Summoning was formed sometime in 1993 by Silenius (Michael Gregor), Protector (Richard Lederer) and Trifixion (Alexander Trondl). Before creating Summoning, Protector was playing drums in a thrash/death metal band called Marlignom and had embarked on a four-year study of drums in music school. Silenius was in a doom metal band Shadow Vale (at 16 years old) and had a few years in music school studying piano. Before Summoning, Silenius was making music, together with Pazuzu (Ray Wells) in a band Cromm. Trifixion played in the band Pervertum.
Summoning recorded two demos (Upon the Viking's Stallion and Anno Mortiri Domini), as well as a split with the Austrian band Pazuzu (The Urilia Text) and a five-track promo tape for Lugburz. Nearly all songs from the demos were never released after or took place on CDs in a very different version.
The demos sold quite well in a record shop in Vienna called "Why not". Some time later Silenius got in contact with T.T. (Thomas Tannenberger), eventually leading to the birth of Abigor. Silenius ended up doing all vocals for Abigor releases (except the demos) as a permanent member until 1999. The first Abigor album was recorded for the young Napalm Records label, which led to Silenius managing to get a deal from Napalm for Summoning's debut Lugburz in 1995. At that time the members of Summoning were: Silenius – vocals, keyboards, bass; Protector – vocals, keyboards, guitar; Trifixion – drums (his last release with the band); Pazuzu lent some additional vocals and wrote some of the lyrics. Lugburz was more traditional black metal and very different from the band's later releases that would follow.
The band continued as a duo after the departure of Trifixion, releasing Minas Morgul in 1995. This was the band's first release in their new style, an epic and atmospheric style utilizing guitar purely as a background instrument and synth almost as a lead, using re-recorded early songs. Dol Guldur, in 1996, continued this style and saw an influence from Protector's darkwave project Ice Ages. It also credits J.R.R. Tolkien for lyrics. In 1997, the Nightshade Forests EP was released, and has since been included on the recent Dol Guldur pressings. After this, the band ceased all work for nearly two years, and also stopped work with many of their other music projects. But in 1999, Summoning returned with Stronghold which, while still in the classic Summoning style, focused more on guitar work to create melodic lines rather than keyboards and synthesizers than in previous releases.
In the year 2001 the follow-up Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame was released. This release was a kind of combination between the old and new style of Summoning, with the keyboard lines being more epic and polyphonic while the guitars bore a similarity with the more complex and rock-esque guitar-style from Stronghold. This time the band used more spoken-word samples to bring a more dramatic style to the songs and for the first time the band works with clear vocal choirs on the song "Farewell". The lyrical concept again was totally based on Tolkien's Middle-earth, but for the first time it was combined with some inspiration from Michael Moorcock's fantasy writings. In 2003, they released the Lost Tales EP, which consisted of leftovers from the Dol Guldur sessions.
2006 saw the release of Oath Bound, which consisted of all new material. The long break between Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame and Oath Bound was due to struggles in the band members' personal lives, along with lack of ideas. Oath Bound featured a "relaxed arpeggio style" guitar sound, which gave a more epic feeling to the sound of the album. The band also had higher-quality equipment available to them for the recording of the album and were able to create greater choir vocals than they had done before. A 4-song mini CD was suggested for release in 2007 containing at least one song which didn't make it onto Oath Bound due to size issues, however, this idea was abandoned and Protector instead began work on music for a full-length release while waiting for Silenius to finish recording the next Kreuzweg Ost album.
Following the release of Oath Bound, Summoning entered a period of inactivity. Silenius experienced a creative block and lacked inspiration for creating new music for Summoning. He also suffered a heart-attack which "knocked me out for another half a year, but somehow all this brought me to a point where I got hungry again and since then I concentrated again on making riffs. Everything started in small steps. but after a while I knew in which direction the music was going and the more I knew this, the easier it was to compose and the result is what you hear now."
In February 2012, the band announced on their website that they were in the process of writing new songs, and were hoping to have most of the songs complete by the end of the year. In December 2012 it was announced that all the guitars and Protector's vocal parts for the new album were complete and that the upcoming album would be entitled Old Mornings Dawn. Old Mornings Dawn was released in June 2013 on Napalm Records and lyrically focuses mostly on nature themes, as well as J.R.R. Tolkien's Valinor.
In 2015 the band confirmed that they had already begun working on creating a new album, and were focused on rewriting some of the leftover material from Old Mornings Dawn.
On December 15, 2016 a compilation tribute album titled 'In Mordor Where The Shadows Are - Homage to Summoning' was released by Wolfspell Records. The album features covers of 21 different Summoning songs by artists such as Caladan Brood and Emyn Muil.
On August 12, 2017, Summoning posted an update on their official Facebook page noting that despite troubles, setbacks and disputes, the band's new album will be released in January 2018 through Napalm Records. The band posted a teaser of the new music, although they did not disclose the name of the forthcoming album.
On October 1, 2017, Summoning posted an update on their Facebook page announcing the title of the album as With Doom We Come. The album was subsequently released on January 5, 2018.
The band's debut album Lugburz was a traditional black metal album, with a raw, lo-fi production style. On their following album Minas Morgul the band's sound changed significantly, and has been characterised as "a departure from straight black metal in favor of bold atmospheric experimentation which retains a definite blackened feel." The band's sound has remained relatively consistent since then. The band's sound is frequently described as 'epic, 'hypnotic', and 'atmospheric', and makes extensive use of keyboards, choir vocals, clean singing, synthesized instruments, and programmed drums. Though the drums are programmed, they are played using a keyboard rather than with a drum machine. Their sound has been described as "a particularly widescreen version of progressive black metal, a style that more recently has been infused with an almost medieval strain of twiddly folk music of the lutes 'n' flutes variety." The band's music is deeply influenced by the literature of J. R. R. Tolkien, particularly The Lord of the Rings. Most of the band's lyrics are derived from Tolkien's own works. Silenius has claimed to be influenced by dark wave and ritualistic music as well as fantasy literature.
The band has said that they consider themselves to be composers rather than musicians and do not practice together before recording. Guitarist Protector does not own a guitar and has used a different borrowed guitar for every recording since Dol Guldur.
Flammifer
Summoning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
he wandered far from northern strands,
bewildered on enchanted ways
beyond the days of mortal lands.
Through evernight he back was borne
on black and roaring waves that ran
o'er leagues unlit and foundered shores
His sword of steel was valiant,
of adamant his helmet tall,
an eagle-plume upon his crest,
upon his breast an emerald.
The song Flammifer by Summoning is a beautiful ode to the wandering spirit of an adventurous soul. The first verse describes the singer's journey beneath the moon and stars, far from the northern strands, and his confusion on the enchanting paths of an otherworldly realm that is beyond mortal lands. The second verse describes the singer's return journey through the evernight, where he is carried on waves that roar in the darkness over unlit distances and sunken shores that have drowned before the days of the mortal world began. However, the singer's spirit remains valiant as he carries his sword made of sterling steel, a helmet made of adamant and rests an eagle-plume upon his crown and an emerald on his breast. The singer's sword symbolizes his strength, his helmet symbolizes his determination, his plume symbolizes his freedom, and his emerald symbolizes his honor.
Overall, Flammifer signifies the journey of a restless and adventurous soul, who is not afraid to wander far from the beaten path, to explore the unknown and the fantastical. Summoning's lyrics beautifully capture the essence of such a spirit, and the accompanying music sets the perfect tone for a mystical and dreamlike journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Beneath the moon and under star
The character walked in a place where the moon and stars could be seen.
he wandered far from northern strands,
He went on a long journey, away from the northern coastline.
bewildered on enchanted ways
He was lost and confused on paths that seemed to be under the influence of magic or sorcery.
beyond the days of mortal lands.
He went beyond the boundaries of the familiar, mortal world.
Through evernight he back was borne
He was carried backward through the never-ending night.
on black and roaring waves that ran
He was carried on waves that were black and intense, creating a loud roaring sound.
o'er leagues unlit and foundered shores
The waves carried him over great distances where there was no light, on shores that had sunk below the surface of the water.
that drownded before the days began.
These shores had been sunk so long that it happened before the beginning of time itself.
His sword of steel was valiant,
His sword made of steel was strong and able to overcome his enemies.
of adamant his helmet tall,
His helmet was made of a very hard, unbreakable metal.
an eagle-plume upon his crest,
He wore an eagle feather on top of his helmet or hat as a symbol of pride or strength.
upon his breast an emerald.
He had a precious green gemstone on his chest or neck that may have been a symbol of his status or power.
Contributed by Jack D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kevinvasquezapaza8347
Bajo la Luna y las estrellas
erró alejándose del norte,
extraviándose en sendas encantadas
más allá de los días de las tierras mortales...
Cruzando la Noche Eterna fue llevado
sobre las olas negras que corrían
por sombras y por costas inundadas
ya antes que los Días empezaran,...
de acero la espada infatigable
y el casco alto de adamante;
llevaba en la cimera una pluma de águila,
y sobre el pecho una esmeralda.
"La cancion de Eärendil" - J. R. R. Tolkien
@arthurb.7599
it s 23 years since i bought first tape of Summoning..and nothing changed emotionally , it's still magic , the most magical band in black metal
@widardd
If "immersion" was a category for music, Summoning had a 10 in black metal and no one else.
@tristanrivard2213
@widardd ^
@khav11
dol guldur arthur?
@SuperKanuuna
Band? - it's a single man orchestra :)
@ktaadnbm7475
@SuperKanuuna *two man
@DeathSpellXVI
Summoning are one of my favorite bands, one of the few bands that are able to transport the mind to a different world, pure magic....Also I think Silenius and Protector have some of the best vocals in BM.
@RealEyes24
check Caladan Brood as well ;)
@summoningrus7056
Literally is...but Burzum is also great. You should try Dunkelheit
@russellkerr4073
All very good posts my brethren \m/