Summon the Dead

Greece may not be a country that’s known for its thrash metal bands, but Flames give me the idea that some further investigation wouldn’t be a bad idea. This band may have started out as a mediocre speed metal band, but they gradually turned into an elaborated thrash metal band with a big vision. I expected Summon the Dead to sound like a third rate Pleasure to Kill or Spectrum of Death, but instead, I stumbled upon is a thrash metal record with a harsh, yet multidimensional character to it. Granted, at its most ordinary, Summon the Dead could have easily been put off as your average brutal thrash metal record. Plenty of these razor-sharp riffs should easily ring a bell, if only you would sample straight-up thrash cuts such as ‘Alcohol and Beer’ and the title track. Regardless, it doesn’t take long before one understands that Summon the Dead thrashes with conviction and malice; 'Eastern Front' thrashes into the wild and sounds Venom’s ‘Heavens on Fire’ played on lightning speed, but what follows sounds even more gripping.

A few tracks in, Flames suddenly provide a magnificent epic that’s one of those cases where the band thought of doing the unthinkable. Foreboding leads – not unlike those of ‘Metal Storm / Face the Slayer’ set the stage, only to lead into a voyage of riffs, deceiving balladic section with melodic solos and a final verse where Alex exchanges his Pat Lint / Mille Petrozza-esque shrieks for David Vincent-esque chants. Since you never know what’s happening next, Summon the Dead remains as unpredictable as a thrash metal record gets and while you could argue that the record doesn’t flow optimally, that’s easily forgiven. How ‘Legions of Death’ morphs from a berserk thrasher into an Iommi-esque skull-crusher is absolutely brilliant and even the straightforward title track – which resembles Morbid Saint (although this came out earlier), gives the same band a run for their money. Supreme blitzkrieg riffs fly into the battlefield - the thrash break is about as melodic as the tune gets and next thing you know, you’re in for the headbanging ride of your life once again.

But Flames aren't done yet; far from it, in fact. Just when Summon the Dead is close to its end, you stumble upon two tunes that aren’t close to thrash at all. ‘Avenger’ is practically a rough-edged melodic death metal track, as it has all the ingredients that Swedish melodic death metal bands would rely on many years later; hummable Maiden-esque guitar harmonies, gritty vocals that are a far cry from your roaring belly growls and a well-structured narrative. I’ll admit that it’s my least favorite tune on the record, but credit should be given where credit is due, right? If that wasn’t enough yet, Flames even head into a black metal direction with ‘Slaughterhouse’. Taking things to an unthinkable extreme, the track sounds like proto Darkthrone due to its sinister qualities; we’re talking pitch-black tremolo riffs, grim vocals and an ever destructive narrative of blastbeats. I bet that some band members must have practiced black magic, thus figured what the future of metal had in store and decided to write these two unpredictable compositions just to mess with our heads!

Considering how versatile it is, Summon the Dead is the kind of thrash metal record that I had expected to come out in the past couple of years. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself with some unusual thrash metal for once; your life will improve immensely once you do.

Summon the Dead is Flames' third studio album (following the live EP “Live at the Slaughterhouse”). This album sees the band moving into a more thrashy paths than the two previous ones. If the two previous releases had their own distinct and characteristic speed/thrash sound, this one leans towards bands like Exodus, Slayer and Dark Angel. Songs are definitely faster and heavier. The sound is at very high standards, very distorted with sharp riffs and (mostly) crazy solos, like Slayer's solos, not melodic or following any specific order, just playing anything that comes to mind.

Even the voice is thicker (this is due to the change in the line-up when Nigel Foxxe left the band). The singer spits out lyrics very sharply, he doesn't sing like in the previous albums, he sounds pissed off and ready to devour you. The drums are very fast and this time they sound more natural, unlike the drums in their previous LPs that sounded like drum machine. The bass and guitar playing are at high standards. Speedy and complicated at times but great riffs nevertheless.

The album almost lacks melody as the rhythms and the solos tend to be “drier” and more distorted. This is the kind of music you want to listen to when you go to a thrash metal concert, heavy and fast, distorted and evil. Occasionally there are slow paces (like in Legions of Death) and clean guitars (Legend II, Legions of Death) but they do not last long. This is an LP purely for head banging and the mosh pit.

Personally I do not consider it better than their two previous ones (I like melody) but it is a very good thrash metal album. If you are into the genre, especially into American and German thrash metal between 1985 and 1990, this album will surely appeal to you. And it was circulated globally by Black Dragon, so I guess it's not very rare to find it.