The Summoned

An onslaught of metal , professionally presented and executed with perfection - Garret - Henry-Film maker

The Summoned are one of the greatest bands to work with today, Highly motivated, extremely talented, tons of energy on stage and knows how to get the crowd moving! They are very professional and true to what they do and still know how to have fun! If you have the chance to work with The Summoned I would do so, you will not regret it! - Ed - xgraveyardx- Former Elm City Booking

“Great songs, great
players, great live show! The Summoned is badass!” - Scrimmy the Dirtbag -THATS OK! Productions

“The Summoned playing live is explosive and forever; once they get you,
you're theirs until they say it's over.” - Nickolas Tsui - Howl Magazine

The Summoned new album If only minds could paint pictures, is an amazing album! These guys are local and you should be onto this band! - Roadkill, Rock 101 WHEB

It's literally impossible to know about every single band, especially in the metal genre. This bottomless well of new emotions and experiences may be what drives people to such an appreciation, and in the case of heavy metal, it's easy to see why. It's fairly safe to say that listening to whatever breed of Satan's spit a person so desires more often than not correlates with the listener being in a band or at the very least playing and having some familiarity with an instrument. So in the case of metal, it's easy to see how often your audience can also be your rivals. The guys you are playing for one night are in the band you are opening for the next. There is no divide that separates artist from fan and because of that, bands with incredible talent spring up every day in little nooks and crannies all around the world, hence making it literally impossible to know every single band.

Today's review is a glowing example of a band you most likely don't know. The Summoned, a five piece reigning from Boston, Massachusetts can most closely be defined as experimental tech-death. They can also be defined as awesome! The band's debut full length, If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures, is an nine-track romp through a coked up, ADHD-ridden, autistic child's mind...or at least that's the best way to try and possibly describe what's on this disc of insanity. Even though this album is neatly wrapped into a quick thirty-minute package, the constant time signature changes and off-the-wall approach to the band's song writing makes this thirty-minutes one of the most intense periods of your life.

The album opens up with the song "Quasars," which begins with some spacey, static-like sound effects that are very reminiscent of The Faceless. The band's feedback and slightly audible pounding builds with intensity as the intro fades and the listener is greeted with a groove-centered first impression. Only lasting for a few bars, the band immediately changes it up and throws down a mesmerizing up-tempo guitar solo that only scratches the surface of what's to come in the next eight tracks. The solo does its job in cementing my belief, and I am sure the belief of many other listeners, that we are in for a real treat. It's not long before The Summoned throw you back to the groove as Steve Thompson continues to growl, "Collapsing into myself like a dying star" over and over again. Steve has an impressively wide-range and can go from a low, muddy death metal bellow to a cat-like shriek, all the while keeping the kind of showmanship and swagger that Randy from Lamb of God provides. You can especially hear that sort of similarity when Steve goes from a low to high pitch all in one growl.

"Quasars," a relatively short song is over before it really begins, but it transitions nicely into the album's second song, "Dreaming in 2D." The entire album in fact transitions from one song to another never really breaking the momentum or fading away. This tends to lend itself to the chaotic nature of this album. The third song, "anatomy of a Bar Fight" is the high point of the album for me. Jake Kelleher and Shaun Murphy, the band's guitarists, are constantly changing things up. As quick as a blink they jump from one thing to another not allowing your brain to fully process what's going on. Their style of playing can range from groove metal, to jazz and straight death all within a ten second period. They pull it off flawlessly and their guitar tones and effects often times bring bands such as The Faceless and Between the Buried and Me to mind, especially during some of the guitar solos. The backbone of this band, however, has to be Sam Hang on drums. His level of skill on the skins is earth-shattering. The tempos he can reach are unfathomable by most musicians and the way he can put the brakes without a moment's notice is impressive. This guy is literally a human metronome. With fills that happen too quick to process and an impressive partnership with bassist, Joe Zahareais, The Summoned posses a musical backbone that is second to none.

Other stand out tracks include "The Flood," which features the band at some of their heaviest moments and "Voids," which will send shivers down your spine, especially at the end when the band is super-charged up, emotions are running high and Steve Thompson is crying out, "Without you, I'm a ghost!" The whole album is a work of art and a force to be reckoned with. If this album had been brought to my attention sooner, it would have most definitely been my favorite album of 2011. This disc is on repeat and is never ever coming off. To think that an unsigned band from Boston could put out one of the best albums of the year is a testament to the genre of metal itself. This band is going places and unless being unsigned is a personal choice, I would be shocked. - The New Review

"Harvest" is the first EP released by The Summoned from Dracut MA. It's six face melting songs that don't let up until the very end. - Josh, GHOST TRAP MUSIC REVIEW

The title to this review is inspired by the fact that I hate reviewing this sort of thing. It's a deathcore EP that's pretty good in the 75-85% range, and I really don't know what else the fuck to say about it. Okay, here goes.

This is a pretty melodic album, and please do not misunderstand what I mean by that, because melodic doesn't not mean 'simple and clean with fuck all happening'. Normal melodic death metal like In Flames isn't really that melodic because there are very few melodies, there are usually just two or three per song. This has a ton of melodies, and the tracks don't really follow any typical structure, so it's just melody, melody, melody all the time. That's what melodic death metal is, it shouldn't just mean easy listening.

This isn't melodic death metal though, this deathcore, meaning a greater hardcore influence, lots of deep chugging beneath the melodic leads, shrieky vocals and low growls alternating, and lots of really cool breakdowns. Deathcore gets a pretty bad rep in the metal community for whatever reason, but I like how an album like this can be so diverse with so many different sections and melodies and tempo changes. None of the songs here ever really get content with one speed, we got from one fast section to a faster part with an altered riff and a different beat, before dropping into a slow staccato breakdown, and then jumping into a killer mid-paced section which might stretch out for thirty seconds before going into another fast technical part.

This is hard to say a lot about because it's very consistant and an excellent collection addition, but it doesn't really do anything particularly different enough to really talk about. It's the best thing to own, I can play this at any time and it will be enjoyable, but it's the worst thing to review. I guess I can end by wrapping up my point that the purpose of deathcore like this is to fire as many melodies at the listener as possible, and being a natural fan of melody (as everyone that doesn't own a Merzbow cd is) that's a good thing to me. - Muloc7253, Metal Archives

The Summoned.
sum·mon (smn)
tr.v. sum·moned, sum·mon·ing, sum·mons
1. To call together; convene.
2. To request to appear; send for. See Synonyms at call.
3. Law To order to appear in court by the issuance of a summons.
4. To order to take a specified action; bid: summon the captain to surrender.
5. To call forth; evoke:
For a band that doesn't really need to prove themselves in the New England metal scene, The Summoned by far, has. The new demo is some of the most intense music this band has ever written. With the addition of Jake "Linda" Kelleher on guitar for these recordings, you can totally tell this band has become insanely tight. Steve Thompson's vocals have grown to a thunderous roar and an ear piercing shriek. With Greg "Man" Mann back on the bass, this bands live show is an intense and very involved experience. Sam Hang is just a monster on the kit.
Shaun Murphy is a true showman on stage. This band recreates their CD live and do an amazing job. If you haven't picked up they shit, or seen them live..You're fucking retarded - Mykel Boisvert / Spiderbiteradio.com - Mykel Boisvert, Spiderbiteradio.com

The Summoned are always growing whether it be as a live band or in the studio they always have something new to bring to the table, and this Demo proves they are like none of the bands around. - Phelan Ritchie, Conflagration

It is the test that the boys possess the characteristics in order to seriously think to a full-length that he would crown the efforts sin now made. - Gabriele, Aristocrazia

"Definitely a very creative sound, which could either be the making point or breaking point of this band, but definitely nothing in between." - Greg Mann