Black death war is coming! Unprecedented and unrivalled wickedness, barbarism and ferocity is soon to be unleashed upon this wretched kind under the banner of Godz Ov War Productions! We are finally able to proudly announce the signing of Summon for the release of their upcoming EP titled ‘Helios’! Get ready for a twenty-minute-long harbinger of uncompromising and relentless yet atrociously primeval death / black metal that only those three maniacs can deliver!
Hailing from Portuguese grounds, Summon is a quartet performing their own mix of black & death metal. This Portuguese quartet is formed in 2016, and Helios is their second EP, arriving three years after its 2017 predecessor EP Aesthetics Of Demise. What is more important is that the band also released one 2018 full-length entitled Parazv Il Zilittv, via Iron Bonehead Records. Helios consists of only three tracks, which means this review will be relatively short. Songs are simply entitled “Helios I”, “Helios II” and you guess, “Helios III”. Those three tracks range around 20 minutes. As stated above, the EP starts with “Helios I” – delivering a fascinating blend of blistering distortion, frantic riffing, amplified adrenaline while implementing extreme aggression. Harmonies are mainly ‘hard’, but I guess it is the way it should be when talking of almost ritualistic and savage blend of black and death metal. There’s a lot of symbolicism, but surprisingly also a solid versatility on this opening track. “Helios II” is the next chapter of this EP and it is here where things get a bit slower showcasting the venomous melodies and stampedo-like hammering drumming. Part III aka “Helios III” is by far the highlight of the EP being chaotic to start with, but three minutes in a clean series of notes and ambience kicks in. It somehow helps finishing the EP off nicely. Vocals are probably the most interesting and diverse part of this EP. The vocalist demonstrates a huge variation in his style, from demonicly deep and guttural grows, over howling and high-pitched to more snarly and roaring vocals. To times, as perfectly demonstrated in the closing track “Helios III” (listen below) the frontmen also delivers some spoken-word vocals somewhere in the middle of the song. The overall atmosphere on Helios is dark and blackened with this ambient yet hellish feeling. Production is raw and echoing, but also the one where all instruments fit perfectly into the mix with vocals. For myself, Helios is a discovery which most certainly deserves at least a two listening sessions. It’s not ground-breaking nor highly original, but it all works fine, enough to make fans of extreme black and death metal satisfied! Esp. recommended for worshippers of Incantation, Cultum Interitum, Genocide Shrines, Darkthrone and Possessed.
Godz Ov War Productions, is an independent label dedicated to extreme music from the depths of the underground. And this Polish label always stayed true to this statement by continuously bringing forth numerous releases out of nowhere – like swarming flies bursts out of hidden cracks of a cave. SUMMON is no difference, although it’s quite interesting to find out that, in their 4 years of existence, the quartet in question debuted with an EP entitled “Aesthetics Of Demise” (released in 2017), followed by full-length album entitled “Parazv IL Zilittv” (released in 2018) – both in co-operation with prestigious Iron Bonehead Productions and not much after, the 2nd EP entitled “Helios”, now released in co-operation with Godz Ov War Productions. Such a hellfire profile, without any doubt speaks volume about the excellence these Portuguese upheld. Obscure Metal of Death, Death Black, Black Death – many terms are seeming coined with SUMMON to describe their sound of wickedness, barbarism and ferocity. On initial releases SUMMON operated as a trio, but in the year of 2019, they had some changes in their line-up with the addition of a new guitarist, which must have helped to bring even more massive turbulence to the echoing storm of madness they conjure throughout this EP. And, upon exposing to three tracks ranging at around 19:56 minutes, you will get the essence of that uncompromising and relentless yet primeval attack encapsulated here. With a sickening assault of guitars and drums, gasping vocals and burly INCANTATION-esque atmospheric horror – the experience of listening to “Helios” seems like reading “At The Mountains Of Madness”, while being in the middle of a hellish arctic storm. Keeping this in mind, followers of GENOCIDE SHRINES, GRAVE UPHEAVAL or PORTAL shall give “Helios” many spins and whoever not accustomed to a truly despicable sonic experience shall find this dreadful and alienating but that would surely end up praising SUMMON in hindsight.
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