Summoning - Lugburz review
| Band: | Summoning |
| Album: | Lugburz |
| Style: | Atmospheric black metal |
| Release date: | March 20, 1995 |
| Guest review by: | Paganblood |
01. Grey Heavens
02. Beyond Bloodred Horizons
03. Flight Of The Nazgul
04. Where Winters Forever Cry
05. Through The Valley Of The Frozen Kingdom
06. Raising With The Battle-Orcs
07. Master Of The Old Lure
08. Between Light And Darkness
09. The Eternal Lands Of Fire
10. Dragons Of Time
11. Moondance
Summoning's first full length album "Lugburz" (meaning "dark tower" in the Black Speech) was released in the year 1995. The band's lineup for this album is Silenius (Vocals, bass, keyboards), Protector (Guitars, keyboards), Trifixion (Drums) and Pazuzu (vocals at some parts).
The album starts off with a melodic instrumental track (played on keyboards) titled "Grey Heavens." The rest of the tracks give continuity to the melodic tunes. The album focuses mainly on guitar riffs and rhythms instead of keyboards, although keyboards have been used in some songs. I'd call this the fastest Summoning album; Trifixion's work on drums suits the band's music quite well, and the drums speed up at the appropriate moment in the song.
The average track length ranges from 4 to 5 minutes. I find the songs in the album short but quite impressive. This album is a raw black metal album with melodic rhythms and riffs. The echoing effect of the vocals and drums make the album sound quite atmospheric. The catchy melodies, the sound of the guitars (which have been played fast), vocals (which is similar to screaming) and drums (the echoing effect, as mentioned before, and tempo) together make this album a unique black metal album.
This album is among those albums which are close to perfection, and the drawbacks of the album (if any) are undermined by the good aspects of the album. I am totally impressed by this album, and would highly recommend a black metal fan not to miss this album, and listen to all the songs in it. As conclusion, I'd describe this album as a "black metal album with unique combination of rawness and melody."
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by Paganblood | 14.01.2007
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 11
Visited by: 133 users
| Katatronik Angel of Lust Posts: 1018  |
I love this album, it's still bound to classic-black schemes but it has a special epic atmosphere...  The rate is too high IMO, great album and great review anyway! 
---- "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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| Paganblood The Aryaputra Posts: 1194  |
I've been reviewing those albums which influenced me very much. Anyway, the albums which I'll be reviewing now will have proper ratings.
---- that which shines without names and forms...
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| Thryce Retired Staff Elite Posts: 4346  |
Written by Paganblood on 15.01.2007 at 08:44 Well it's about time. This is your fifth review I read and the fourth ten you give, with an average voting result of 9.92!! Also you don't even have the guts to use the whole rating system. Almost never rating the "Production" and "Originality"... A bit exaggerated methinks. Besides you're lucky Metal Storm even wants to publish your reviews. The FAQ clearly says in the Guest Reviews Rules & Guidelines: "Don't give ridiculous ratings. Very few albums actually deserve a 10 or a 2. Be reasonable." and "Please use the new MSv3 rating system.". Now, the reason why I am unusually harsh and severe to you is because I want you to realise that there are nonetheless certain limits and boundaries to the subjectivism of a reviewer. Plus your ratings bothered me a bit. By giving every release you like a ten and consciously avoiding the weaknessess of an album (fe the production on Emperor), you and your reviews will lose all credibilty and reliability... Besides there is truly nothing wrong with remarking the less strong points of your favo album. Then you will be honest (honesty is the basis of everything), you will show your knowledge of music (knowledge is power), and you will let the reader know that despite those thing, this album is still a killer album and masterpiece to you (insight is always appreciated). Anyway, the last thing I will do is wishing you good luck with your upcoming reviews.
---- Your favorite band sucks.
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| Paganblood The Aryaputra Posts: 1194 |
Written by Thryce on 22.01.2007 at 18:35 Yes, I realize it. I will do it in a more reasonable manner in upcoming reviews.
---- that which shines without names and forms...
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| Paganblood The Aryaputra Posts: 1194 |
btw, Thryce, can't we just rate in 'overall impression'? and please tell me something about MSv3 rating system.
---- that which shines without names and forms...
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| Thryce Retired Staff Elite Posts: 4346 |
Written by Paganblood on 23.01.2007 at 04:44 In the old 2.0 version, you could indeed only rate the Overall Impression. But after the switch to the version3.0, you could also rate more aspects (Performance, Songwriting, Originality and Production) of an album in order to give your rating more depth and meaning. As said in the FAQ it is advised to use those extra ratings so reviews in general get more sofisticated. In this way readers get a more general image of the album in all its aspects, and not just some vague rating. And I find it's also a way to make the reviewer think about the album more elaborated.
---- Your favorite band sucks.
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| Paganblood The Aryaputra Posts: 1194 |
Written by Thryce on 23.01.2007 at 11:07 Thanks for the information. Then I think we can leave the rest (i.e. except than overall impression) in some cases when rating the others is difficult, because, for example, Summoning's Lugburz's lyrics was lost(according to their official website), and also sometimes the sound system of the listener is also faulty (for example, in a set of speakers I own, which I have to use sometimes in the absence of other set, every songs would sound slightly 'raw'  ), which may make rating the 'production' a bit difficult.
---- that which shines without names and forms...
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| Paganblood The Aryaputra Posts: 1194 |
The ratings have been adjusted again. It used to be 10 but it was absurd, so, ratings werre re -adjusted
---- that which shines without names and forms...
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469  |
Many people dismiss "Lugburz", saying "it sounds shitty". Personally, I like this album. The only real criticism I have is vocals are unintelligible, it's almost impossible to decipher the words. I think the best way to enjoy this album is to consider vocals purely as ambient noises, as if you hear an orc cry before jumping into battle or a nazgûl fly above a tower. Trust me, it's easy to do, as vocals are quite low in the mix, anyway. Concerning this discussion about ratings: I don't care for ratings and don't even check them. What matters to me is music description, comparisons with other bands, the overall picture of an album. I find it pointless to rate music on a scale, as it's a matter of tastes and perception. Anyway, ten persons will come with ten different ratings, which proves how useless ratings are. If you read my posts on the "Reviews" section, you'll see that I mention if I like an album or not, talk of its qualities and flaws (from my point of view), but never talk about the rating. I would go as far as to say I don't give a fuck if an album is rated 2 or 10. As soon as I'll listen to songs from it, I'll know why the rating is high or low, and if it's really due to the album being very awful or truely awesome or if it's because the kind of music didn't fit the reviewer's tastes. I would never be interested to review albums, as I hate the principle that forces you to dissect an album song by song and category by category. I always see metal music as a whole, not only for an element in particular or merely the sum of all its individual elements. It's the way things are combined together that tells me if I find music great or not to my ears. Awesome drumming, or impressive solos, or great vocals are always positive elements but they don't mean much if the rest is not good and the overall result sucks.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669  |
I like this one least from Summoning's works...it is still "too black" and "too average" for me...later they evolve into such an unique band
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62002  |
Written by Ellrohir on 30.09.2009 at 17:59 it can be to black, and average well, in some way agree, but this is insult to summoning fan boys as bands later works insults BM roots in some way
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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