Summoners: No Control – EP
Self-Released
Out Now
The South Coast’s answer to rock and metal’s American monopoly return with an EP full of potential singles, hot on the heels of praise from BBCs Introducing, stand back and light the blue touch paper, says MK Bennett
Back in the day, way, way back in the day, there was a show called The Power Hour. Those of a certain age may remember it as the only place you could watch Rock & Metal promo videos prior to our cable overlords granting us broader availability. The Old Grey Whistle Test might accidentally show something rocking if whispering Bob’s passive aggression didn’t cause you to kick the TV off its stand but that was live and there was no guarantee regardless.
The male part of the Power Hours presentation team was Krusher Joule, Kerrang’s art director and all-round good human. Krusher’s sign-off every week was “Rock hard, rock heavy, rock animal”. It doesn’t make sense, but also, it does. Listening to the Summoners EP, I am immediately transported back to those early weekend mornings/late nights, paused by the VHS player waiting to press record. Partly this is due to some ( seemingly ) less than obvious influences, but also a certain joyful recklessness that’s missing a little from the constantly marketed to lives of musicians now. Maybe it was ever thus, but it was less continuous and drip-fed, less blipvert.
Still, the internet’s accidental socialism means more influences are likely than ever before, potentially, and that can only be good for music. We kick off with Noir, where the colossus of Queens Of The Stone Age bestrides us. Queens, however, are the apex rock sound of the last decade or two, so that’s not a bad thing, and it brings to light other flavours too. The Wildhearts, Foo Fighters, a little Deftones action, it’s a juggernaut of an opener that will sound tremendous live, a full-throttle ride into excellence. Track two Erase/Replace sounds as fabulous as it did HERE, and its rogue splendour needs detain us no more.
The Fear has little respite, in the intro at least, eventually settling into a solid Foo Fighters groove via Blink 182, a bit of pop-punk is good for what ails you, but it is still metal at its heart, a big chugging chunky riff melting into a harmonious chorus. Sadly, not an updated cover of the Lily Allen classic, though they could always incorporate it into the middle eight live, it has a quality that suggests they’re a couple of albums along, rather than the new band on the block. Spite is atmospheric, slightly spooky up to date modern metal with big drums and a crushing chorus. Through a decent sound system this all sounds superb, lovely separation in the production that comes together somewhere in the middle when the man with the golden voice lets go. His voice gets better with every song, from a mid-range growl to a full-throated howl. If they have/need a secret weapon, then it’s this fella.
The Abyss is reminiscent of a more 90s/Y2K sound, almost nu-metal but thankfully minus the rapping, and some mid-paced thrash too, Anthrax or Deftones in the riffs, though heavily disguised by the far more melodic vocals. Scuzzy and polished, a difficult trick to pull off. Finally, there’s Let You Go, another diamond-sharp lead line cutting into the chord progression, the guitars overlapping until they slam together to dance around the chorus. The melody is offbeat and unusual, dark and gothic. The brilliance of this thing should see them climb very comfortably to whatever their next level happens to be, signed, sealed and delivered.
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All words by MK Bennett, you can find his author’s archive here plus his Twitter and Instagram
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