Search - Summoning :: Stronghold

Some of the best Atmospheric Black Metal there is.

IcemanJ | Ohio, USA | 11/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This might be quite similar to my review of "Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame." A lot of the same things apply, but that doesn't mean the album sounds the same. Summoning's albums are so addicting to me for some reason. I am not really a fan of Tolkien, but that is who inspires this amazing band and gives them the medieval/fantasy setting in their music, thus their uniqueness and greatness. Even though the instruments are mostly synthesized or keyboard sounds, it doesn't matter. It's perfect like this. Summoning isn't anything close to traditional Black Metal. They have managed to become sort of a "calm and atmospheric" black metal. The songs are kind of slow-paced and quite symphonic, but they manage to give me such an adrenaline rush sometimes without being too aggressive. There are still heavy guitars and black metal style vocals, but it's just different. You'll know when you hear it. Some people might think the music is a bit too repetitive, but I like it like that, in this case. I think it makes more of an atmosphere, and also the parts are so good, you want them to be long anyway... it's the same situation as Agalloch. (another great band to check out if you haven't already)



As for the "fantasy" thing, this band is anything but cheesy or power-metallish. It consists of very harsh guitars, with keyboards and ambient parts added in, and relatively "calm" screeching vocals. As much of an oxymoron as that may sound, trust me it makes sense.



I really can't decide where this lies in my top summoning albums. It's probably my second favorite to Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame.



"Khun" is a short intro, starting off with some distant, majestic drumming, quietly adding a few other instruments, giving the feel of a dark, medieval day. The next song "Long Lost to Where No Pathway Goes" starts off with another dark, dingy melody and quickly introduces the guitar riff you'll be hearing on and off the next 7 minutes. The distant, eerie screeching vocals emerge before too long. The "chorus" for this song is a bit heavier yet still a slow pace. It sounds like a dark, creepy dungeon with no way out. There are plentiful keyboards underlying everything which are sometimes hard to notice until they are by themselves. "The Glory Disappears" sounds a bit more... uplifting I suppose, maybe "majestic" is a better word.



My favorite song is probably "Like Some Snow-White Marble Eyes," starting with a calm keyboard melody painting an atmosphere of a snow-white day in medieval times; quickly adding in the heaviness like a brutal battle erupts across the field. The same melody continues on through the heaviness and the soft keyboard melody is revisited a few times in interludes where I picture a great hero slowly falling in the battle. There are also a few extended instrumental portions of the song.



"Where Hope and Daylight Die" is heavy on the percussion and a bit darker of a song with creepy operatic female vocals, giving tinge of a gothic type feel. It goes well with the rest of the album however and is a nice track thrown in for a little variety. "The Rotting Horse on the Deadly Ground" contains some synth'd horns, and actually has vocals harsher than most songs, almost frightening. This song switches to and from the calm atmospheric parts very suddenly. "The Shadow Lies Frozen on the Hills" certainly has some interesting melodies and contrast between harsh and calm.



"The Loud Music of the Sky" is actually not loud at all; it is a mostly atmospheric instrumental. It's probably the song with the longest and most calmer sections, but the harsh vocals and guitars can still be found. "A Distant Flame Before the Sun" is quite varied and actually uses some samples which none of the rest of the album does.



Something I haven't mentioned in my Summoning reviews, if you like them you should really check out Apotheosis, a much unknown one-man band from Malta with a somewhat similar music style. His only album right now is entitled "Farthest from the Sun," it is somewhat similar to Summoning around this era but the songs are more majestic, much bigger portions of them are instrumental, and the harsh parts are actually harsher. Check out my review."

Beautiful & Epic Tolkien Metal

p_drl | 03/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ah, Tolkien metal... Nothing quite like it, is there? Sweeping symphonies, programmed drum beats that sound like a full-on orchestra, and an atmosphere projecting the visions of Mordor, golden summer afternoons in Mirkwood Forest... Rivers of crystal-clear water run through the endless textures of pine trees and golden sunlight peaking through the branches as a fortress looms in the distance... Ok, do you have that mental picture? If so, then you've gotten half of the experience of Summoning's "Stronghold". All of the above imagery is explicitly displayed on the album sleeve, and inside the booklet, and the mental visions I get when listening to this are exactly of what I've described. It's epic, emotional, and moving music. Most of it is based around central keyboard melodies, arranged around sections of melancholic strings, where wonderful guitar melodies are added therein. Summoning use repitition to create an atmosphere that sucks the listener into zones of vast mountains, foggy woods... You get the picture.



Fans of older Summoning albums may not like this album because it may come off as pompous, but I think the atmosphere oozing from this album is beyond words. It leaks of melancholy, yet strikes an empowering chord with the listener. This music is perfect for reading the Tolkien books along with.



Musically, many of the songs follow the same structure with simple, melodic guitars, bombastic choruses, reverbed vocals, and melancholic keyboard arrangements, but it never stagnates, for there are many moods to be found within the music, and some songs are more medievally-influenced than others. I would reccommend this to fans of symphonic black metal, as well as fans of later Bathory, Ulver, Satyricon, and Emperor.



Standouts: Long Lost to Where No Pathway Goes, Like Some Snow-White Marble Eyes, The Rotting Horse on the Deadly Ground"

Metal Masterpiece

TreyC | Australia | 05/19/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Summoning is 2 musicians (Silenius and Protector)from austria that create the ultimate in symphonic Soundscapes.This is Very slow tolkien inspired black/doom metal and is done to perfection.Every track on this could well be part of the LOTR soundtrack,Yes its actually more of a soundtrack album than a simple Record.The rest of summonings back catalogue lives up to the same standard (Lugburz sounds nothing like this)."