Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Album Review: "The Summoning" by Ending Quest

The Summoning
Today's review comes to us all the way from Sweden.

I really wish I knew what they are putting in the water up there in Scandinavia, because that area is so brutally metal, all the time.

It must be the extra night time hours right?

Ending Quest was formed in 2009 and The Summoning is their full length debut.

The band was originally formed by a pair of Swedes to work on guitar sounds and play covers, but after recruiting a bassist, their songs began to take shape.

The trio prides themselves on being an old school metal band. They revel in their old school. As has been said, metal has always gone in circles...

From Stockholm, Ending Quest
I noticed the guitar sound first.

Like other albums that have been reviewed recently, they sound like rusty chainsaws, in a good way.

But more than that the riffs are similar to the patters of a buzzing chainsaw, in a better way.

They stutter. They stop. It's such a unique way of handling the guitars on a metal record.

In many ways, metal is a bit too conformist and tends to get stale, but that's not the case here.

The drumming on this album was also thoroughly enjoyable. The normal conventions remained in effect, but some subtle changes were also employed. Instead of thundering blast beats during the entire songs, they were used as dynamic effects. It's a fresh change of pace, an ironic twist on what used to be the norm.

The vocals weren't my favorite, but the three deliveries did tend to mix things up, but my favorite delivery was used the most infrequently.

Where Ending Quest shines is their ability to build a record. This album nearly felt like a single epic song split over 11 tracks. When a song would end slowly, the next would start thunderously. I could never get fully comfortable with the songs. They always kept me on the edge of my seat.

Listen to this album from start to finish. It will strike you much better than if you hear a song out of context.

Release: 6/20/14
Genre: Metal, Death Metal
Label: FDA Rekotz
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