''Carving Desert Canyons'' is the second studio album by American

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band

Scale the Summit Scale the Summit is an American instrumental progressive metal band based out of Houston, Texas. It formed in 2004 and signed to Prosthetic Records. The band is influenced by other progressive acts such as Cynic and Dream Theater. The band gain ...

. It was released on February 17, 2009, through

Prosthetic Records Prosthetic Records is an American record label specializing in heavy metal recordings, founded in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by E.J. Johantgen and Dan Fitzgerald. Prosthetic Records released the first two albums by Lamb of God and Animals ...

. The album was self-produced by the band and Tom Beaujour. It is the band's first studio release with the label. The cover art of this album is taken from The Wave, a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

rock formation in

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. The album's cover art was taken by a local Houston photographer, who sent them his portfolio of pictures to choose from; the eventual cover art was the first photograph

Chris Letchford Chris Letchford (born October 7, 1984) is an American guitarist. He is the lead guitarist in the instrumental progressive metal band Scale the Summit. His technical ability has been recognized in magazines such as ''Guitar World'', ''Revolver'' ...

saw in the portfolio. By contrast to their first album, Letchford described ''Carving Desert Canyons'' as "a lot more organized than their debut, in addition to being better produced as it was funded by an actual record label."

Critical reception

The album received mixed, but usually positive reviews from critics. Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

assigned a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5, and said that the group were inventive but that the album's lack of "the convenient handholds normally afforded by lyrics and vocals" would eventually bore listeners not accustomed to their style. Sputnikmusic gave the album an "excellent" 4.0 out of 5, and remarked that ''Carving Desert Canyons'' demonstrated a maturation and refinement of the band's musical style compared to the overly-technical ''

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

'', their debut. ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' writer Chris Ayers compared the material to artists such as

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, Yes and Cynic, saying that the album would "ensure the band a high position on this year's best-of lists." ''ThePRP'' rated the album 3 stars out of 5 and criticized the songs for belying the band members' true technical abilities, saying the songs sounded little better than customers playing at

Guitar Center Guitar Center is an American musical instrument retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 294 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California. Guitar Center oversees various subsidiaries in ...

, and the production for being dynamically flat.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

. ;Scale the Summit *

– lead guitar * Travis Levrier – rhythm guitar * Jordan Eberhardt – bass * Pat Skeffington – drums ;Additional personnel * Tom Beaujour – production, engineering, mixing, recording *

– production * Kim Rosen – mastering * Christopher Pierce – drum programming * Alex Smolinski – editing *

Steven R. Gilmore Steven R. Gilmore is a Canadian artist and graphic designer most known for his work on album cover design, particularly his role as in-house artist for Nettwerk Records for much of the 1980s and 1990s. He has designed record album sleeves for ba ...

– photography

References

{{Authority control 2009 debut albums Scale the Summit albums Instrumental rock albums Prosthetic Records albums