Decibrity Playlist: Scale The Summit

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We here at the Deciblog are proponents of good health. So when we were presented the opportunity to present a playlist with that lofty goal in mind, it was an easy choice (not to mention we’re big fans of Scale the Summit’s instrumental musings). As guitarist Chris Letchford explains, “I spend five days a week in the gym lifting. Health and fitness is a huge part of my life. When I go on tour, if I don’t keep it up while on the road, I’ll lose all my progress. I like to eat well and exercise as much as I can and for everyone who has ever toured, they are the two hardest things to maintain while on the road, but it is doable! The best part of music for working out is it helps you zone out all the distractions of people yelling/grunting in the gym, dropping weights, and it keeps people from talking to you. I don’t go to the gym to hang out, I go to lift and get out of there as fast as possible. Good workout music is also important for rep timing, which is how a lot of these albums have made it into the shuffle for my gym tunes. Here are my top five [okay, six] favorite albums (in no particular order) to listen to while working out.”

If the tunes below aren’t enough to get you to pump some Fe, Chris will be back next week to provide (1) health and fitness tips for touring and how to achieve them while on the road for months and months and (2) his favorite three lifts in the gym. While you’re waiting, pick up a copy of The Migration here and listen along here.

Tesseract–Altered State (2013)
This is a new one for everyone, including myself, since it just came out. The djent style/genre is great for lifting. Like I mentioned, I’m looking for a great tempo for rep timing and something not too busy so that I can stay focused on the workout and not get sucked into the music too much. I really like the new direction with the vocals and new guy filling that position. Great job on this album fellas, really like it! Maybe next time a guest guitar solo, wink.

The Contortionist–Exoplanet (2010)
This album has been a favorite of mine for a long time now, and I have done dozens of workouts to it as well. They have done studies on certain things that can help someone push harder and lift heavier in the gym and listening to metal was one of the top. This album in particular really pushes me because of the more aggressive vocal style. Even though these dudes are considered in the djent scene, they are far from it. They are definitely more metal/prog, with more dynamic shifts than most djent albums.

Periphery–Periphery (2010) and Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal (2012)
These guys are my buds and Misha has known for a long time that I have worked out to his music. Both records have great songs, tempo, aggression, energy and dynamics. Misha’s solo songs also get thrown in the mix as well–“Mr. Person” is the best for lifting!

The Black Dahlia Murder–Deflorate (2009)
I have been listening to TBDM since Unhallowed, a record I can actually remember buying from the mom and pop CD store I worked at nearly 10 years ago, when people actually purchased CDs. I had quite the collection actually. Miss those days as there is nothing really collectable about mp3s, sadly. These guys have always been my “party death metal” band–you get all the aggression and energy that you’d expect from death metal, but it’s also fun and you can hear it in the records they release. Though all of their records make it in the mix for workout music, this is the most recent album of theirs that I have been jamming while at the gym.

Anup Sastry–Ghost (2013)
Like I mentioned earlier, I like albums to be less distracting and more there to keep me focused and energized [while I’m working out]. This album has been my top choice, especially for my really hard muscle group days. It has great tempo and timing, awesome songs, and even without someone screaming at you, you still get a ton of aggression to keep you focused on what you’re about to lift.