Summon – Fallen – Review

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Fallen (Moribund)
by Eric Chon

Unrelenting death metal has its fans, myself included. There’s a certain power and raw intensity that nothing else can match, and Summon‘s Fallen cowboy up to the task fairly well. Blast beats and furious speed are the order of the day, mixed with growling, scratchy vocals, and blisteringly fast, atonal guitars. There are even some thrash elements thrown in, and a melody here and there… Judiciously, of course!

And while all this is well and good, there’s often nothing here to really differentiate the album from other decent speedy death metal out there. Had Fallen been released a few years ago, I’m sure it would’ve turned heads. Occasionally, there will be a pretty sick breakdown in the midst of the tornado, followed by a nice groove-laden riff before the sonic assault begins anew. The problem is that every death metal band worth its salt does that now, and even though they’ve been together for over 10 years, Summon haven’t really strayed too far from their sound. Summon was hot shit in the day, but they’ve been lapped, and Fallen won’t help to win new rabid fans. But if heads-down, no-frills, brutal death metal is your thing, Fallen is right up your alley.
(www.moribundcult.com)