Seven Impale – Summit
Release Date: 26th May 2023
Label: Karisma Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Metal
FFO: Haken, 1980s King Crimson.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Before this review, I had not ever heard of Seven Impale before, to my chagrin. There may not be enough fans out there for the type of progressive metal that Seven Impale offer, but the word might soon get around with the release of Summit. The Norwegian progressive metal band is set to release their third studio album on May 26th, 2023. Heavily featuring a mixture of epic clean vocals, saxophone and organ leads, and chunky prog riffs, Summit is an overwhelming listen which ought to please fans of early prog metal, but is hard to enjoy, as it never settles into anything that excited me for more than a few seconds before totally changing up pace.
One of the noted influences was King Crimson, which resonated with me quickly. I felt that Summit made me think quickly of some of the tracks on Red, my favorite K.C. album. Perhaps that’s why the opening track HUNTER immediately jumped out at me. There is a fun blend of the organ/keys and the main saxophone, the hallmark instrument of the lead section, right off the bat. Before bands like Rivers of Nihil made it seem more mainstream, saxophone had been used in several progressive and metal projects in the past. After all, many of these groups proliferate in musical colleges with a wide variety of talented students. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out these fellows have played on numerous non-metal projects.
The tracks aren’t really anything which seems to follow much of the standard fare for the prog genre; so I wasn’t shocked that each song had lots of melodies, sub-melodies, and jam sessions. There wasn’t a good deal of “hooks” as one might seek in most metal albums. I searched for memorable moments that stuck in my head without having to try to remember them. I honestly couldn’t put my finger on any of them by the 75% completion phase of the album. I think there were a few short breakdowns that made me tap my toes, but they were almost always eclipsed by a shifting pattern or new segment within a few bars. There is a fun groove segment on IKAROS at around the 03:00 minute mark that jumps into a super-fast The Mars Volta-esque segment for a moment, but then peters-out once again.
I kept waiting and waiting for Summit to woo me further with its prog glory, but I ended-up feeling like it was somewhat masturbatory, trying so-desperately to be precise and edgy, that it forgot how to be fun. I saw this same effect on First Fragment’s last release. I felt like these boys have all the ability to create something memorable, but they seemed hung up on trying to perfect layers of technical prowess that they ended up missing out on some of the finer points of getting the audience engaged, rather than merely pummeling listeners with insane technique and purely-progressive elements. If I were to try and think about what was right and wrong, I would spin myself in a circle. However, I think that I wanted more to come from the album in what might have been in the form of some choruses or groovy breakdowns. It was almost tiring at the end, as I simply couldn’t even remember what had come moments before the exact phrase I had just heard. While impressive (again), I just had trouble finding the central “meat” of Summit.
(2.5 / 5)
