”Lugburz” was the first album from the Austrian Tolkien fans Summoning and was released later than the first Abigor albums, even though it is reported that Summoning is the oldest active Austrian black metal act.

Those who know later Summoning albums, are used to epic, quasi-ambiental soundscapes with medieval, folk and classical influences in the melodies creating what is arguably the most atmospheric metal ever. On ”Lugburz”, Summoning is not yet concentrating on being symphonic and instead performs rather primitive and violent black metal somewhere between old Emperor and Burzum.

The stirring elven melodies of Middle-Earth are here, but they are executed in a different way, sawed by the more or less clumsily played guitars through the mostly fast songs giving them a mood rather demonic and twisted. Despite the primitivity, this is not old-school, but rather progressive and advanced in it’s use of melody and arrangements that could be from a sophisticated gothic/neo-classical album. Listening to a song such as ”Flight of the Nazgul” or ”Moondance”, an intelligent metaller can not but pay respect, even if it would not be to his particular listening tastes.

”Lugburz” passes by the obvious and the routine as methodically as post-”Minas Morgul” Summoning indulges in the obvious and the routine. Trifixion’s drumming is technically sub-par and it sometimes manages to confuse this album because of the additional inconstancy from the part of the guitarist. Keyboards in here are used in a different way from their later work; keyboards overlap only very rarely with other instrumentation. Vocals are a wild duet between the orkish snarling of Silenius and inhuman howls and screams of Protector.

The variety and imaginativeness of approach in arranging and performing this album, makes it a hard and heavy but a rewarding experience. One should resist the temptation to discard this album as half-formed and immature, even if that may be it’s appearance at the first and even the second listen.

© 1999 black hate