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.
Marching Homewards
Summoning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My dying race is wandering homewards,
Led by an old man to shores. that don't exist,
Just emptiness remains...
On and on goes our march gruesome as the
Light of sun, cold as winds that hide in me
Hour after hour, day after day my lullaby is
Turning and falls gently on this sleeping land
Burning source...
Two years have passed and still my race is
Wandering through foreign shores...
Homewards...
My soul is now formed as a knife forwards
The heart of your heaven.
And so I die...
Still my folk keeps on marching...
Homewards...
The lyrics to Summoning's song Marching Homewards express the longing and despair of a dying race that is wandering home under bleak and endless howling winds. The imagery is vivid and melancholic, painting a picture of a people who have lost everything that was dear to them except for the hope of reaching a home that may no longer exist. The leader of the group is old and seems to guide them towards imaginary shores, while the reality is nothingness that lies ahead of them. The march is gruesome, similar to the light of a sun that has grown cold, and like the winds that hide within the singer.
The singer's lullabies have turned into a sad melody that gently falls on the sleeping land like a hungry hawk trembling with the desire to eat. Despite the relentless march, two years have passed, and the race is still wandering through unknown foreign shores that are far from home. The singer's soul is formed as a knife, piercing forward, searching for a way to reach the heart of the heaven which has been lost. The last lines are a lamentation of the singer's split spirit; the soul is dying, but the folk keeps on marching towards home.
Overall, the song is a rich and poetic expression of longing and despair, marked by beautiful and metaphoric expressions.
Line by Line Meaning
Here beside me, under endless howling winds
I am standing in a desolate place, where the sound of the wind seems to be never-ending.
My dying race is wandering homewards,
My people, who are on the verge of extinction, are marching towards their homeland.
Led by an old man to shores. that don't exist,
An aged man is guiding us to a land which is merely an illusion.
Just emptiness remains...
All that's left behind is a void, a nothingness.
On and on goes our march gruesome as the
Our journey is dreary and the path is never-ending.
Light of sun, cold as winds that hide in me
Though the sun shines bright, the wind that's within me is frosty.
Hour after hour, day after day my lullaby is
Every moment of every day, my mind is filled with a melancholic song.
Turning and falls gently on this sleeping land
The tune resonates quietly and touches the land that lies in slumber.
Like a hawk trembling of hunger and like a
The song is sharp and painful, just like a hungry hawk that trembles.
Burning source...
The tune is intense and passionate, like a burning fire.
Two years have passed and still my race is
We've been traveling for two years and yet, we're still not home.
Wandering through foreign shores...
We're wandering across unknown lands that aren't ours.
Homewards...
Our only aim is to reach home.
My soul is now formed as a knife forwards
My soul has become sharp and pointed, cutting through the obstacles.
The heart of your heaven.
The heart of the divine, the sacred abode.
And so I die...
I know that death is certain.
Still my folk keeps on marching...
But my people keep moving forward.
Homewards...
With the hope of reaching home at last.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL ANDREAS GREGOR, RICHARD LEDERER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lashashubladze9938
Even marching to a toilet is an epic journey with this song
@georalu100
❤ no comment...with love from România
@timebird78
Summoning is so unreached, I love these dudes <3
@danielsaldanha1520
Can't...stop...marching all around my house...
@gbuhnoezqayusioehf
The word "music" becomes real with this band.
@vendsoin
That song brought me back to metal again after years of wondering
@septemberwoman5367
This song... for ever and ever
@jokersplashdown4743
No words.
Summoning!
@metalheadzzzzz
The last part of this song makes me want to fight against all bad people on earth with a sharp sword !
@emilivanov7631
For Sauron and Mordor! 3:)