announced that he would be leaving Scale the Summit to join Entheos as a full-time member. On October 27, 2016, it was announced that drummer J.C. Bryant and bassist Mark Michell had left the band, with drummer Charlie Engen announced as a replacement for Bryant. On October 31, 2016, it was revealed that the split was due to Letchford's alleged refusal to pay band members. On December 20, Kilian Duarte was announced as the band's new bass player. On May 19, 2017, Scale the Summit released their sixth studio album, In a World of Fear. Their seventh studio album, Subjects, was released on June 25, 2021. The album was elected by PopMatters as the 10th best progressive metal album of 2021. Musical style Scale the Summit members thoroughly rehearse songs to record albums quickly, and seek to perform their songs live exactly as recorded. Letchford estimates that most of the material remains the same between pre-recording rehearsals and during recording, even though the group sometimes alters the songs as they go. The band refer to their style of music "adventure metal", a term which Letchford states originated from how listeners on the Musician's Institute campus told him and Levrier that they felt the music was taking them on a journey as they listened. Before their first album, the band were often told they needed a vocalist, but Letchford stated the group has always been against the idea, even a guest vocalist. Lacking a vocalist enables the band to avoid the verse–chorus–verse songwriting strategy that most bands with singers need to use to accommodate the lyrics. Letchford feels that writing music to be complete without vocals is more difficult. Song titles are usually selected after the songs are recorded by listening to the finished recording and brainstorming. The process for song title selection can be lengthy. Due to rhythmical complexity ("off-time chugs"), the use of extended range guitars, and the general "vibe", their music is often ascribed to be djent despite much of their material being "clean channel" which contradicts the early onomatopoeic etymology of the genre's name. Band members Current Chris Letchford – lead guitar (2004–present); rhythm guitar (2016–2020) Kilian Duarte – bass (2016–present) Charlie Engen – drums, percussion (2017–present) Former Jordan Eberhardt – bass (2004–2012) Pat Skeffington – drums, percussion (2004–2015) Travis Levrier – rhythm guitar (2004–2016) Mark Michell – bass (2012–2016) J.C. Bryant – drums, percussion (2015–2016) Timeline