SUMMONING “With Doom We Come” /2LP/

The eighth full-length studio album by the cult Austrian Atmospheric Black Metal band.
Summoning are back after five years with another solid effort although they don't reach the heights of their last work. Despite of band claim to come with Doom, it's still Synthy Atmospheric Black Metal, not Doom Metal. While that would be an interesting turn of events, you cannot blame Summoning for sticking to the formula. You could, however, blame them for the godawful production on this album.
This is the worst sounding Summoning album, except maybe their debut, but at least that has the excuse of being released in 1995 and being much more cult. This has nothing to do with how the songs are written or performed, but even though Summoning have had worse recording, they didn't have such awful mixing and mastering. That is "With Doom We Come"'s major crime. Also some of the transitions from track to track are pretty off-putting. But take the production away and you have a pretty decent album.
When the production issues aren't as prominent, Summoning deliver some interesting sounds, like the spoken word on "Tar-Calion" or the outro of "Mirklands", or even the entirety of "Silvertine". Sometimes you may get lost in the trance and almost feel like striding along an army on scorched earth, just almost.
The songs inspired by the literature of J. R. R. Tolkien. The cover art is based on Georg Janny's (1864-1935) painting, “The Dragon's cave” (1917). The art in the booklet was done by Clarkson Stanfield (1793-1867), Alexandre Calame (1810-1864), and Edward Theodore Compton (1849-1921).
Summoning are pioneers in the field of Ambient, Atmospheric Black Metal, and "With Doom We Come" is a rich, symphonic piece of work. It’s got all the raspy goblin-scream vocals and decaying guitars that you expect from Black Metal. The songs are well written, the vocals are great, and the mastering isn't always off-putting. Summoning earned all their glory and have nothing left to prove, but given their old material and new material from their clones, it really could be much better.
Anyway, “With Doom We Come” shows Summoning returning as strong as ever. Their core sound has not changed from the plodding, oneiric soundscapes we’ve come to know and love, but they offer up a few surprises here and there in a vibrantly atmospheric album. It might not necessarily be the first Summoning album to someone who’s never heard them before, but “With Doom We Come” holds its own and will carry you to the distant lands of enchanted forests and battle-worn fortresses that have adorned so many of their album covers!!
Napalm Records, 2018 (NPR 767 Vinyl). Made in Austria. Pressed in Germany. Strictly Limited Edition gatefold 180g vinyl.


Tracklist:

Side 1
1. Tar-Calion 07:15 
2. Silvertine 08:53

Side 2
3. Carcharoth 09:19 
4. Herumor 07:08

Side 3
1. Barrow-downs 02:47 
2. Night Fell Behind 07:20

Side 4
3. Mirklands 10:59 
4. With Doom I Come 11:17

Total playing time: 32:23 min.