Written by:	F3ynman, AndyMetalFreak
Published:	July 14, 2022

Ever since their publication, J.R.R. Tolkien's famous fantasy novels - The Hobbit, The Lord Of The Rings, and The Silmarillion - have been adapted by various multimedia creators, each with their own style and interpretation of how Middle-Earth should feel like. While the books often had calm, thoughtful moments of reflection, Peter Jackson's movies stressed the action-heavy scenes, while also using the magnificent New Zealand scenery for profound establishing shots. These grand fantasy tales, full of historical lore, would inevitably attract the attention of heavy metal songwriters. While Finnish power metal act Battlelore reveled in the glorious battles of Tolkien's world, Blind Guardian's Nightfall In Middle-Earth showed a light-hearted side with their trademark catchy melodies.

And yet no band would encapsulate the awe-inspiring atmosphere of the Misty Mountains cold, the ancient aura of wizards and Elves, the dire march of Gondorian soldiers, or the grim wickedness of Mordor like Summoning.

Summoning were formed in 1993 by Austrian musicians Silenius, Protector, and Trifixion. Silenius was lead vocalist for the band Abigor during that time, and it was only after the release of Lugburz that the drummer, Trifixion, made his departure from the group. Silenius and Protector have remained a duo ever since. Once Trifixion left, they turned to experimenting with drums played via a keyboard. Soon they even found themselves composing the bass and guitar tracks on the keyboard as well. This decision altered their musical style drastically, slowing down the fast-paced black metal of their debut to a calmer atmospheric approach that heavily relied on mixing synths and keyboards in the studio. As a result, Summoning have never played for a live audience. Despite this, their phenomenal discography has impacted the atmospheric black metal and dark ambient music genres in a way that remains unparalleled to this day.

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Although Summoning are best known for their calm, entrancing musical atmospheres, they began their career as a fairly standard black metal band. With screeching vocals, fast tremolo playing, and very poor production, Lugburz (named after the Dark Tower of Mordor) sounds for the most part like a run-of-the-mill black metal release. Occasional melodic interludes within some songs such as "Flight Of The Nazgul" and "Moondance" offer some contrasting moments, but these are so few and placed seemingly at random throughout the album. This is also the only album that features a real drummer, Trifixion, as they would exclusively use a drum machine for their next albums. Yet having an authentic drummer seems to do the album no favors with its hollow sound and messy playing.

In the albums to come, this Austrian duo would truly discover its own unique style, incorporating more synths and keyboards. Therefore, in retrospect, Lugburz is quite a distinctive album in their discography, on which they hadn't found their signature formula yet. However, the debut does introduce the tradition of starting each full-length release with a dungeon synth instrumental. This acts as a calm before the storm and is my favorite part on their debut. The sound of waves washing over the shore of the Grey Havens accompanied by a sweet melody evokes images of elegant wanderings of Elves across the streaming tide. In sum, Lugburz is a standard black metal release that offers practically no variety and leaves ample opportunity for the band to improve. And improve they definitely do!



Minas Morgul is considered by many (including me) to be the true birth of the band. Released just a few months after their debut, this album offers a surprising jump in quality with vastly improved songwriting and production. More Tolkien themes are incorporated within the lyrics and there are plenty of smooth transitions between calm atmospherics and raw, ferocious black metal. Leading off once more with a mesmerizing dungeon synth track, the album quickly kicks into high gear with the intense "Lugburz", the name perhaps implying that they are continuing right where they left off with their debut. However, already with this track, one can tell how much they've improved. All the instruments are perfectly joining together into one focused effort, with an overlap of haunting synths, wicked tremolo guitar playing, and bursts of thunder acting as percussion. The harsh vocals fit very nicely within the lyrical theme, as he repeats here a spell chanted by an undead barrow-wight in The Fellowship Of The Ring: "Cold be hand and heart and bone, // And cold be sleep under stone: never more to wake // On stony bed, never, till the sun fails // And the moon is dead."

The album spans a wide range of lyrical themes, from the Battle of the Pelennor Fields ("Morthond") to the ride of the Nazgul ("Master Ring"), from an ancient battle with a dragon ("Dagor Bragollach") to the treacherous alliance of the mother of spiders and Middle-Earth's primeval villain ("Ungolianth"). And every time the band provides a fitting musical mood to accompany the story. "Passing Of The Grey Company", for example, heralds the return of the king: Aragorn, son of Arathorn, traveling to Minas Tirith to reign as Gondor's destined ruler. Accordingly, the synth melodies emulating harpsichords sound like a royal procession of a medieval king. While Summoning's later albums would perfect their atmospheric styles, this album displays a unique balance between the grim black metal of the debut, the grand soundscapes to come, and its own catchy, entrancing melodies.



The third release, Dol Guldur, was an ambitious effort, with most songs clocking around or over the ten-minute mark; that's with the exception of the opening instrumental track and the short instrumental "Wyrmwater Glaurung", which was purposely placed to break up the much lengthier tracks. It had become a tradition for Summoning to start albums off with short instrumental tracks such as "Angbands Schmieden"; this I believe was to set the right mood in place for the rest of the album's atmosphere.

Continuing with their trend of linking their successive albums with similar song titles, "Nightshade Forests" has lyrics that are taken straight from "Lugburz" off their previous album. The melodies and song structures are long and repetitive, allowing the atmosphere to build up, which over time can often become too repetitive, and maybe even a chore for some listeners, but for some listeners it's the long, drawn-out atmospherics that draw them to Summoning, although I do believe some tracks could have gotten away with being cut short by a minute or two.

Much like their previous album, Minas Morgul, Dol Guldur is mostly centered around its heavy use of symphonic work, as opposed to guitar work, which they would feature more of on their later albums. This really pays off, even more so than on Minas Morgul, as Summoning manage to capture such a unique soundscape and atmosphere, one that portrays a vivid image in the listeners mind of the majestic lands of Middle-Earth. No other band has been able to capture the same kind of aura in such a way like Summoning, so this set the tone for the rest of what was to become.

The album title of Dol Guldur was taken from the name of Sauron's stronghold in Mirkwood, which was a very eerie, dark, and mystical place in Middle-Earth; it was this that inspired the atmospherics in the music created on this album.



As with all discographies, the EP releases of Summoning shouldn't be ignored. Nightshade Forests is an EP consisting of four songs that were left over from the Dol Guldur sessions.The song "Mirkwood" is for me the best song that never featured on a Summoning full-length album; perhaps it should have been, as the song never quite got the recognition it deserved.

The other three songs on the EP provide consistently good displays of classic Summoning: slow, soothing beats as a sweet yet eerie melody plays in the foreground. One interesting change is that the vocals seem overall deeper on this release, almost leaning more towards death metal than black metal on "Kortirion Among The Trees". Once again Summoning show that despite a somewhat formulaic approach, they still have so many surprises up their sleeves that their exact genre categorization proves to be harder than it first might appear.

As you may have noticed, the tradition of naming their next album after a previously released song continues and in fact ends here. This EP also acts as a transition in lyrical and musical content. Tolkien-themed stories begin to disappear and guitars begin to play a more important role. This culminates in the following release: 1999's Stronghold.



Stronghold is the first album from Summoning that doesn't reference Tolkien directly. Most of the lyrical content was inspired by or taken from several verses of poems, some in reference to Tolkien; for instance, the title of the opening instrumental track, "Rhûn", is taken from the Elvish word for "east" and was the name used for all lands lying east of Middle-Earth, but in some cases the lyrical themes had no connection with Tolkien. This album also saw a significant change in style from Dol Guldur, as Stronghold was much more guitar-oriented, with the synths focusing on a much more epic and heroic-themed soundscape.

The album also features audio clips taken from films such as Braveheart and Legend, and the song "Where Hope And Daylight Die" features the vocals of Protector's ex-girlfriend Tania Borsky. "Long Lost To Where No Pathway Goes" and "Like Some Snow-White Marble Eyes" are usually considered to be the most memorable songs on this album, and are also amongst the best-known in Summoning's whole discography.

One issue I've found with this album is how distorted the vocals are in the mix. This is clearly noticeable for most listeners, but don't let that put you off the album entirely. I would say this has not only some of the best synth work by Summoning, but also in the history of metal; there's really something quite majestic and powerful about the atmosphere they had created here. The epic closing track, "A Distant Flame Before The Sun", really shows this with its dramatic atmospheric build-up to the heroic melodies and vocals. The song was actually inspired by the "Song Of Eärendil", which was written and performed by Bilbo in Rivendell.



With this release, Summoning returned to their Tolkien-themed lyrics in full force. Many of the songs here relate to the first published story of Middle-Earth, The Hobbit. My personal favorite, "The Hollow Halls Beneath The Fells", puts to music the Dwarven poem of returning to the Misty Mountains cold, leaving ere break of day to regain their dragon-guarded ancestral treasure. Overall, I think Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame is the most approachable Summoning album for new listeners. Clocking in at "only" 56 minutes, it is Summoning's second shortest release to date (followed by the debut) and therefore doesn't get too tiresome. The songs never overstay their welcome and provide clear, easily discernible melodies. The vocals are also less intense and are reduced often to a mere whisper as the instrumentation takes center-stage. The insertion of clips of old radio broadcasts of The Lord Of The Rings is a very original touch that makes the album more nuanced and multifaceted than any of their other work.

While all previous releases start with a sweet dungeon-synth melody, this album begins with a menacing war anthem. The Nazgûl, the Dark Lord's most terrible servants, chant the infamous ring verse in the Black Speech that can be translated as "One Ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them". This is followed by an ominous instrumental, trumpets blaring, drums pounding as one begins to envision a monstrous army of Orcs marching into battle. This rise of evil is met in "South Away" with a triumphant battle cry of the proud horse-masters of Rohan: "Hail, hail now, King of the Mark!" The following four songs describe the outcast dwarves seeking to return to their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountain with audio samples sprinkled in to draw the listener further in. You almost get the sensation of wandering down the shadowy halls of Moria as you hear Gandalf croak, "follow me… into the darkness".

The last song, "Farewell", is the first hint at a trend that takes shape in the later albums of Summoning's career. Ever willing to experiment, the Austrian duo began incorporating poems into their lyrics that weren't written by Tolkien, but nonetheless fit into Tolkien's world. In "Farewell", the lyrics heavily imply an inspiration from Irish folklore, namely the Song Of Amergin. In both that poem and this song, phrases like "Who can tell you the age of the moon… who can change the shapes of the hills - but I can!" and "I can shift my shape like a god" invoke images of an ancient powerful being - is that Sauron speaking, gloating over his power? That is the beauty of Summoning: they give just enough information to grab your interest, but leave so much unspecified to keep you guessing.



Lost Tales is the second EP released by Summoning and includes only two tracks, "Arcenstone", and "Saruman", which sound vastly different from one another. The EP is rather mellow and experimental compared with the rest of Summoning's work, with no vocals or guitars present. It was completely synthesized, and vocal samples from The Lord Of The Rings films were used.

The song "Arcenstone" was originally written for the darkwave project Silenius called Mirkwood, although the project never released anything, and the song "Saruman", was left over from the Dol Guldur sessions in 1996, just as the earlier EP Nightshade Forests contained other leftover songs from the same sessions.



Oath Bound is Summoning's longest full-length studio album and also contains their longest song, "Land Of The Dead", featuring a full choir, which was used previously only on the song "Farewell" from the previous album, Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame.

There is a heavy use of layered symphonics, with various added sound effects, as well as the guitar work, so the production had to be approached in a way to consider all of these elements in place, the vocals and guitars are much further back in the mix, which may not have pleased some listeners, but for me this allowed the symphonics to shine through more, thus creating one of the most dynamic, vibrant, and atmospheric albums in their discography, so I've personally never seen the production as so much of an issue, even with the vocals being slightly mumbled.

The intro involves the primeval villain of Tolkien's world, Morgoth, or "Bauglir", the tyrant, cursing the steadfast hero Hurin, damning him to watch in despair as his children are cruelly punished. It also features the lengthy atmospheric song "Beleriand", the name that was given to the land in which The Silmarillion was set, as well as the mighty impressive "Mirautas Vras", a song written entirely in the Black Speech of Mordor; the song also uses the impressive Nazgul sound effects, as well as horn sounds that also featured on the song "Menegroth". You may notice a similar riff pattern to the songs "Northward", "Might And Glory", and "Land Of The Dead"; these melodious riffs are a new added feature to the song structures, and the riff style would then be used on their next albums with even greater effect.

The album title Oath Bound is a reference to the blasphemous Oath of Fëanor, from the story of The Silmarillion. The lyrical themes mostly portray a vivid and imaginative soundscape of Middle-Earth, and the lyrics focus on the adventures and legends of The Silmarillion in reference to the Oath of Fëanor, unlike Stronghold, where they focused on other poetic works outside their usual Tolkien theme. The album cover is The Mountain In The Mist, a painting by Albert Bierstadt, which was inspired by the scenery of Jotenheim in Norway, so the painting itself has no reference to Tolkien, but for me it does make a perfect background for the album's atmospheric setting. There's something about that mystical mountain coming through the mist across the water that draws you right in when listening to the opening song "Across The Streaming Tide".



It would be a seven-year gap from the release of Oath Bound before Summoning released Old Mornings Dawn. This was due to Silenius suffering from ill health (specifically, a heart attack), as well as the band members having other side projects and commitments. Nevertheless, by this stage, [band]Summoning/band] had clearly decided to stick to their same formula, using the familiar song structures and melodies that had previously worked so well for them.

Although Old Mornings Dawn isn't necessarily a concept album, the lyrical themes are mostly centered around the stories and legends of Eärendil, the half-man, half-Eldar and ancestor of the Kings of Numenor. The most notable songs for me are "Wandering Fire", "Flammifer", and "Caradhras" (the highest peak in the Misty Mountain range).

The production also has several notable changes, the guitar-work being much thicker in sound and the riffs having become heavier and more distinctive. Nevertheless, the familiar symphonics are still clearly there in abundance, containing choirs, trumpet sounds, and several medieval instruments like the lute, which were mostly inspired by old Elven folklore. The vocals are also higher in the mix, and have become a lot clearer in sound, so overall I would say this is their best-produced album, with all the elements coming together in much crisper and clearer sound quality than previous albums.

However, some areas have been under criticism for becoming too tedious in parts; "Old Mornings Dawn" (the title track), "White Tower", and "Of Pale White Morns and Darkened Eves" are most notable for falling into this trap.



This album saw significant changes to the production and sound, most notably the deeper guitar tone and the much heavier sound of the drumming. The album title itself could well have suggested that they opted for a doomier approach, but on the other hand, the melodies, songwriting, and overall song structures seem to be a continuation from Old Mornings Dawn. The band also described this album as the little brother to Old Mornings Dawn, because a lot of the ideas for the album had been initially thought of during those sessions, so in truth you could say this was never going to live up to the standards of what the band had previously produced.

The main downside to this album for me is the vocals, which I would say are much higher in the mix this time. The synths also don't seem to have as much effect as on previous albums either, as the guitar work had clearly taken priority.

For me "Silvertine" is a standout track; the name derives from a peak in the Misty Mountain range of Middle-Earth, much like the song "Caradhras" from the previous album, which was also the name of another peak from the same mountain range. Both songs also have a similar riff melody, as well as a similar song structure to them, so this to me would suggest that the two songs are within a set theme of each other. This album also features more poems from authors other than Tolkien, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Edgar Allen Poe.

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In conclusion, to classify Summoning simply as atmospheric black metal would do them a disservice, since what this Austrian duo has released in 20 years is such a unique experience that cannot be compared to any other band. With a baffling consistency of quality, they haven't shied away from experimenting and pushing the boundaries of how Tolkien's beloved world can be represented in the metal medium. Mesmerizing atmospheres, glorious battle hymns, icy spells of darkness - Summoning present all of these in such unparalleled and expertly crafted fashion as if they were composed by the Elves themselves. Simply put, Summoning represent a musical style as rare and valuable as the mithril silver lying at the roots of Misty Mountains cold or a Silmaril shining in the depths of sapphire seas.