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Summoning - Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame review




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Reviewer:
9.7

449 users:
8.7
Band: Summoning
Album: Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame
Release date: October 2001


01. A New Power Is Rising
02. South Away
03. In Hollow Halls Beneath The Fells
04. Our Foes Shall Fall
05. The Mountain King's Return
06. Runes Of Power
07. Ashen Cold
08. Farewell

It is always kinda weird to post a review of an album which means so much for you, you will place ultimate rating just because "you feel it so". I will try to state my reasons why I am rating this album so high anyway.

I know many people who claim Summoning are an uninteresting band whose best works were the first ones, when it still was "black enough". I have listened to almost all their works including very first demos, when it was nothing but "ordinary" black metal. As the time flows, they began to develop their specific style, different to almost all other bands. And in my opinion, Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame, is the flashing point of their carrier. Yes, the rest of their albums are great too and I would rate each of them (except Lugburuz) at least 9.5 at once, but LMHSYF means the most for me.

Each time when I am listening to the opening of "South Away", it is like I am riding horseback into the storm of battle. The atmosphere built by usually often repeated, but genially designed music themes concluding (not very marked) harsh guitars, artificial drums, synth melodies is simply great, especially when amplified by some well placed spoken samples (as far as I know mostly taken from some 70ties radio adaptation of LOTR) and of course by Silenius' vocals. Someone should say "artificial drums are crap, a live drummer is always better", but I cannot agree. Just listen to the beginning of "Ashen Cold" and tell me...

Another aspect why Summoning is so unique and great are lyrics. Usually they are not long and verses are often repeated, but I would say genius 4 rhymes are always better than 2 pages of crap. And those lyrics simply are wonderful. They are always muffled and never explicit. Even when you know the words, you have to think what the song is really about and what each verse stands for. It is dark poetry par excellence. In literature lessons, their texts should be analyzed, not some boring poems by crazy modern authors...

To sum it all up - when you are listening to this masterpiece, you are watching how a new power is rising, while you are marching south away to approach the hollow halls beneath the fells, knowing our foes shall fall there. You are witnessing the mountain king's return, seeing heroes casting for runes of power. And ashen cold awaits you before you can say your last farewell. And the only thing you can in the end is - let these (im)mortal heroes sing me again!


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 9
Production: 8

Written by Ellrohir | 18.08.2009




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 13   Visited by: 270 users
19.08.2009 - 00:23
Introspekrieg
Totemic Lust
I like this album also, the medieval atmosphere just sucks you in.
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19.08.2009 - 00:35
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Mmmm I will give it around 8,7-9,0 but I don't really care for the rating because the review is important and you explained your points well.
I liked your words so that why I don't care of your rating.

And damn, I think the music is great. Just hear the chorus on Farewell... Those chants are fucking EPIC. I almost felt like I was gonna cry the first time I listened to them.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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19.08.2009 - 17:17
Smurfophagist

Great review man. rating does seem a bit too high tho.
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Having a signature is an absolute must.
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19.08.2009 - 19:47
AiwiAstwihad
AiryanaKhvarenah
I'm not a fan of this kind of music but the last song, Farewell, is really impressive and for some irrelevant reason reminds me of the movie "Is Paris Burning?"....
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You who will come to the surface
From the flood that's overwhelmed us and drowned us all
Must think, when you speak of our weakness in times of darkness
That you've not had to face
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20.08.2009 - 22:05
quirin

I agree on all counts. Unbeatable in its own, very particular style.
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27.08.2009 - 03:44
Rating: 10
Asitis

Amen to this
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The silent moment, right before the dusk fades away
I open my eyes, but the darkness stays
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11.09.2009 - 15:37
BudDa

Follow me through the darkness..
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Freeze! Step away from the hubris.
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12.09.2009 - 02:52
Lord_Regnier

Though I tend to prefer Summoning's older albums (until "Stronghold" included), LMHSYF is definitely a great album I like to listen from time to time.
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"Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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14.07.2010 - 18:55
Oerath Windsoul

A very good review in my opinion, and you gave this album what it deserved: enough high ratings, it is definitely one of the best albums of Summoning, though as a 'life-sworn' fan I cannot really find a single bad song from all of their albums, nor from both Protector's and Silenius' side-projects and their albums. But if someone asked me that 'What is your favourite album from Summoning?' I would answer without any kind of hesitation: 'Well, it's Stronghold, what else it could be?.'
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15.07.2010 - 00:36
Rating: 10
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
Written by Oerath Windsoul on 14.07.2010 at 18:55

what else it could be?


Dol Guldur

at least nowadays i would answer so...you know, it is already one year since this review and times they are a changin' but still this album "means the most for me", because it brought me and bound me to Summoning

p.s. also half of the songs from Oath Bound are indescribably majestic, in fact Northward is currently my most favorite Summoning song ever...but there are couple of "weaker" tracks, which means i cant place this album at the very top...on the other hand it has the best cover art
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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07.05.2014 - 18:38
Rating: 10
Wes

Great review. It's a true 10/10 for me on a personal level. Looking at it again, I would say that the only thing now I want to see improved is production, and they DID improve production exactly how I wanted them to with Old Mornings Dawn. Now I can't honestly tell you whether I would want them to re-record this album or not, but I would certainly be glad to have another version : ). Even so, I rate this a 10, one of the few albums I truly consider to be perfect.
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03.02.2018 - 15:14
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
In literature lessons, their texts should be analyzed, not some boring poems by crazy modern authors...

maybe vastest words said here forever. I agree band has weird lyrics but its sinmspired by great author, 90% of metal lyric even st. ann type lyrics are crap. poetical, epic and so on lyric are great.
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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08.05.2021 - 18:22
Rating: 9
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
Thank you for the review, the way you describe this album sums up the way I feel about it. They are one of those bands you will simply love them or find them boring.
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