Stronghold

NOBODY can classify this work of beauty!First of all, you might be wondering how long 9 songs is - 9 isn't a lot. Well, including the intro, it clocks in at 64:27 - that's incredibly long for 8 songs minus a 3 minute intro. Each track is extremely slow and what you would never expect for black metal. What is there really to say about such a CD?Well, one of the songs is completely opera and in ALL of the songs, when the growler growls, it isn't as loud as it is in other black metal bands. Overall, this is the softest black metal band I can think of out of everything I've ever heard. This includes Samael, Rotting Christ, And Oceans, Dragon Lord, Cradle of Filth, and many others.So how good exactly is this? To be honest with you, the first time I listened to Stronghold, I was expecting a medieval power metal sound, and the grunts surprised me so much that I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. If you want to get into black metal, this is one of many softer bands to do so with - perhaps the very first black metal band I would recommend, followed by Samael who is just plain unbelievable with their keys. That's another thing... Summoning isn't a huge fan of keys, but you won't be blown away with a blasting bass sound as with 90% of the death metal out there.I don't really know what else to say, just that this is unlike anything I've ever heard before.

This album is like a slow cooker recipe ... at the beginning all the ingredients are laid out and they're quite tasty on their own but after they've been allowed to stew and combine for a while, by the time you get to the end you have something way more delicious than the sum of its parts

Summoning kicks too much ass. Track 5,6 & 8 are truly epic. Love summoning, one of my favorite bands of all time.

AS simple as that... this is FOR ME Summoning's best album. It is full of Summoning's good music and not a surprise almost all my summoning's favorite songs are all in there.It comes in a jewell case and book inside it's a full color two pages book (not a big deal in fact) pretty normal looking but as I said what really matters is what comes inside, GREAT MUSIC!

Am a big fan of this duo. This album here.. is pure. Very dark and gloomy style but 'uplifting' at the same moment. The beats and melodies will stay alive in your head throughout the day for hours and hours afterwards. Amazing work.

My absolute favorite album of all time.

Stronghold has the vast, epic quality that one expects from Summoning. I think Let Mortal Heroes etc. is their best album, with Oath Bound a close second, but Stronghold is certainly not to be dismissed.

Excellent!

Yet another great album from Austria's finest! This my 3rd experience of this band after Oath Bound & Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame.Yet again I'm mightily impressed with this 1999 release.It's the classic Summoning sound - but the guitar is a bit more upfront here, and the album maybe has a slightly cleaner production. Of course, the keyboards & programmed drums dominate along with the split vocals of Silenius & Protector, both harsh vocalists with slightly different styles;one being more traditional BM and the other a bit more deeper, even slightly industrial - Fear not, the album is still 100% Symphonic Black Metal with a medieval feel & yet more Fantasy lyrics - this time based on Wagner's Ring Cycle. It should be said that the band in 1999 had yet to embrace samples as readily as on the later albums, but there is the odd soundbite from Braveheart in here, as well as Legend, which adds to the almost cinematic feel. The sampled drums are very loud and martial with a few faster tempos and are very effective. The keyboards are some of the best within the genre and actually sound like real strings at one point! There's even some operatic female vocals on Where Hope And Daylight Die.My band of the moment!

Great album!

El primer disco que escuche de esta banda, fue una mezcla que no había escuchado antes, Black Metal, Atmósferas Épicas y letras de tierras lejanas (esta banda se caracteriza por tratar en sus letras temas de Tolkien pero este disco es la excepción)

Un album davvero bello, uno dei migliori dei Summoning e di tutto l'Epic Black Metal. Momenti atmosferici uniti ad altri di grande intensità ed epicità come è raro trovare.

my favorite band ever. cd arrived in perfect condition. love it