Though only a 5 year wait, down from the 7 year wait for Old Morning’ s Dawn, Summoning are back with another effort of their now predictable, but effective Tolkien inspired, dungeon synth based black metal and there is very little deviation from the last few efforts.

And to many, the minimalist, tinny guitars and programmed drums are still an acceptable thing, as the key element is the austere yet often melancholic, regal atmosphere, which With Doom has in spades, more so than the last two albums. But for me, I still think the band is short of their peak, 2001’s Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame.

“Tar-Calion” starts the album with a bit of a dud, being largely instrumental other than a few regal spoken words. But second track “Silvertine” might be one of the better songs the duo has delivered in the last three albums, with a a rousing sense of shimmery melody and some effective choral arrangements. “Carcharoth”  another standout, renders a more despondent tone with trumpets blaring a sonorous melody over the rasped tales of Arda`s mightiest wolf. The more delicate melodies of “Herumor” (these guys dig reeeeeeally deep into Tolkien lore)  has some nice choral work amid the more twinkling synths, before the brief interlude “Barrow Downs” has the bleak tone of it’s titular theme. “Night Fell Behind” is the kind of mid album throwaway track that really doesn’t stand out.

The album’s last two tracks deliver the album’s two longest cuts at over 11 minutes each (the ploddingly repetitive “Mirklands” and the title track respectively), and it’s where the album gets even more drawn out and despondent, especially the title track where some semi rasped/sing vocals (which may upset some purists) and very nice flutes add a more emotional element to the already moody, monolithic track. The closing out chorus is one of Summoning’s peaks, and show when they do this kind of stuff, it’s pretty darn amazing.

Still, despite the band’s rigid consistency and safety, I can’t help wander how great they would be with a fuller, bigger production (man, those war drums would be so killer) that matched the epic lyrics and narratives the band delivers. And with bands like Caladan Brood and Emyn Muil delivering virtually identical sounds, Summoning need a little something extra to stay ahead of the pack.

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