(I have to finish reviewing all the Summoning cds ;))
Summoning are:
Protector (Richard Lederer) - Drum Sounds, Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
Silenius (Michael Gregor) - Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Those of you not familiar with Summoning, this is considered to be their break through album in terms of this being the album that unleashed their original style. The album is bombastic, medieval, and epic as hell! One would be amazed at the progress they made since Lugburz the debut cd
which was released in the same year! This is the album where synths come to the fore front, the drums are programmed and completely bombastically huge in the production. Trifixion, the arse who was their drummer on the first cd has been kicked out due to being an arse. (Or Tri***ion as Silenius refers to him nowadays). Anyway first some interesting info:
The new song writing process: On this album the songs were written in a new manner like this:
-Silenius composes a whole song as one keyboards melodies/riffs all the way through.
-Protector gets this melody onto his PC as MIDI.
-He then adds more key melodies and backing strings to Silenius' melodies to give it Polyphony.
-Then the drum patterns are created with Protectors synth, after which guitars are recorded.
-After all this is done vocals are recorded.
This album is so amazing because really, before this not many medieval/epic/black metal bands where around. Really, this cd is an inspiration for many acts like Enid, Avathar etc. It is so unique because the synths replicate medieval instruments throughout the cd and give an amazing result when fused with the guitars. The precision with which the melodies interact is amazing, there are at least 3 or 4 parts and counterparts in
The Passing of the Grey Company, almost like in a Fugue. The production is airy giving the album a huge feeling of endless soundscapes that will stimulate your imagination for days upon end. There are also two cool instrumentals,
Soul Wandering and
Orthanc, both which are short songs with no guitar and cool synth melodies.
The guitars are rather basic and completely distorted and distant, like on the new releases (whereas the first cd had a more Burzumish sound guitar-wise). The vocals are still a little bit rough and coarse and not yet as controlled and smoothly harsh as on the new cds but they are still excellent. If you're wondering who is who singing, Protector has the more airy rhythmic growl wheras Silenius has the typical harsh black metal scream.
Really, the cd should be picked up by any fan of folk/medieval/epic/black metal. A excellent place to get started, it has earned classic status as this bands true beginning in innovating their style. Not to be missed out on.
Pros
-The medieval feelings
-The polyphony
-The original drums
-Cool instrumentals
Cons
-Somewhat badly produced vocals (But not a issue)
