Summoning - Oath Bound
Napalm Records file under black/pagan metal
 Vera: Was it last month Bal Sagoth who led us away to other eras and magical worlds with ‘The Chthonicle Chronicles’, this month we can all dive into the world of Summoning and their recent masterpiece ‘Oath Bound’. Both bands have their roots into black metal, but that is where any comparisons end, because both bands are too unique to compare.
Just drop all of your ideas about song structures. You know what I am talking about: verse, verse, chorus, guitar solo, and so on. For the music of Summoning is a concatenation of atmospheres which all together aspire to an overwhelming journey through Middle Earth. Long before the success of Lord Of The Rings movies, this Austrian duo wrote complete epics based on the works of writer J.R.R. Tolkien. More precisely, since their second effort ‘Minas Morgul’ in 1995. About that time they exchanged their raw black metal into a more epic and orchestral approach and they parted ways with drummer Trifixion. From that day on Summoning is the life-work of Silenius and Protector. Albums like ‘Dol Guldur’, ‘Stronghold’ and ‘Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame’ were rejoiced by a selected audience and they surely had an addictive effect on me. It is very dangerous to put on a Summoning record just to check it out. I am pretty sure you will not get enough of it for the whole evening. One way or another, music takes a hold of you and it is seemingly impossible to quit with this unearthly journey that comes into being through Summoning’s music.
Once again, fans will not be disappointed at all. Guitars are more in the forefront this time, but it paramount remains these atmospheric keyboards that take your hand and lead you towards an adventurous trip. And they even go a little bit further for you adepts: the track ‘Mirdautas Vras’ is totally sung in the sinister language of Mordor, a language that Gorthaur (the old elven-name of Sauron) developed for his dark goals. The extensive tracks are very trailing and are cleaved through by icy poetry of the duo by solemn screams. Very blackened and atmospheric, do not expect furious black metal, but a journey which leads step by step through imaginary dream worlds. They take their time for every song, for every track has a length of approximately eight or eleven minutes and this complete album is a journey through time of almost seventy minutes.
Drums create a bombastic grandeur, keyboards are undiminished atmospheric and guitars have a drag along, trailing mood. From time to time one can hear an undefined primeval scream of an ancient entity. All this is enriched by empyrean heavy choirs. A song such as ‘Land Of The Dead’ has become a classic tune at my house, it resounds out of my speakers in a glorious way into eternity. This is real top class, giving the word ‘soundtrack’ a new dimension!
Rating 96/100 (details)
http://www.summoning.info
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