Minas Morgul

In continuation of the review for Nachthymnen, I'm gonna be reviewing another Austian black metal band I've been wanting to do in a while called Summoning. Now, Summoning is arguably the most influential band in the country, which is fitting since they not only popularized the more slower, atmospheric elements of black metal, but also included themes from Tolkien and Moorcock. While their debut album "Lugburz" was met with mixed reception from fans and critics, their next album "Minas Morgul" would be the first album to truly give Summoning to notoriety they deserve.

Starting off with the instruments, Minas Morgul starts off similarly to the debut album with an ambient track titled "Soul Wandering". However, its composition is noticeably more simple and primitive, and gives off a strong influence of dungeon synth. The next track "Lugburz" is where the album truly starts to get good. The guitar riffs are very slow and droning, but have this echo effect in them to give off an epic tone. The drum machine is also very simple, as it plays some basic beat patterns, and even the blastbeats don't feel as strong as in the debut. The bass is also kind of hard to hear, though in the times where it is audible, its bass play is decent. The overall composition of the track is more simple, slower, and basic than in Lugburz, but where Minas Morgul truly shines is its atmosphere, in which the epic sound of the guitars and synths in the background do give off this epic impression of a fantasy. And this is just from the opening track. Just about every metal track on here does this style in a similar fashion, but with their own unique twists. The particular highlights that show off some exceptional instrumentals are in "Morthond", "Marching Homewards", and especially that last track "Dor Daedeloth". The basic composition might take a bit getting used to for those who are into the more fast and chaotic type of black metal, but those who do will be rewarded with some fantastic atmospheric instrumentals.

As for the vocals, they're just as good, if not even better. Protector and Silenius both do the vocals on here, and they're phenomenal. Throughout all of the tracks, they do these high-pitched shrieks that sound agonized and tortured, and they add in a new layer of negativity in the environment of the tracks. A good example of this is in the track "The Passing of the Grey Company". This track is more upbeat with some melodic riffs and playful synths, and both Protector and Silenius reflect this with their screams and shrieks adding in more sorrow and pain in the journey. As for more slow, atmospheric tracks like "Morthond", they're even better, as the shrieking really does emphasis the agony that they're going through in the brutal mountains. These vocals may sound more like they belong in a rawer album, but their shrieking does flow through these riffs surprisingly well.

Even the lyrics are great. Summoning continues on the fantasy stories, though the Tolkien influence is much stronger. Take the track "Through the Forest of Dol Guldur" for example, where this verse quotes:

We must leave now, before a new day breaks
to search for the pale gold
that once belonged to the forest
By the sounds of pounding hammers
that sound like bells of the elves
in our ears...
we are still searching in the underground
where our dark secrets sleep

This verse is about the group going through the forest of Dol Guldur to find the master ring. The lyrics are simple in their descriptions, but the details of the foggy forest is enough to paint a vivid picture of a mysterious forest in the mountains. Furthermore, these lyrics are fitting to the instruments and vocals, as the atmospheric tone of the riffs enhance the vastness of Dol Guldur, and the shrieks and screams enforce the danger of the journey. The homage to Tolkien and other fantasy artist are well-done in the songwriting, and would only enhance these atmospheric tracks even further.

When you get down to it, Minas Morgul is a powerful atmospheric black metal album that truly shows off the strengths of the Summoning formula. The composition of the instrumentals are simple, but effective at building the grand atmospheres of forests and mountains. The vocals also add in more intensity to the atmosphere, and the Tolkien lyrics are about as perfect as you can get with these types of songs. Summoning would continue to double down on this atmospheric sound, and we would even see some bands replicate this formula. However, in my opinion, none of them would come close to the true beauty that lies in Minas Morgul.

Minas Morgul (1995) is the second, and best critically acclaimed album from the Austrian, Tolkein inspired band, Summoning, which helped start and develop the Dungeon Synth genre. While this is their second album, many fans agree that with this release, Summoning found their real sound, which they have stuck with throughout the years.

Summoning is a band that has always been heavily inspired by JRR Tolkien and his works. All of their releases have had Tolkien-themed lyrics and their atmosphere has been inspired by Tolkien. This release is no exception, being named after a city in Lord of the Rings, it strives to create a thick, Lord of the Rings-inspired atmosphere with its combination of elements from dungeon synth and black metal, which it does very well.

When you first start playing the album, the track Soul Wandering kicks in. It's an overall calm song, which solely uses synths to create a mystical atmosphere. Even though it is an overall slow song, it catches your attention and doesn't let go. This serves as a perfect introduction to the rest of the album, having a calmer atmosphere and being easier to listen to, but still maintaining the same feeling carried throughout the rest of the album.

After Soul Wandering comes the track Lugbzerg. In the beginning, it starts with a similar, slow atmosphere as Soul Wandering, except that this is done with guitar, drums, and vocals. Throughout this 7 minute song, the atmosphere that it starts with fluctuates, going from more calm to epic, to intense and fluctuating between them throughout the song.

This fluctuating atmosphere is portrayed throughout Minas Morgul, some tracks are adventurous, like the start of an epic journey, while other tracks have a more mystical, creepy, or epic approach. Many albums that try to fit all these atmospheres in, end up seeming sloppy and as if they can't decide what they want to convey, but not Minas Morgul. Summoning was able to encompass all these different themes and feelings in the album, and even many themes in a single track while retaining the same style and using the same instruments throughout the album. This leads to Minas Morgul, instead of sounding like a confused and sloppy release, to sound and feel like a book, with beautiful, scary, calm, and epic moments all packed together and flowing well.

All the lyrics of this album are inspired by Tolkein, some even being straight-up quotes from his book. When just listening to the album, the lyrics are mostly unintelligible which might make some think that they can be thrown aside, I would disagree. I heavily recommend listening to the album while reading the lyrics, seeing as the lyrics are all beautiful pieces of writing that help create the atmosphere of the album. All the lyrics, whether they are the Summoning’s own works, which are highly descriptive with strong imagery, or a beautiful poem that was written by Tolkien himself, help to bring the atmosphere to another level.

Minas Morgul succeeds in creating a strong, rich atmosphere that will take listeners straight into Tolkein’s world. With its instruments that consist of synth, drums, guitar, and vocals and beautiful lyrics, it's considered to be one of the pioneering dungeon synth albums, that exceeds even most modern dungeon synth albums, and one of, if not the best Summoning album. This album deserves all the praise it gets, and more, and I can not recommend it enough for all listeners who want to be enthralled deep in a beautiful and atmospheric masterpiece.

Summoning tunnel deeply and greedily. Strangely familiar dwarven styles of hip gyration indicate pathways of chiseled stone steps that lead down, and down, and down. In a state of profound entrancement, these two beautiful dreamers probe forbidden sub-basements like a pair of drug sniffing dogs of the same general spotting, but of a zyzygistic difference. The profound evil they have uncovered here is in the modes of the esoteric and the ecstatic. What remains of rock and roll is spun anew into an ornate metal lattice work, a decorative border bestowing significance on figures that may have seemed background previously. And so, weird things step forward. 

Moments in Ungolianth and Through the Forest of Dol Guldur gesture wine drunkenly towards the chord experiments that will blossom on the Nightshade Forests EP, but the harmonic palette is less depthy on this album overall. Also, keep an ear out for the escalation of mental illness symptom presentation across the verses of The Passing of the Grey Company. Like in the case of Bolt Thrower, this early material has a wider range of tempo than most later Summoning releases, but the taste for eternally returning trudging is dominant, and, also like in the case of Bolt Thrower, will become definitive. 

However, know that this is the album where the dub / studio flare defiantly steps forward. A litany of video game percussion and Jock Jams patches dominate all songs up and down, but you will not be bothered. The genius is so clearly in the sequencing: this mutant sense for the master hypno-architecture of looping is the Summoning thing in a nutshell. It's basis is in the re-wiring up of ringing "out" notes that start out medievalist, but in repetition end up modernist and psychedelic. Unlike in the case of Bolt Thrower, the "primitive" drum aligns Summoning with a fundamental atavism: the "I wish I was somewhere / somewhen / someone else" that is the wish of all traditionalism. But, as Gandalf would counter, so say all who live to see such times.

Minas Morgul works both as a debut album and as a bridge between Summoning’s actual first album and their current, more familiar style, which is dominated by atmospheric, fantasy-inspired keyboard melodies.

It is a debut not only because Protector and Silenius (along with most of their fans) view it as such, but also because several of the tracks on Minas Morgul had already been written and recorded for their 1994 Lugburz demo tape a year before the Lugburz full-length had even been released, albeit in a different and more unpolished version that what is heard on here. The demo versions had some Lugburz-y missteps, like crappy modulation on the vocals, but the tracks didn’t make an appearance on Lugburz itself, and the kind of songs that they were simply didn’t fit that album’s direction in remotely the same way that they do on this one. One of these early tracks that makes an appearance on Minas Morgul is Morthond, possibly the best part of this whole album. It’s a sublimely beautiful song, telling a tale lifted directly from JRR Tolkien’s poetry of the Men of Middle-earth riding south to the aid of Gondor in the final battle against Sauron. The main synth melody is tragic, echoing, and dramatic, growing in emotional weight and intensity with every repetition.

I happen to like the raw and primitive sound of the keyboards on here. As a whole, the heralding, bardic tunes provide an excellent backdrop for the entire album, but some of the patches that the band chose don’t really create the effect they were probably going for. The Passing of the Grey Company is an early offender: its keyboard parts were possibly supposed to evoke the merry tunes of a traveling minstrel, but they end up sounding tinny and irritating. Likewise, Orthanc features what I can only describe as a synth kazoo.

With Trifixion gone from the lineup, the drums are also now synthesized, providing the precise rhythms that only a drum machine can. The beats are highly unobtrusive, barely an entity throughout the entire album, serving as framework for the rest of the instruments and little more. This is, perhaps paradoxically, a strength of the composition, because if there was still a human drummer gumming up the works it would undoubtedly obfuscate and distract from the atmosphere.

As I mentioned earlier, this also can be viewed as a transitional album, because of all the “real” Summoning records, this is still the one with the most straightforward black metal sound, as if they hadn’t worked it all out of their system on Lugburz. Tremolo-style riffing dominates in all of the guitar work, and these riffs form the core of some of the strongest tracks on here, mostly in the latter half of the album, like Ungolianth and Through the Forest of Dol Guldur. Silenius and Protector’s excellent, alternating harsh vocal shrieks are also more or less unchanged from Lugburz.

If I remember rightly, this was the first Summoning album I listened to. It inspired me to read The Hobbit for the first time, which is remarkable since I was at the petulant sort of age where I typically thought I was above such childish things. Minas Morgul is the album on which Summoning learned to create immense, imaginary landscapes out of music the same way that Tolkien did with his prose, and they’ve only gotten better at it since.

In a world where Tolkien-themed artists/albums/songs are commonplace, Summoning has always seemed to stand among those who capture the essence of his works in the correct light. Years before the Peter Jackson films came into being, accompanied by the now-classic score, this Austrian duo personally gave this reader a soundtrack to the journey. "Minas Morgul", in particular, stood out as a truly epic ode to Middle Earth, and equally to black metal.

One major discussion point I've seen about this record is the use of programmed drums throughout. Indeed, the drums are indisputably programmed, loud in the mix, and hit or miss in spots with their tonality. In certain passages, it can be quite distracting, especially with how front and center the vocals can be as well. However, this isn't awful 100% of the time. Playing my own devil's advocate, it works in the favor of expressing a more dark, primal emotion in some areas. After all, a vast majority of Tolkien's work held a more sinister, ancient theme. Expecting anything streamlined when reflecting this would almost be detrimental in practice.

"Minas Morgul" earns its notoriety through its atmosphere, as does all of Summoning's material. The record FEELS old, not just in production, but in substance. While the concept of dungeon-synth may be cheesy in many corners of music, Summoning uses it tastefully here. There are virtually no tracks on this album where the synth work seems out of place. Rather, they do a marvelous job of conjuring images of the landscapes and scenes they are invoking, especially if you've poured over Tolkien's drawings, or even seen the films. "The Passing of the Grey Company", "Morthond", and "Ungolianth" are a few examples of pieces thick with this, and use it to compliment massive, melodic riffs that do more than enough justice to the black metal side of things. The programmed, primal drums work in full favor of the compositions here, as well, lending credence to their inclusion in the album in the first place.

On the symphonic side of black metal, particularly in the earlier days of its development, it's incredibly hard to not let the "metal" side of things get lost in the ambiance, effects, layering, and so on. Many a great record has been ruined, or watered down, by just one of these factors, if not all. "Minas Morgul" survives this by finding just enough balance between them all to make it work, and work well. Songs like "Marching Homewards" and "Dor Daedeloth" are prime examples of cuts that could have easily been ruined by one tick of unbalance in any element. However, they are presented magnificently together, shining through as two of the highlights of the record, bathed in epic majesty, and some of the best early symphonic black metal work you'll ever hear.

Summoning catches a fair amount of flak. They are, after all, the calling card "Tolkien nerds making black metal music". But holy shit, they do it right. "Minas Morgul" is a triumph against a myriad of elements working against it. This album, on paper, shouldn't be as good as it is. In the end, however, it succeeds in its mission, and opens the floodgates for not only more classic Summoning records to follow, but other symphonic black metal bands to fall in line behind it.

A highly recommended album for any black metal fan, and a classic of the genre.

''Minas Morgul'' is considered a classic by many, and though I think it's a good album, there are a few things that keeps it from being a classic in my book. I must say, as an eager fan of Tolkien's writings, I've always taken a liking to black metal inspired by Tolkien, and so naturally I checked out this album, as I was told it was Summoning's best.

The very first thing I noticed, was the drumming, or rather lack thereof. The drums are programmed, and it's painfully obvious as well. The sound of the drums is so bad that I actually had genuine trouble even getting past the first (real) track, that's how bad they sound. The bass drum doesn't even sound like a bass drum, more like someone hitting a wet rug with a hammer, and the cymbals are so terrible. The ride literally sounds like a sleigh bell. And what furthers the insult is that the drums are quite loud in the mix, which makes it a bit hard to ignore.

Once I was finally able to overcome the terrible drums, I came to realize that there's much good content on this album. The synth is quite good, backed up with great, melodic riffs, setting up a great atmosphere. The sound is a musical interpretation of Tolkien's ''Lord of the Rings'', and they achieved this quite well. The melodies are rather epic, and for the most part fairly slow paced, with a somewhat sad or nostalgic undertone to it for many of the songs. The guitar riffs are usually tremolo picked, and in that sense follow the typical black metal playing style.

What truly gives this album its character is the synth; most melodies are carried by the synth, with the guitars often taking a lesser role in the sound. The synth usually plays a rather hypnotizing yet often somewhat simple melody, and they're very effective, as they really do give me an urge to pick up ''The Lord of the Rings'' and read it once more.

I'm not terribly fond of the vocals, as I find them a bit weak. On ''Lugburz'', the album they released just half a year before this, the vocals were great; they sounded so tortured, having somewhat of a resemblance to Vikernes' early vocals, and they really did fit with the music, as I found them to sound like the Nazgûls. On this album, however, they're quite weak and emotionless. They're quite boring, they don't sound passionate at all, and I find them to sound sort of digital in a weird way. As for the lyrics, I don't really have to much to say. Unsurprisingly, they're about LoTR and the likes, however they're not really anything more than your typical black metal lyrics.

There's another aspect of this album that keeps it from being a classic in my mind; the latter half of the album is boring and breaks character. It all goes downhill with the terrible instrumental ''Orthanc'', which sounds like an electronic Arabic desert-vibe you'd hear in a kid's movie. Most of the songs following are so cheesy, and sound quite euphoric, totally breaking the mood and character, and thus ruining the atmosphere. A lot of the melodies from these songs sound like pop melodies, and on the track ''The Legend of the Master-Ring'', there's a harmonica, which doesn't fit at all. With the exception of ''Dor Daedeloth'', all of the tracks on the latter half of the album shouldn't have been included. This album really didn't have to be over an hour long; 40-45 minutes would have been quite enough.

To me, this album was a good, until I reached the ''Orthanc'' track. I'm not going to be too harsh on it with the score, however, for the songs that are good do somewhat make up for it. I would recommend this album to most fans of more atmospheric black metal and Tolkien, however I'd probably recommend you to start with their debut first.

Austria is a lovely country. It calls itself "Land der Berge" ("land of the mountains") and it comes therefore as no surprise that the artwork of Summoning's "Minas Morgul" shows an isolated colony in the mountains. (Forgive me for ignoring their Tolkien influence, because I have never read his books. Sorry, but I am interested in history, not in fantasy.) The inaccessibility of this settlement creates a mysterious aura that matches the atmosphere of the music more or less perfectly. Indeed, "Minas Morgul" is ornamented with one of the best artworks of my collection and I am ashamed that I only possess the small CD edition. I must look out for the vinyl. Irrespective of this omission, I am generally no great fan of atmospheric black metal. But in the case of "Minas Morgul", I admit that I also appreciate the music of the album very much and I recommend it for those of you who want to escape into another world from time to time.

Endless keyboard lines take the listener on a surreal journey. The melodic approach generates pompous soundscapes. Undeniably, the band has a certain penchant for repetitions. The wide-screen format of the songs has both advantages and drawbacks. It underlines the monumental aura of the tracks, but it makes it slightly difficult to listen to the entire album without interruption. I confess that I mostly do not have the patience to listen to the complete full-length. This is not only a question of the album's playtime of more than an hour. It also indicates a small lack of spellbinding sequences. But there exists also a great number of fantastic compositions that shine in full glory. The sprawling "The Passing of the Grey Company" marks the prime example in this context.

Some might say that the general configuration of this piece, calm beginning and steadily growing intensity, is not highly original. However, it works outstandingly. No doubt, the mesmerizing main melody is created by experienced musicians who are able to assess the effect of their creation in advance. The strongly distorted lead vocals commute between desperation and conjuration while adding the necessary black metal touch. In addition, the guitars contribute harsh elements as well, but they only have a supportive function. Finally, a timpani leaves its mark at the end of the song and increases the majestic ambience. This wonderful masterpiece is surrounded by pieces which basically have a similar structure. Consequently, "Minas Morgul" does not suffer from heterogeneity. Just like the Alps or the mountains on the cover, the music can be described as monolithic and impressive at the same time. Yet there is also a significant difference between the Austrian mountains and Summoning's music. The latter is easily accessible and the listener is not at risk to crash.

Despite the dominance of the rather unpopular keyboards, the sound does not lack of density and robustness. Of course, the mix is not as hostile as that of a genuine black metal album. But it fulfils its purpose in a convincing manner while being aligned with the fundamental approach of the duo. And we may not forget that the album was released in 1995. More than 20 years ago, Summoning's way of proceeding was more or less innovative and experimental. Taking this fact into consideration, "Minas Morgul" is the name of a very interesting effort, created by two courageous musicians.

"Lugburz" may be the first album Summoning had released, but they wouldn't release their first real album until 7 months later with "Minas Morgul". Obviously this isn't literally their first album, as it is not their debut. However, this is the first album Summoning found their signature formula and what started the truly epic sound they're very well known for creating. Gone are the blistering fast guitar riffs, chaotic tremolo picking, and blastbeats provided by an acoustic drum kit. Instead, we get slower, crawling guitar riffs with much slower tremolo picking and programmed drums with a ton of reverb. The keyboard also makes a far bigger impact here. On the last album, keyboards could be heard and took the spotlight in some places, but they were not nearly as important to the music. On "Minas Morgul", they are used in every song, and in extreme amounts.

While blistering tremolo riffs made up a majority of the songs on "Lugburz", the guitars here work more as a companion to the keyboards, which are extremely epic and atmospheric in nature. For example, the album's third track "The Passing of the Grey Company". This song begins with a synth intro and the guitars come in soon after. The keyboards play a larger role on this album than the guitars and are at times seemingly more technical than the guitars. Now, I'm probably not the best judge for this, as I am still very new with playing guitar and I have yet to learn anything on the keyboard, but the two instruments seem to differ greatly in terms of technicality. These riffs are presented in a slow, some would say crawling, manner. They are there to enhance the epic sound of the music rather than blast your face off. Songs like "Lugburz" and the beginning of "Through the Forest of Dol Guldur" seem to favor the guitar over the keyboard, but in reality if either of these instruments were left out of the album, it would not be nearly as effective with creating the atmosphere it does. On one hand, say the guitars were taken out of the equation. What we would have now is some overly cheesy sounding synth-pop album. If the keyboards were taken out, we'd have some half-assed atmospheric black metal album. These instruments are necessary components on this album to create the atmosphere this beats emits.

The keyboards are definitely a huge factor in this music, but at times, they do seem ridiculous. I have no idea what kind of synthesizer the band used for this release, but it sounds awfully cheap on certain occasions. "The Passing of the Grey Company" and "Dagor Bragollach" are two of the album's biggest offenders in this regard. These songs definitely aren't bad, but they do indeed contain some of the cheesiest sounding synths out of all these 11 songs. While these keyboards do for the most part sound good and greatly enhance the atmosphere, it is instances like these that really cause some distractions to the overall music. In addition to the slight irritation I have with some of the keyboards, the vocals on this album seem too low in the mix. It is almost as if they are buried beneath everything. It would benefit the music greatly if they were higher in the mix.

This is definitely a near opposite album from "Lugburz" in terms of sound and atmosphere, and aside from the keyboards and change in guitar playing, the drums are a huge reason for this. Unlike that album, the drums here are programmed. Trifixion has left the band and this definitely was for the better. These drums add so much atmosphere to the music and have such a unique sound, there really are no other bands that utilize the same tone. Sure we now have bands like Caladan Brood, an amazing band that obviously worships Summoning and utilizes the same reverb in the drum programming, but Summoning did it first, did it best, and still to this day do it best. These drums are heroic and really help with the atmosphere of the overall music to create a true visualization of Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Summoning is a band that makes me insanly proud to be a Lord of the Rings nerd.

This album is not perfect. There are certainly flaws here, mainly in the aforementioned keyboards and vocal departments. Still, this is a beautiful album, as well as the first Summoning record I had ever heard, and it made me fall in love with this band. I recommend this be the starting point when first listening to Summoning because like I said, it is their first real album in terms of their unique atmospheric and epic black metal sound. After this album, if you are curious about the band's debut, go check out "Lugburz". However, "Minas Morgul" is overall the best of the two. From here, the band would improve and release other landmarks in the atmospheric black metal genre.

Here we have what is arguably Summoning's finest hour. After the meandering Lugburz and the departure of Trifixion, the Austrian duo finally solidified their approach going forward. Being the first album in this style, Minas Morgul naturally exhibits some of the the band's greatest ideas along with some less digestible shortcomings. It's a decidedly mixed bag, but holy hell does it ever clear the ballpark when it really gets cooking.

Specifically, the riffs have a fairly concentrated foothold here, not yielding wholly to the shrieking keyboard melodies like on some of the band's post-Stronghold material. This dichotomy strikes an enviable balance, giving Minas Morgul a unique identity amongst the rest of Summoning's catalogue. "Through the Forest of Dol Guldur," "Marching Homewards," and especially "Lugburz" contain some of the greatest riffs these attached-at-the-hip comrades have ever committed to disc. They are always delivered via a fairly comprehensible tremolo style, thus not hampered by the excessive, dour reverb and diffusion albums like Oath Bound suffered from. Alternatively, the vocals are processed beyond the point of inanity and generally lack the grand scope Summoning was aiming for with their inclusion. To my ears, it sounds like Silenius delivers most of the narrative here, and as I've stated in the past, he is certainly weaker than Protector from a vocal standpoint.

Another issue I have with Minas Morgul is that some of the keyboard sections sound far too bouncy and upbeat. On it's own this isn't a huge issue, but signs of decay begin to float to the surface when they are set next to the gurgling roars and the programmed military snare runs. The obvious casualty here is "Dagor Bragollach," which doesn't seem to have a clear focus regarding tone or delivery. The inclusion of a couple of purely instrumental numbers like "Orthanc," contribute little to the album on the whole and are tracks best skipped on the whole.

It goes without saying that this risky approach yields a few gems due to impudence alone. "The Legend of the Master Ring" is an appropriately-titled epic and by far the best track here. Summoning should experiment with piano textures more often, because this one is a real treat and belongs on any best-of compilation should one ever arise. This is certainly contrasted by some face-palm moments, like the random bum keyboard notes that surface during the synth break halfway into "Ungolianth." I'm all for going out of key to summon a melodic shift, but I'm surprised nobody caught that one. Regardless, it certainly helps that the Balrog's share of Minas Morgul is in a more accessible (for Summoning) vein. Eleven tracks on Oath Bound would likely constitute two discs and nearly two hours total. The shorter tracks aren't always the better ones here though, so don't discount protracted epics like the aforementioned "Marching Homewards."

As it stands, Minas Morgul still can't hope to top Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame and also falls slightly short of Stronghold. It certainly has it's place in the band's storied discography, as Summoning had to exorcise some demons here to get their unique formula streamlined and focused. Don't miss "The Legend of the Master Ring," and give this one a whirl if you're in the mood, you might be surprised how much mileage you get out of it.

"We see the drop of our drummer as the start of the real Summoning style. The real drummer was always the disturbing element in our music. Real drum rhythms do not suit to the music of Summoning at all. The drums of Summoning focus manly on deep tom toms, kettle drums and marching drum; played in a very slow way. Any boaster breaks or blast beats would totally destroy the feeling. I am really bored by the standard Hi Hat, bass drum, snare rhythms which didn't really change since the beginning of rock music. I want to create rhythms that don't rock, but spread the feeling of ancient times."

~Protector, in an interview in 2001

Indeed, this really is the first release that really gave us the true style of Summoning today, but at the time they didn't really know that; what that essentially translates to in terms of the changes made from the foundation of Lugburz on Minas Morgul is a focus on more keyboards and slow-building songs. Right away, the ominous build of "Soul Wandering" and the electronic drums- with no intention to sound real in the slightest- makes you realize something's different here. I want to say that Summoning made the guitars more of a backdrop for the keyboards because that was certainly their intention but although there's even less of a focus on detail in the riffs than there was on Lugburz, their position in the mix and the fact that they can still function fairly properly as black metal riffs because the style intrinsically lacks that sort of detail causes them to frequently win over the keyboards for the most dominant element in the music when they're in action. This is good news for most people into more traditional black metal because this is probably the closest to black metal they've ever sounded in their "true" incarnation, and it also happens to be one of their more concise and riffy albums. Songs like "Through the Forest of Dol Guldur" and "Lugburz" (you put the title track on the wrong album, guys) are pretty much black metal through and through, even the drumming is more conventional and less Summoning-esque in its programming. Sometimes the drums even do something resembling blastbeats! It makes for one of Summoning's most varied albums, even if it doesn't quite capture the same atmosphere that some of the later albums would.

I'll address what has been brought up by previous reviewers on multiple occasions and seems to be a prevalent complaint; yes, the synths do have a tendency to sound extremely cheap, tinny, and of course cheesy as hell due to the I-can't-believe-they're-good RPG video game background music melodies- they're at their worst on "Passing of the Grey Company", but interestingly enough, everything surrounding them is so genuine and well-crafted that it makes the initial reaction of "christ I feel like I'm playing a NES game" easy to get over and the keyboards do have their moments where they do kind of drop the cheesiness and actually start to sound grandiose; mostly at the tail-end of the album in songs like "Dagor Bragollach" and "The Legend of the Master-Ring". There are moments, such as those ones, where they really sound in touch with the intertwined layers of sound sort of effect that they would come to perfect on subsequent albums. The multiple layers of thunderous drums signalling the march into battle, the triumphant keyboards and synths, the tremolo'ing guitars and the wispy harsh vocals each occupying their own space and neither one is treated with more favor than another; each gets their own sections to build and evolve within the album; usually a band tends to neglect at least one or two instruments in the overall formula or I'm just sort of confused and disgruntled at all the disparate elements thrown together in a given song but all is treated with equal importance to the end product and it works, because Summoning actually give a shit about dynamics. In the world where band seem to be producing every single one of their albums with the intention of everything being right at the front of your attention, listening to the keyboards fluctuate between quiet and loud while playing the same melody on "Dagor Bragollach" is actually very refreshing and entertaining. It's yet another trait of Summoning that only careful listening reveals, and one of the hidden elements at play that makes their music as thick and immersive as it is.

The vocals are perhaps neglected a bit but they are the least important part of Summoning's music and are more-or-less tacked on once everything else is assembled; they're mostly just a static layer that isn't meant to be paid attention to and act as sort of a storyteller as the rasping give it an abrasive undercurrent, but the delivery of them tends to be weak, not being able to hold a scream, sometime peetering off in the middle or too early. They're generally just quite faint. Odd, because they were the strong point of the album last time around. Their role as the weakest link of the album is fitting enough, though; better them than another crucial component of the music suffer, I suppose. There's a reason they were neglected, there's always something else you can pay attention to, which is fortunate.

There are a few really goofy things about this album that should make it seem like a really cheap, amateurish and inferior album from a third-rate band, but the superior compositional skill and the unique and plentiful elements at play give it something of a timeless quality. Despite Minas Morgul's interesting qualities as a diverse sort of hybrid/transition album, this is just the basic setup; they would build on the foundation set in ways I find much more captivating, but this is still just a really good, sort of experimental black metal album that could feasibly occupy a spot in any decent metalhead's collection. However, although the quality of Summoning albums tends to fluctuate (albeit fortunately not very wildly), the core features that makes up their sound consistently mature as they go on; this is an ambitious and entertaining album, sure, but it's also an immature one. They've already pinned down something great, and this is only the beginning.

I didn't so much as hate this album when I first got it, more so I hated the synth patches with a deep undying passion. I've got a super cheap Casio keyboard from '93 somewhere in my room, and even that had better patches. It's not so much that they sound obviously fake, but that they sound tinny as all hell. I get the feeling that said synths weren't recorded via MIDI or what have you, but that Summoning got an extremely cheap microphone and put it near the in built speakers of, well, a cheap Casio keyboard from '93.

However, after finally getting used to the tinnitus inducing synths, I've come to realise that this is a really good record. While I do enjoy Summoning's later super-repetitive, bombastic albums, this is certainly the most dynamic, the most interesting and the least sleep-inducing out of everything they've done. There's actual guitar riffs (!!!), songs are short and accessible and not hugely repetitive. Certainly there's a few rank moments here and there, but expecting perfection from a band is a bit unfair.

Summoning do their best to make everyone uninterested by the horrible intro tune. "Dagor Bragollach" for some reason is reminiscent of a black metal cover of the Tintin TV show theme - (fond memories! Looking forward to the movie), all strange, awkward big drums and attempts at dramatic-ness. Try not to pass out from the awfulness, though, and you'll be thrown into the oddly formed, bizarre-yet-awesome world that is a Summoning album.

Those who've heard later Summoning shouldn't expect anything hugely different; the usual tremelo-d riffs bleating away, perhaps a bit higher in the mix and a bit more aggressively then in later records, very artificial programmed drums playing very symphonic sounding lines (certainly the drum lines on offer are very different from what an actual drummer would play), and a large keyboard orchestra giving us a bunch of very artificial flutes, pianos, strings, pan-pipes and choirs. I guess the main difference here from the later stuff is that there's a few moments where the guitars really come out into the forefront; the epic strains of "Through the Forest of Dol Guldur" being brilliantly driven by a few truly huge guitar riffs. Indeed, this long forgotten Summoning fondness for riffs (albeit of the slow, depressing variety) really lifts this album up; there's the brilliant military type intro riff of "Marching Homeward", whereas the endless death trudge of "Lugburz" is amazing; it's the kind of stuff a depressive black metal would kill for.

Various riff heavy songs aside, a lot of the album follows the usual Summoning bizarro-formula; the worse it sounds, the better it is. "Legend of the Master Ring" has a very Eurodance-ish piano (When are Austria going to see sense and put these guys on Eurovision?) and no drums for the most part, yet it's still a hugely epic track, a doomy guitar riff and a bunch of slow, sad synths melding in with said euro-piano for a real gloomy track with a tremendous vibe and atmosphere. "The Passing of the Grey Company" is another great example; you're looking at the worst synths used in the history of music in the intro, yet it's still totally awesome.. and when the guitars come in, well, it's all over. A huge track, some sort of crazy awesome euro dance symphonic black metal hybrid.. who would've thought that one of the best songs in the world would sound so tinny and irritating?

This is a great album, an amazing album. Summoning's best, even (or perhaps equal with LMHSYF). Their typical hugely immersive atmosphere's here, the riffs are the best they've done, the synth lines catchy and inventive, if a little bit lame. If you want to wander through a beautiful albeit vaguely fruity fantasy land for an hour or so, then I can't recommend this album highly enough.

Minus Morgul is a massive improvement over their last album Lugburz. For this one they dropped the black metal structure which I thought made Lugburz kind of a bland album. This time around they use more synths, richer melodies, and a drum program where as to using an actual drumming like on Lugburz.

The main difference in this one I found was how all the songs don’t follow the traditional black metal song layout. On the last album every song had the same basic guitar riff and shriek vocals. This time they use more synths and keyboard in every song. Even though they use the black metal style riffs in the songs, they have a lighter and happier melody to them, which improves to the medieval atmosphere, which is what this band is based off of.

They also use a drum program instead of an actual drummer. I thought the drumming was decent on the first LP. The drum program also does an ok job I thought. The only problem with the drum programs is that some songs you can tell that it’s a program and not a real drummer, which was about half the songs one here, one including “Orthanc” which is just nothing but drumming and keyboards. Hearing the fake sounding drums kind of makes it hard to get into the picture of the music and decreases the atmospheric moments.

They use a lot more keyboards in this one. The first album you didn’t really know if they were there outside of the opening track. This time they use them in every song, and they make every song stand out more. It makes every song sound like they are unique and they all stand out more compared to the first album which was nothing more than standard black metal. Also, the keyboards add a lot more atmosphere to the music. They build an epic medieval feeling in you. Unfortunately, the drum program kind of ruins it and pulls you out of the epic sounding atmosphere. Still the atmosphere is a huge improvement over the first album due to the fact that the first album didn’t really have much atmosphere, if any at all.

I enjoyed this album a lot. It’s better than the first album, but they don’t quite have the atmosphere part yet. It’s just not as good compared to their other later albums. Still, this is an album that fans of Summoning or atmospheric music should check out.

Everyone’s favorite Tolkien fan boys, Summoning, began their epic soundtrack like approach to music with Minas Morgul. Leaving more traditional black metal song structures behind, the band takes a deviant approach with circuitous synth melodies, borderline monotonous tremolo picking, and robotic sounding programmed drums. The result is a less than complete but nonetheless enjoyable transition into the atmospheric sound they are best known for today.

Once again Summoning derives an album title and lyrics from the works of Tolkien. Minas Morgul does an outstanding job bringing the Tolkien universe to life and capturing every awe inspiring ounce of it in the process. To me, Summoning seems more about eliciting a certain Tolkien spirit, and the synths and programmed drums are largely responsible for this, leaving the black metal-esque guitars and vocals as more of a lingering resonance.

But what better genre to attempt such a feat than black metal? The influences are still there as already mentioned, but they take a side seat to the epic if repetitious song structures. Keyboard elements, melodious as they are, do little in the way of variety. Each song opens with a set pattern and comes full circle more than once before arriving at its logical conclusion; they are the batter for our delicious musical cake. Guitars cut through this harmony without destroying it and add to the sense of grandeur, sort of like a nice fruit filling. The drums, while perfect and unflinching in their robotic efficiency, provide the frosting without being too sweet and increase the sense of majesty. Shrieking vocals seem dim compared to it all, but the added black metal flair is like sprinkles on top.

All in all, a solid piece of cake of epic size whose proportions are just right but whose flavors might get a little mixed up in the large serving. If you like repetitious song structures and getting lost in the epic feeling, buy now and don’t delay. Anyone else might feel a little lost. Expect neither pure black metal nor pure soundtrack and you’ll be alright.

Minas Morgul marks a transition point in Summoning's history. Here can be found the last vestiges of the band's black metal roots as well as the introduction of some of the epic soundtrack elements that would define their future direction. The most notable change would be the drumming; some of the tracks here keep time to busy rhythmic patterns typical of the black metal genre, which Summoning would abandon in later releases for a more reserved symphonic style of percussion. Keyboards have already replaced the guitar as the dominant melodic instrument on Minas Morgul, although the familiar buzzy tremolo picked guitar lines contribute to some songs as well. Silenius and Protector both contribute excellent harsh vocals as always.

"Dagor Bragollach" is one of my all time favorite Summoning tracks. Rousing sythesizer lines punctuated by marching snare and bells generate an incredible tension, which somehow continues to elevate even higher at every transition. The intensity is so sharp the listener can barely breathe until the song concludes.

"The Legend of the Master-Ring" is another standout track that showcases what would become a Summoning trademark: captivating keyboard melodies that span many measures before repeating.

Minas Morgul isn't a flawless album. One or two of the tracks drag on a bit too long, and the keyboard sound quality is a bit weak at times. But there is great material to be experienced here, and its exciting to witness the emergence of the brilliant and original art that Summoning would continue to produce on the tremendous follow up -- Dul Goldur -- and subsequent releases.

I am very new to the realm of Summoning. I've heard of them many times before but have not taken it upon myself to give them a listen (Though, I've always -- for some odd reason -- thought of them as sounding very familiar to Temnozor. Why, I don't know, and the difference is very clear.) until recently.

Minas Morgul was the first album I was able to get my hands on (It would seem Lugburz is seemingly rare?), and this album, while being poorly produced in some areas and also very obscure, still managed to absolutely captivate me. I am in love with this duo, and this release. Summoning's albums are just one giant ride through Middle-Earth; be it in Battles on the plains of Gorgoroth, Marching over the Misty Mountains, or speeding through the forests of Lórien, it makes no difference. The experience is something that only this band can bring us (and I say this as a person who has listened to NUMEROUS bands that are Tolkien influenced.).

The guitar work, while dry in tone and repetitively tremelo picked, seems to oddly support the amazing symphonies we hear from the keyboards. The drumming, while being reminiscent of Black Metal is also heavily Tom based. I can only describe these as being "Battle Drums", for that's EXACTLY what they are. The vocals are simply perfect for the music. As if the Nazgûl are the ones narrating the tales and journeys that are experienced within the music of this album.

This album is absolutely beautiful. It's HIGHLY recommended.

Highlights: Lugburz, Passing Of Grey Company, Morthond, Ungolianth, Dagor Bragollach, Through The Forest Of Dol-Guldur, and The Legend of The Master Ring

Minas Morgul was constructed by Isildur on the Second Age of Middle-Earth. But Minas Morgul it's also the second album of the guys of Summoning.

After kicking Trifixion ass out, they decided to use programmed drums, well that was certainly a very good decition. Minas Morgul gives us 11 songs and almost one hour and ten minutes of dark but epic black metal, grim and sometimes raw. Summoning mixes all this in an harmonious work, every single song of this album jams.
As I said before, when Trifixion was kicked out the things began to get better to Summoning, because with Trifixion drumming there will be an obvious lack of good sound on the album, instead Protector's drum programming sounds perfect, bombastic, and efective. If we listen to Summoning's first album "Lugbûrz", you
will understand why a drum machine was the right choise, because Trifixion drums will not be able to fit in this new dimension created by Protector and Silenius, simply as that.

Musically they've improved a lot, the quality of the recording is kind of raw, but yet much better that the previous album. Vocals are fundamental, in my opinion at least, the music created will not be the same if weren't there Protector and Silenius grunts, both of them shows great agression but also sorrow in some songs like Marching Homewards.

The lyrics are taken from JRR Tolkien poems and songs, if we read we will know that all have conection with dark events of Middle-Earth, with the exception of Marching Homewards that we don't know where they got those lyrics. Now, still taking about lyrics, here Summoning mixes with oustanding perfection the link between lyrics and music. Marching Homewards again, is probably the saddest story related by the band and that goes on constrast with the music, the riffs on this song made a very sad atmosphere. That goes on in songs like Dagor Bragollach, where music can makes us understand what Bragollach really was: a sudden event which brought lot of death and sorrow for the Elves and an important triumph for the Dark Lord Morgoth.

What Summoning shows us on Minas Morgul is their pure and unique style, with every song we got a pass on the time warp of imagination and then we are led
into Middle-Earth to witness every single detail that the band produces with their impressive and outstanding music. A voyage through the dark passages of Arda.
Here ladies and gentlemen we got the perfect mix of an unique black metal style, some medieval epic sounds and the greatness of JRR Tolkien behind them.

Highlights:
Lugbûrz: Cold, Grim, every grunt rips your ears off, killer drumming and some keyboards that make an amazing good ambient.

Morthond: A perfect mixture of tranquility and killer black metal blast beats. Wonderful and very good for headbanging and moshing jojo.

Dagor Bragollach: I write it somewhere on my review.

Through the Forest of Dol Guldur: What a misty and mystical voyage through Mirkwood, great drumming on this one!

Dor Daedeloth: Cold and Grim, slow and terrorific, splendid work of art, worthy of Morgoth's Land of Dread.

Sorry for my poor English :p