ALBUM REVIEW: Sessions – The Summoned

Unsigned Boston bruisers THE SUMMONED have spent the last few years harnessing their craft on the road supporting various high profile bands such as CANNIBAL CORPSE, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME and THE FACELESS amongst others including an appearance at the highly esteemed Summer Slaughter tour and 2017 marks the release of their 2nd full length album is now available now via their own website.

The album entitled Sessions is a conceptual album based on a man who has awoken from a coma to encounter a variety of tests in a psychiatric hospital. How they have not been snapped up by a record label is quite a conundrum as they possess all the skills to hold their own in the big leagues of technical death metal.

Sessions bursts into life immediately giving you little chance to compose yourself before opening track The Pendulum Swing hits you like a runaway train with its discordant, bludgeoning riffs, elaborate time signatures and frantic drumming before displaying a more jazz infused mentality towards the latter stages of the track. The pace is maintained in the proceeding offerings as Faradic follows suit with its energetic bursts of carnage accompanied by ear piercing screams from frontman Stephen Thompson.

Sessions flaunts with many genres as it pays homage to the relentless brutality of their death metal predecessors as well as keeping their sound current and intriguing with their high levels of technical guitar work.  Fractal Patterns and Built Of Glass also display some respite albeit fairly brief in the form of some clean vocals provided by guitarist Shaun Murphy.

Due to the sheer velocity of the abrasive vocals it is at times difficult to interpret the concept that THE SUMMONED are trying to convey, this may become clearer as you become more acquainted with the material but one thing is for certain, they have recorded a selection of tracks which are unrestrained and collectively as savage as any album to have graced the modern era. Sessions contains an impressive level of technicality which is sure to grab your attention and have you coming back for more as you try to decipher the narrative entwined throughout.

Rating: 8/10

Sessions is out now via self-release.

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