Summoning – Minas Morgul

I couldn't disagree more strongly with ipwn's dismissive comment below, arguing that Summoning is a blight on both neo-classical and black metal because they attempt to meld the two genres. I'm against the idea of genre purity; why should any artist limit themselves to a ghetto? Creativity is precisely cross-fertilisation. It is nature's way. I think that the hybridisation of black metal and ambient/classical makes sense. If nothing else (and there is plenty else), these musicians were classically trained. Moreover, this is a fecund crossover; Tolkien planted the seed for Summoning, Summoning spawned a horde of imitators. Hail creativity! Finally, Summoning are famous for just reason; they are one of the more successful black metal acts, and have achieved that without resorting to trendy fashion. I love it that they care nothing for kvlt fashion or arcane anti-harmonic tuneless dissonance or being heavier or more okkult than thou. They have not turned melody into a taboo. More importantly, they prompt and inspire the imagination.

Summoning's music allows the listener's imagination to roam to scenes of epic fantasy. As Tolkien said in a letter: "Part of the attraction of The Lord of the Rings is, I think, due to the glimpses of a large history in the background: an attraction like that of viewing far off an unvisited island, or seeing the towers of a distant city gleaming in a sunlit mist." This album, amongst some others from Emyn Muil, Midnight Odyssey, Druadan Forest etc, does indeed have the attraction of this hazily distant view. If this is program music, it is not very programmatic, as there is freedom in what the listener's imagination may conjure (as long as it big and long).

One of the problems of the epic is that its distant view of longer term trajectories can over-indulge the smooth and generic: everything and everybody becomes archetypal and predictable in a hazy, soft-focus distant view. To put it frankly, the epic can be downright kitsch and cliched. This is a fair criticism of Summoning; sometimes their melodies are trite and predictable. I personally think that they got better as they went along, and some of the sounds on this earlier album are prettily nauseating, especially in the wrong mood. The eagle-eye perspective can gloss over detail, and as we know the detail is where the devil lies. Yet this distant promontory is one of the few ways we humans have to view ourselves and our doings more objectively, rid ourselves of gross imbalances, and start to think in longer term ways. The epic is a counter-balance to our busy doings, one conspicuously absent in our culture today. Epic black metal is to be appreciated for bringing it back in music and this album is a significant contributor.

This album is excellent and has a very special atmosphere. If you get it which the other reviewer here does not then this epic album is very rewarding.

Summoning is another example of mixing black metal with ambient and modern classical. While all those genres are awesome separately, together they are completely unlistenable. You get black metal misanthropy watered down and electronic music spoiled just to create this weirdly popular mixture of genres. I don't understand why such talented musicians like Protector and Sielnius waste their time making things like that and why people listen to this. Music like that is for me crime both against metal and electronic music.