These are strange days for classic heavy metal. Many godfathers of the movement are in their 60s, some close to 70 years old, including members of Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. Several hard rock and metal luminaries—Ronnie James Dio, A.J. Pero (Twisted Sister), Jeff Hanneman (Slayer), Lemmy and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor (Mötorhead)—have passed away recently. Concert sales for some acts are still strong, others are waning. OzzFest is long gone, and the final nail in the coffin for the annual Mayhem Fest likely landed this past summer. Music sales overall have declined, and over the past decade the Billboard charts, radio airplay and music award broadcasts have been dominated by anemic pop music and hipster rock.

But there is still some hope left. Summoning is an Austrian black metal band based in Vienna. Ever since the release of their debut album Lugburz (1995), Summoning have proven themselves to be the true guardians of Middle Earth (and heavy metal)! What started out as a project deeply rooted in traditional black metal took an epic turn in the following years – evergreens like Dol Guldur (1996) and Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame (2001) bear witness to a continuously refined soundscape.

The Austrian duo's influence can be felt across the dark musical spectrum, from symphonic black metal and video game soundtracks to the spookily programmed world of dungeon synth. Five years after Old Mornings Dawn, Protector and Silenius have turned over a new leaf in their bottomless saga. On August 12, 2017, Summoning posted an update on their official Facebook page noting that despite troubles, setbacks, and disputes, the band's new album, With Doom We Come will be released in January 2018 through Napalm Records.

Metal thrives on a mix of chaos and the mainstream’s disdain. This is what Summoning is all about. Their music is heavily symphonic, heavily melodic, and heavily atmospheric, centered on glorious sagas and gloomy stories from Tolkien and other more obscure fantasy authors.

Summoning are also resolutely political. After a certain group of Youtubers began using their music to soundtrack Nazi propaganda videos. As it turns out, the two programmers behind Summoning are as anti-fascist and anti-Nazi as they come, and have been ever since their early days playing anarchist squats around Europe.

Protector claims: “Actually, Summoning was never accused of being connected to this scene, and so there is no need to defend us or excuse anything. The reason I write is that I think it’s a pity the scene is tending more and more in this direction, and therefore working to its own extinction. Also, I think there is a lack of information coming from the non-national socialist side, information which needs to be said as no one else does it. At the beginning I never wanted to associate Summoning with any kind of political topics as our music is not connected to reality at all, but as national socialism-supporting bands are constantly spreading their political thoughts, I think the time has come to finally stand up and show people that Nazism is not the only ideology of the current metal scene.”

Their latest album released on January 5, 2018. With 'With Doom We Come", Summoning are making a bold attempt to capture the magic of their early albums where heavy synth and rough-edged black metal forged their unique style. A style which formed many copycats and will no doubt inspire several more of these, who are just as good as the progenitor.