By: Deek

Posted: Jul 24, 2006

Summoning is one of those very few black metal bands I'll rave about. Their unique epic approach to the style attracted me from the very first time I heard them a few years ago. It was just so different from anything I had heard before. Such a beautiful sound. "Minas Morgul" and "Dol Guldur" are two albums I used to listen to constantly and repeatedly. And for a black metal band, that's saying a lot for me. The simplistic epic sound of songs like 'Morthond', 'Ungoliath', 'Long Lost To Where No Pathway Goes', and 'Over Old Hills' is a sound that I love and have not been able to find another band with anything like it.

Opening with flutes and drums, 'Bauglir' is typical Summoning intro, epic and building atmosphere. 'Across The Streaming Tide' is a long, varied epic song. A throw-back to the "Dol Guldur" days. It shows that Summoning are definitely taking a step back and going back to their mid-period sound with touches of the new sound. Right off the bat the album goes from high-point to low-point, as 'Mirdaitas Vras' just seems too trod along with no ambition. But the following song makes up for it, as 'Might And Glory' is the highlight of this LP. It's reminiscent of the songs mentioned at the beginning of this review. The opening main riff is so simple yet effectively beautiful. ‘Beleriand’ is a building song, one thing Summoning have become masters at, and this is a great example of how well they do it. 'Northward' is another song that is reminiscent of their past material. 'Menegroth' is a bit of the same as the prior song, but it's not a builder. The closer, 'Land Of The Dead', is another highlight of the album. Another simple yet beautiful riff is the heart of this song. This one is actually one of my all time favorite Summoning songs. An amazing epic beauty that must be heard to be believed. An amazing chorus line at the end closes another really good Summoning album. But, that doesn't mean it's an outstanding album. The problem here is that it seems that the band is following the same formula for each song, and the whole album seems to flow as one song, and that actually gets annoying. Still, that doesn't really take away from how good the album is.

If you like epic metal at all, this band is a must-hear for you, and this album is a pretty good place to start. Fans of Summoning should definitely enjoy this album as much as the past ones. This is a great album, but it's not quite on par with classics "Minas Morgul" and "Dol Guldur". But it is one of those albums that can't be described simply. Still, it is definitely a worthy Summoning album, and easily going to be one of the top epic black metal releases of the year.

Rating: 8/10

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