Thursday 23 February 2012

SUMMONER - PHOENIX ALBUM REVIEW

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SUMMONER are as Sludge/Stoner Metal Band from Boston, USA.

The members are:

Chris Johnson (Vox/Bass)
Scott Smith (Drums)
Joe Richner (Guitar)
AJ Peters (Guitar)

SUMMONER play a heavy blend of Psych, Sludge, Stoner, Doom, Space Rock to outstanding effect. 

You might remember these guys as RIFF CANNON. Well they are back with a new album and a great heavier new sound from their superb 2009 debut album - MERCURY MOUNTAIN. Which was acclaimed all over the place.

Why the change of name. Well I will let the guys tell you.

"Like a Phoenix, SUMMONER rises from the ashes of RIFF CANNON to be reborn and start anew. With the new moniker, came the inspiration and title for the newest album from the Boston quartet. Phoenix. After releasing their first album Mercury Mountain to much acclaim from fans and critics, they found the one downfall of the album was that it didn't capture their high energy live performance, for which they were known." 

So SUMMONER was born. And the guys are about to release their amazing new album -Phoenix on 28th February 2012 via Digital Download. With hopefully Vinyl and CD in the near future.

Well like the famed Phoenix rising from the flames. SUMMONER have risen from the ashes and released an outstanding new album.

It's an 8 song 49 minute blast of top-notch Stoner/Sludge/Doom/Space Rock riffage which the band should rightly be proud of.

It has riffs that Mastodon, Thin Lizzy, Torche would be proud to call their own. But all done in a wholly original way. This album is one cool fucking ride into the Psych Metal World.

The album gets right down to business with "The Interloper". A 4 minute blast of superb Sludge/Stoner Metal riffs that will have you head-banging in no time.

Then "Winged Hessians" comes out of the starting block showcasing riffs that will give Mastodon & Thin Lizzy a run for their money. The song includes amazing psych based prog-sludge dual guitar metal riffs with superb vocals to match.

Next up is "Conjuring". A 4 minute blast which does have shades of Mercury Mountain but blended in with their new Summoner sound. The best of both worlds for to showcase this great bands talent.

The album contains a fucking brilliant 9:15 minute epic "Let The Light In.". A song which shows what this band does brilliantly well. Fusing all of their respective genres into something fresh and wholly original which will have you begging for more.

The remaining 4 songs are just as great as the first 4 tracks especially the 8 minute epic "Dead Moon". A song that soon gets under your skin and doesn't leave until the dying seconds.

I listened to this album non-stop today and I just loved it each and every time that I listened to it. 

The album is superbly produced and you can tell the guys have took their time to create a brilliant album to release upon the world. 

SUMMONER say this album is a true reflection of their live persona. Well if this is the case then I want SUMMONER to come to the UK as I would travel anywhere to see them. They are seriously that great.

Riff Cannon maybe dead. But SUMMONER have risen from the ashes to release an album that will most definitely be considered one of 2012 best releases. 

Whatever you do just buy this album when it comes out. Give the guys all your support and hopefully they will release more amazing albums like this.

All I can say is FUCKING WOW. An outstanding and brilliant release in my humble opinion.

Highly Recommended!!!

(PJSludge will be doing his own review very soon as he is a big fan of this great band as well.)

Check these great Sludge Rockers Below:


Check out the amazing "Let The Light In" from their brilliant new album "Phoenix".