Dol Guldur (album)
| Dol Guldur | ||||
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| Studio album by Summoning | ||||
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Publication |
1996 |
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| Label (s) | Napalm Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
8th |
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running time |
68 min 48 s |
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| occupation |
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Summoning |
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Studio (s) |
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Dol Guldur ( Sindarin for 'Hill of Magic') is the third studio album by the Austrian experimental extreme metal band Summoning . It was released in 1996 on Napalm Records . According to information on the Summoning homepage, the album is still the band's best-selling (as of September 2010).
The songs, which were written for Dol Guldur but not released on the album, were released on the Nightshade Forests mini-CD in 1997 along with the song Habbanan Beneath the Stars . According to Summoning on their homepage, Dol Guldur and Nightshade Forests are closely related and should therefore be viewed as one CD.
Dol Guldur was released in 2007 together with his previous albums Lugburz and Minas Morgul by the Spanish label Temple of Darkness Records as a picture LP box and thus for the first time on vinyl.
Style and text
On Dol Guldur , Summoning continued the development they had already begun with the previous album Minas Morgul from the original, strongly black-metal- influenced style of the band's early days to a variety influenced by atmospheric, epic elements. The guitar riffs are often only used as accompaniment , but the melody is carried by the keyboard . A wide variety of instruments up to a whole symphony orchestra are simulated on the keyboard , including those that are atypical for the Black Metal area such as a carillon or a didgeridoo . As usual with Summoning after the separation from drummer Alexander “Trifixion” Trondl , the drums were also played with the keyboard (and not, as is often assumed, on the drum computer ).
The singing is screaming typical of the genre , but is described as "soulful hissed singing". There are also individual growls and sections with sonorous, deep, clear vocals.
As with all Summoning albums before Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame, the lyrics are based exclusively on JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy . In some cases, text passages or poems by Tolkien from the novels were taken over unchanged as song texts . Peter "PK" Kubik, the guitarist of the band Abigor , for which Michael Gregor was the singer at the time , contributed further lyrics , since Summoning "sees and feels himself as composers and not as poets" and therefore does not write himself.
James Slone from the review site Satan Stole My Teddybear remarks about the lyrics on Dol Guldur that summoning in the lyrics conjure up the darkness and the mysterious in the heart of The Lord of the Rings ( “Summoning invokes […] the darkness and mystery at the heart of The Lord of the Rings " ).
Songs
The intro Angbands forging is named after the forging Angbands (sindarin for 'iron dungeon'), the fortress of Morgoth in the iron mountains of Beleriand . Keyboard effects, reminiscent of anvil blows and bellows, give “the introduction, which is already very atmospheric, a very special note”.
In Nightshade Forests parts form of three poems Tolkien from the first part of The Lord of the Rings ( The Leaves Were Long, the Grass What Green [ The grass was green, the leaves were close ] Cold Be Hand and Heart and Bone [ Cold be Hand, heart and bones ] and Gil-galad What about Elven-king [ Gil-galad was an elven prince ]) the lyrics. Marius Mutz calls the track on metal1.info an “atmosphere hammer”, Paul from The Metal Observer describes it as “excellent”.
Elfstone based on sections of the poems All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter ( Not everything is gold, sparkles ) (the first verse) and Out of Doubt, Out of Dark to the Day's Rising ( Out of doubt and darkness I came, singing ). For Marius Mutz, Elfstone is a good example that a riff, although it does not change, can be interesting, "because it is so coherent in itself that you can rediscover - and feel - it every time you hear it" .
The second verse of All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter and parts of The World Was Young, the Mountains Green ( the world was young, the mountains green ) When Evening in the Shire What Gray ( state once gray home the evening ) and Legolas Greenleaf Long Under Tree ( Legolas green leaf, you lived so far ) are processed in Khazad Dúm . Khazad Dúm is the name of Moria in Khuzdul , the language of the dwarves near Tolkien, and means 'dwarf home'. Marius Mutz praises the "incredibly dense atmosphere" and describes the piece as "a completely different kind of listening experience". Steve Hoelzel from chroniclesofchaos.com thinks the song is an example of the way how summoning layer by layer merges simple melodies into a complex overall piece.
With Cor Summoning parts of the poem set to music Kortirion Among the Trees ( Kortirion under the trees ), which Tolkien published 1915th Kortirion, Tirion and Kôr are the different names of an Elven city in Tolkien's world . Steve Hoelzel describes the Kôr melody line as "haunting" ('haunting', also 'gripping' or 'deeply moving').
Glaurung , the father of the dragons from the Silmarillion , is the namesake for the instrumental Wyrmvater Glaurung . In this piece, keyboard effects reminiscent of a glockenspiel are used, which Steve Hoelzel describes as "chilling" ('spreading the cold', also 'deterring').
For Unto a Long Glory ... parts of the poem Over the Country There Lies a Long Shadow ( Across the country, is long shadow ) used for the lyrics. A reviewer at The Metal Observer thinks Unto a Long Glory… too uninspiring to justify its length.
Over Old Hills is based on the play Trapped and Scared that on the first album Strike the Ground of Ice Ages had been published, a tributary Project by Richard "Protector" Lederer. Lyrically, the poem is (You & Me and) the Cottage of Lost Play ( The cabin of the Forgotten game processed) Tolkien in 1915, which, like Kortirion Among the Trees 1983 by Christopher Tolkien in The Book of Lost Tales, Part I ( The Book of the Lost Stories Volume I ) was published. Musically exceptional is the recurring use of a sample that simulates a didgeridoo. On voenger.de , the reviewer notes that "the vocals sometimes even drift into deeper growl-like sound regions, which benefits the dynamics and variety of 'Dol Guldur'".
Reception and criticism
Dol Guldur was mostly received very positively by the fans. The reviewers of the scene media also gave the album mostly high and top marks. Steve Hoelzel gives 10 out of 10 points on the website chroniclesofchaos.com and praises the development of the individual pieces from simple melodies to complex, multi-layered compositions.
Asmondeus rates the album with 8 out of 10 points on metal.de. After Summoning seems to have found their style, only the vocals are reminiscent of Black Metal. The songs each captivate with their own atmosphere, and it is difficult to escape the melodies, some of which have a medieval touch. In particular, the improved use of the drum computer (actually the keyboard, see above) compared to Minas Morgul is emphasized by Asmondeus, who staple "no longer as listlessly as on" Minas Morgul ".
The review on anus.com even calls Summoning the " Vangelis of modern Black Metal" and praises the excellent production and mixing of the album, which is well adapted to the individual requirements of the band. The reviewer also finds words of praise for the songwriting, the result of which he summarizes with the word "aesthetic".
The Metal Observer rates Dol Guldur a little more critically . Compared to Minas Morgul , the songs are less catchy and the melodies less captivating. Some of the songs like Kôr or Unto a Long Glory… are too long and not varied enough. Towards the end of the album, you'd long for something more aggressive. Nevertheless, the reviewer gives 7.5 out of 10 possible points.
Marius Mutz from metal1.info sees less the length of the songs than the slowed pace as the only flaw of the album. However, this is by no means detrimental to the atmosphere of the album. It is precisely “this atmosphere that can hardly be put into words anyway” that Mutz repeatedly praises in his review and sums it up with the words “majesty and epic that send a chill after chill”. He awards the highest grade with 10 points.
Track list
- Angbands Forging - 3:30 (Instrumental)
- Nightshade Forests - 10:49
- Elfstone - 10:51
- Khazad Dúm - 10:58
- Kôr - 11:00
- Wyrmvater Glaurung - 3:05 (Instrumental)
- Unto a Long Glory ... - 9:37
- Over Old Hills - 8:58
Album cover
Like the covers of all studio albums up to Stronghold , the cover of Dol Guldur shows a castle or fortress. In this case it is on a lake with wooded banks and can only be seen dimly in the fog. This scenery is embedded in a green ornament that surrounds the hexagonal picture like a picture frame . On the upper side of the hexagon there is a representation of a dragon .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Description of Dol Guldur ( Memento of May 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on the Summoning homepage
- ↑ a b Presentation of Summoning ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on templeofdarknessrecords
- ↑ Description of Nightshade Forests ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Summoning homepage
- ↑ Announcement of the release of the Picture Disc Box ( memento of the original from July 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Summoning homepage
- ↑ a b c d e f g Marius Mutz: CD Review: Summoning - Dol Guldur ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at metal1.info
- ↑ Carlos Martin Cuevas: Interview with Summoning on tartareandesire.com
- ↑ Interview with Summoning on stormbringer.at
- ↑ James Slone: Review of Dol Guldur ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on ssmt-reviews.com
- ↑ a b c d e f Texts of the songs ( Memento from May 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on the Summoning homepage
- ↑ a b c poems from the companions (Engl.)
- ↑ a b c Review of Dol Guldur on metal-observer.com (engl.)
- ↑ a b poems from The Return of the King (Engl.)
- ↑ poems from The Two Towers (Engl.)
- ↑ a b c d Steve Hoelzel: Review of Dol Guldur on chroniclesofchaos.com (engl.)
- ↑ a b Poems from The Book of Lost Tales (Engl.)
- ↑ Lynn Forest-Hill: Kortirion among the Trees: the Influence of Warwick on JRR Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (engl.)
- ↑ Review of Dol Guldur on voenger.de
- ↑ Review of Dol Guldur on metal.de
- ↑ Review of Dol Guldur ( Memento of the original from November 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on anus.com
