SUMMONING „Let the Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame”

What do you think, how many people are there who never heard of “Hobbit” or “Lord of the Rings”? References to these great masterpieces have become usual in metal, and often leave the “lucky” buyer rather disappointed, because too many bands choose their name (or album title) in this way trying to draw attention while neither their music nor lyrics have anything to do with it (i.e. Cirith Gorgor, Ephel Duath, Gorgoroth, Morgoth, Nazgul etc…). I'm not saying that these bands suck – on the contrary, many of them are worth listening to – but the point is the following: when I buy a CD of a band intelligent enough to have read Lord Of The Rings and daring enough to name itself after something/someone from it, I also expect the music to have the matching quality – an escape from reality into the world of Elves, ancient Dwarven Kings, I want to be able to picture an army of Orcs swarming black on the field where the battle is about to take place and, dammit! , I just want to feel like actually being there, waiting for the first strike with the sword firmly in my hands. Well, my invisible friends that are reading this right now, Summoning is not the case of such “false advertising”.

The land of it's origin is Austria, and it is the famous project of Gregor Michael alias Silenius, former singer and composer of Abigor, lifelong Tolkien's fan, a man set to embodying this fantasy in music since the early 90's when there was practically no black metal scene in Austria and no money-squeezing machinery for this magnificent trilogy. “Let The Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame” was released in 2001 and is the most mature and majestic piece of art made by Summoning yet – truly worthy soundtrack to the “Lord Of The Rings”. The music is ambiental, epic and symphonic with decent production. The sound is clearer, richer, more complex and more anthemic than previous releases (Minas Morgul, Stronghold, Dol Guldur, Nightshades Forest…). Drum computer (it doesn't ruin the atmosphere) + several layers of keyboards + shrieky vocals (because of which this is often mislabeled as black metal) + some guitarwork + spoken lines (very professional) in the vein of “Lord Of The Rings” such as “Ash Nazg…”, “In the darkness to bind them”, ” the War has already begun…” + occasional battle cries + beautiful melodies (like hymns and battle songs) =- the ancient & epic atmosphere of tales from olden times is what you can expect here. The pace of the album is slow to mid-tempo with marching rhythms and when the keyboard fanfares join the music, it is actually possible to imagine the opening of the Black Gate and the Host of Mordor slowly passing by, or Dwarven King returning in glory to abandoned mines lost long time ago to rebuild once vast empire, or anything else that happens. The music is majestic and solemn.

Keyboards are the main instrument changing quality of the sound to suit the needed mood. Songs generally start with a simple and slow tune, which becomes more complex in time, repeating and alternating with new themes, and in the end reach their climax with all instruments engaged in an amazing, symphonic anthem of the kind that wakes the spirit of men, making them willing to go to war to fight for the ideals they believe in, the kind of melody used for important scenes in epic movies (think Highlander when practicing swordplay on the top of the hill, think Braveheart, Willow etc.). Even the lyrics are well written, which is not so common in epic genre. Fear not the ridiculous poems that are often found in epic power metal. While listening to this, it seems to me as I'm listening to a good storyteller telling stories to children gathered around a campfire. Here's a little excerpt, just to have a taste of it:

“The king beneath the mountains
The king of carven stone
The lord of silver fountains
Shall come into his own!

His crown shall be upholden
His harp shall be restrung
His halls shall echo golden
To songs of yore resung…”

To emphasize an important fact once again: this is NOT black metal, you won't find any blast rhythms, minor key harmonies, blasphemy or anything like it, it is an epic and solemn fantasy, featuring some blackish screaming and therefore suitable for Tolkien fans whether they like black metal or not and also an excellent background while reading a good book or playing an AD&D, FRP or other fantasy-related game.

note: 10/10