Welcome to Retro-Reviews, a space where I indulge in my own nostalgic reveries, reminiscing about a time that never truly existed, but one that I’ve crafted through various random albums that hold significance for me. Whether good or bad, one thing is certain: remembering can be a bittersweet journey.
The year is 1999. Napster launches (I never used it, but it seems it was a big deal), Pokémon is at the peak of its influence around the world, NATO bombs Serbia, the first black hole is discovered—it’s an exciting year for humanity! Right, the Metal: Immortal, Vader, Opeth, and The Dillinger Escape Plan all dropped legendary works that shaped the face of Metal to this day. But today, we’re going to talk about another album—one more underground, less perfect, but just as novel. It’s Summoning’s Stronghold. Let’s go!
This was your choice on IG, my beloved readers (and thanks to relentless lobbying from Ixone), but I have a confession to make: despite knowing Summoning is the epic Black Metal band by default, and despite having dove into some of its earlier work… I just forgot about Stronghold. It’s nothing personal, I’ve just never been the biggest “batle” Metal guy. It tends to get too melodramatic for my taste, but I guess it’s never too late to change. So here we are—my readers trying to teach me something, and for once, I’ll listen to the masses. After all, populism is so hot right now!
Stronghold is a medieval mystery of epic proportions. It has all those elements that create a midpoint between folk music and Atmospheric Black Metal. It’s neither of those fully, yet it’s undeniable how much it has given to these styles. It’d be hard to imagine acts like Aquilus or Caladan Brood without the small breakthrough this album was. You feel as if you’ve embarked on an epic quest, facing dangers that might see you never return. Many albums have done this over and over since, but I can understand Stronghold’s charm.
This is peak ’90s synth “experimentation”—when Metal bands discovered they could emulate almost anything with a keyboard, and their answer to “How many effects should we have on the album?” was “Yes.” Let’s not lie to ourselves: it makes Stronghold feel a little dated. But at the same time, this playful (not corny) synth work is something we’ve largely lost in our era. Maybe it’s just a technological shift—now, everything is better produced. And yet, you miss some of this grit in our current times.
Let’s face it, people: Stronghold isn’t perfect in its execution. Beyond the inevitable ’90s production quirks, we have an album so bloated it set a sad precedent for generations to come. I mean, did the first track really need to be that long and that empty? The same goes for many other sections, where a few ideas are stretched to a numbing degree. But since Summoning were pioneers, they don’t need to be good at it—because when you’re first, you don’t make mistakes… you have style.
Anyway, thank you to the Metal nerds who pushed for this choice and expanded my knowledge—because a reviewer unwilling to evolve is no good reviewer at all. Stronghold might not be my thing, yet I can’t help but be transported to another time, feeling inspired by the quests and mysteries that fueled this work of dark art.
Label: Napalm Records (they should sponsor us at this point)
Release date: 11 May, 1999
Website: https://summoning.bandcamp.com/album/stronghold-2
Country: Austria
Score: An unforgettable battle!
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