SUMMONING — Lugburz (review)

Album · 1995 · Black Metal

4/5 · 2017-07-21
siLLy puPPy

After the explosion of the second wave of black metal in the 90s, it seemed that everyone was getting in on the act. What started as an aggressive noisy means of expressing disdain for Christianity and espousing hatred in the world turned into a free for all by the mid-90s with ever growing diversification in lyrical content creeping more towards fantasy than fury. SUMMONING was not a Scandinavian act but rather emerged from the icy Alpine terrain of Austria, well Vienna on the edge of the Alps to be more specific, but the point is that black metal had pretty much made its mark on the entire continent of Europe if not the entire world quite yet. SUMMONING like many other bands adopted the Mayhem turned Darkthrone approach of musical expression in order to disguise their true intentions as many a 90s black metal band did in order to launch their own creative outlets into new musical arenas. SUMMONING like many a metal band that began as a “pure” and “unadulterated” black metal band would evolve their sound fairly quickly and usurp unconquered territory in the musical spectrum. LUGBURZ is the debut album by SUMMONING and in all reality is the only “true” black metal album from the band before they would take black metal elements and unapologetically mix them with atmospheric soundtrack symphonies that would allow them to break into the music world on their own terms.

SUMMONING was created by Silenius, Protector (Protector Of All Endless Sleeps formally at Satanic dinner parties) and Trifixion (Of The Horned King) in 1993 and released a few demos that led up to LUGBURZ which is Black Speech (a fictional language created by J.R.R. Tolkien) that really means Barad-dûr which is the Dark Tower on Middle-earth in the Lord Of The Rings novels. The title and subject matter of Tolkien’s fictitious universe began right at the very start and the mood is set right away on the very first medieval folk inspired intro “Grey Heavens” which right off the bat tells the listener that they are in for a melodic ride through the darkened lands, perhaps the only thread of sanity when it seems eminent that the ring of power will utterly usurp control of Middle-earth and all living beings will be enslaved into the clutches of Sauron. As the first “real” track “Beyond Bloodred Horizons” commences with a lo-fi aesthetic that utilizes the expected 90s kvlt sensibilities that incorporate buzzsaw frenetic guitar riffs, liquid bass lines that merge into the guitars and the schizophrenic screams that are sure to raise the dead just in time to suffocate the Orks in full glory. Also unique to this debut album is the use of a real drummer. Trifixion is the only carbon-based lifeform to perform percussion on any SUMMONING album as he would be replaced by a drum machine starting with the followup “Minas Morgul.” Careful listeners will note that this guy provides a unique stamp on this album as well. This isn’t a blastbeat saturated album at all but rather one that carefully crafts its percussive magic in mysterious ways that at many moments offers a nonchalant methodology of keeping rhythm but adds fills and breaks when needed. Of course this is a black metal album and blastbeats are present.

Far from being a generic clone of the initial divaricators of early extreme metal especially of the black metal branch of perpetual expansion, after delving deeper into the compositional sounds that make up LUGBURZ it’s quite easy to differentiate their musical direction to the point where in hindsight to recognize LUGBURZ as a prognosticator of their future sound albeit nobody could have foreseen exactly how far they could have taken it. For me the main difference between SUMMONING and contemporary acts of the day is their use of the folklore musical scales and Tolkien subject matter as well as the sublime use of keyboards to add a more subdued element of melody at this point. True that the guitar, inaudible bass, psychotic vocals and hyperactive drums are firmly placed into the realms of the black metal world however the keyboards create a subdued pacifying effect that don’t dominate at the forefront as was heard in bands like Emperor or Dimmu Borgir. SUMMONING was doing their own thing from the get go. While frantic in overall nature LUGBURZ has moments of tender reflection as with the unexpected piano transition in the middle of “Flight Of The Nazgul” and the dominating keyboard effects that steer the beastly effects of “Dragons Of Time.”

Personally i believe that LUGBURZ is a woefully underrated album in the magnificent discography of SUMMONING. I can actually understand the psychological dichotomy and reactions of the diverse black metal universe in regards to this debut release. First of all i can see that the fans of the later albums tend to be more attracted to those epic video game soundtrack themes that recur in a hypnotic thematic unfolding while the black metal elements dance somewhat in the background which is really a form of black metal “light.” And on the other hand the hardcore kvlter-than-thou types will want to punish SUMMONING for “selling-out” by using a drum machine and creating what they deem “un-kvlt-music.” Personally i am not as judgmental and appreciate both aspects of the band. While SUMMONING would truly continue the lesser emphasized aspects on LUGBURZ and find a pot of gold where no pot had sprouted before, i am truly enthralled by the mesmerizing beauty of LUGBURZ as it’s not the mere generic clone of an album that it’s made out to be.

Just an interesting piece of trivia. Some of the guitar riffs actually sound like video game melodies especially from the 8-bit era (think Super Mario Bros). This subtle effect was not only given steroids for the hypnotic effects of future SUMMONING albums but also inspired fans such as Xexyz whose debut album “Primeval Mountain” album cover not only replicated the black mountain seen on the cover of LUGBURZ but also utilized the same overall franticness in both vocals and musical delivery that only he (Xexyz is essentially the one-man band of Rev) recreated to recreate a version of this album and used chiptune video game sound effects in lieu of the keyboards which i my opinion works quite well. Whether LUGBURZ becomes your favorite SUMMONING album or not (not necessarily mine), it certainly should not be missed as it is an essential piece in the birth of the SUMMONING experience but beyond that i actually LOOOOOVE this album a lot! It is the SUMMONING experience at its most primeval black metal roots and although i truly adore the soundtrack experiences of SUMMONING that follow, i’m very grateful for this album as it is utterly unique in the SUMMONING canon and for that matter the entire black metal world experience.