightbox is shaping up to be a pretty solid instrumental jazz record. He's even had the good fortune to get Evan Brewer (bassist extraordinaire, lately of The Faceless), Mark Michell (bassist from Scale the Summit), Steven Padin (drummer to the stars in The Reign of Kindo) and Danny Pizarro (pianist/keyboardist, also from Kindo) to combine their powers as his backing band. So basically, this record has had bucketloads of talent thrown at it.
Lead single "The Star Boys" is a little all over the place, but in a good way. Chris changes direction just enough to keep you guessing, but not so much as to leave you disoriented. Well, you might be disoriented, but it'll be by the intricacy and complexity of the musicianship rather than the meandering course of the song. Instrumental fans and jazz freaks alike should take notice of this one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)