Released by: Napalm Records - NPR097
Release date: 2001
Format: CD
Tracklist:
1: A New Power Is Rising 04:08
2: South Away 06:04
3: In Hollow Halls Beneath The Fells 08:56
4: Our Foes Shall Fall 07:01
5: The Mountain King's Fall 08:53
6: Runes Of Power 05:51
7: Ashen Cold 06:16
8: Farewell 09:19
Total playingtime: 56.28 min
General Facts:
Summoning is the main band of Richard Lederer and Michael Gregor (also known from Ice Ages, Kreuzweg Ost and Die Verbannten Kinder Evas). This is their fifth full-length album and like always, it's a tribute to Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings and its surrounding world. Normally I don't review metal albums in Ortus Obscurum but if it has a certain degree of quality and originality, it might make it till these pages after all and I feel that these criteria are met pretty well on this album. Even though Summoning started out as a Black metal band, the metal elements in their music have been forced to more and more step aside in order to make room for the cinematic and epic elements which have become their trademark in the Black Metal scene.
Review:
I have been into Summoning's music since they released their second CD Minas Morgul in 1995 and the first thing which struck me when I first listened to Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame was that the sound is pretty familiar from their last album Stronghold. Yes, it's still the same rigid, yet soft sound that Summoning have been giving us in the past. The music moves forward like a machine, producing great sound textures and melodies which sticks like superglue to one's mind. The quality, the splendour, the originality... it's all still there and having this confirmed, I was allowed to relax and further dig into the rich contexts of this album.
As I said earlier, the sound on this album is still typically Summoning compared to what this band has done in the past, which means that the music is mainly composed of playful melodies, majestic string sections, Black Metal-like vocals and guitars as well as slow militaristic/tribalistic percussion. Together these instruments form an epic and majestic brand between metal and cinematic/neoclassical music with a very bombastic feel. The sound that this band has managed to develop is truly exceptional, and believe me when I say that it is far better that most of the other crap that is coming out of the Black metal scene these days. Here we have one of few Black metal bands who have succeeded in taking the Black Metal sound to a new level with the help of alien elements such as technology and fantasy without ending up looking like complete dorks. Truly they are masters among servants, the Uruk-Hai among the orcs of the utterly overcrowded underground Black Metal scene.
One of Summoning's greatest strengths lies in composing polyphone melodies that often span for a very long time. They remind me a bit of the music of epic medieval/fantasy wargames and movies, and along with the bombastic percussions this element creates a feeling of "otherwold" presence (which goes perfectly with the utterly Tolkenish concept I guess).
In case you count yourself to those who absolutely cannot endure a slight sip of metal, you probably shouldn't bother checking this out since you might find it difficult to digest the adamantine formulas of this band. But if you count yourself to the open-minded and have interest in both metal and neoclassical music, then this might just be the journey you are looking for. Because this is a supreme journey into the world of fantasy, the horns of Ortus Obscurum blows in honour of this absolutely brilliant band.
Ectonaut
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