The progressive instrumental genre has never been immensely popular.

Though it has seen a decrease in interest in the 1990s, instrumental bands are starting to garner more attention and produce more releases.

The band Scale the Summit has released their new album, Carving Desert Canyons, and those who dabble in the genre or are familiar with the technical aspects should find a song or two to listen to.

Just as noteworthy as the music itself are the two guitarists of the group.

Travis Levrier plays a seven-string electric and Chris Letchford plays an eight-string.

For anyone who is musically challenged, the regular 6-string can pose a great deal of difficulty when learning to play, so the amount of talent present in this quartet is established before hearing any of their music.

Carving Desert Canyons is a very technical album.

While it may not perform the chaotic riffs we hear from groups like Dream Theater or artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Scale The Summit sounds perfectly good playing what they know.

Instead of having an intense introduction that tapers off moments after the song starts, Scale The Summit spreads that energy over the course of the entire album.

This is both a benefit and a hindrance to the overall sound the band brings to the table.

On the one hand, there is no need to fear that the Scale The Summit took chances in their music that didn’t work.

There’s never a moment where one would question whether or not the band is treading in territory they aren’t familiar with.

Every melodic riff is filled to the brim with confidence as well as a deep appreciation for the genre.

On the other hand, since there are no risks taken, the payoff isn’t as high as it could have been.

It doesn’t seem like there is as much room for growth when Scale The Summit doesn’t take large risks to learn from.

This isn’t to say the album isn’t worth checking out. Quite the opposite, in fact.

In an interview in Guitar World, Letchford said the band decided to write “good songs.”

This is true: the production quality is at the least on par with other professional musicians and all of the songs really are played quite well.

However, I personally would prefer to hear more risks taken on a few of their songs.

Scale the Summit runs the risk of becoming tired and predictable unless they start to push the envelope.

Even just a little bit would help.

As the saying goes, “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.”