SHRINE OF ECHOES - 2001

1. First of all, can you give us you general impressions concerning this new opus?
Protector:
We see "Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame" as the combination of the strength of our last album "Stronghold" and the strength of the older CDs. On "Stronghold" we focused more on the guitars again. We wanted to create real guitar riffs and not use the guitars as a pure accompaniment to the keyboards. We achieved this aim, but the side effect was that the keyboards became very subordinate. On "Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame" we kept the more complex guitar style and also gave the keyboards more dominance and created much more polyphonic tunes and harmonies again.

2. What does the title "Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame" means to you?
Silenius:
For me the title is an ironic homage to Tolkien. It means that we are the “heroes” who sing about Tolkiens fame. But while this fame increases from year to year ours will surely stay quite small and maybe fade (after a potential band split). So we are the “mortal heroes”.

3. So, it appears to be another journey through Tolkien's kingdom. Tell us about your "The Lord of The Rings" inspiration that serves us once again.
Silenius:
As I am fascinated of fantasy literature since my childhood, sooner of later it was obvious that I came in contact with books of Tolkien and although I really read tons of books of different authors the Tolkien created world is still the best and most attractive one, and the leading part of the fantasy genre. I really like the detailed history of a complete imagined world with all the different languages populations and history of middle earth. No fantasy author before and after him was able to create such a master piece and so we give our devotion and tribute to this man in making a kind of musical translation of all the different moods and atmospheres of this world.

4. Did you see "The fellowship of the ring" on screen? If yes, did you find some similarities between the images of the movie and those created by Summoning's music over the years?
Silenius:
I really liked the movie of course there are always things that could be complained or don't come along with the own imagination of the book. But all in all I think this movie translation couldn't have done better; the only thing I was surprised comparing the movie with the old book was that a really great battle was missing, but I think that makes the watcher only curious to watch the next part.
It is important for me to say that Summonings music is not basically inspired by any characters or stories from Tolkien's books. What we wanted to create with our music is a musical translation and connection to his mythological world in general, and in this case I think what was very important in Tolkien's books (wide opened landscapes, giant castles, towers and halls). All of this was translated very excellent in the movie and of course fit in some ways with our own imagination, because I think all of this was influenced very close to the Tolkien paintings of Tim White, which we always admired very much.

5. Now, can you tell us about the lyrics? Is there a reason why you never include them in the booklet of your albums?
Silenius:
In times when we recorded Lugburz and Minas Morgul the lyrics partly were to bad to publish them or they were taken directly from Tolkien poems so we didn't put them in the inlay in fear of getting publishing troubles (the lyrics of our first album simply got lost during the studio sessions). Later on we continued not printing the lyrics in the booklet as a kind of tradition, but meanwhile most of the lyrics have been put on our website or could be ordered directly at my home address.

6. "Let Mortal..." is in the vein of it's predecessors. Can you tell us about Summoning's secret kingdom, the place where ideas breathe the darkly enchanted imagination to create a song?
Protector:
Sorry, but my "secret kingdom" is far not as romantic as some fans might imagine. It my own music studio, which is a tiny room, with black textiles placed on the walls (in order to isolate me better from the rest of the world while making music), and a music PC inside. In this room I get all my ideas, record the guitars, keyboards and vocals, mix the music and finally burn a master audio CD which I later bring to the CD printing factory.

7. Are you satisfied to be part of the actual Black Metal scene or do you think that Summoning will always stands alone as a wolf among the sheeps?
Silenius:
I simply don't care about the current black metal scene and I even don't know most of nowadays bands. First of all because the quality of the black metal scene was getting worse many years ago, and second because my personal music interests went to different directions some years ago. So you are quite right when you say that Summoning stands somewhere alone; that is not because we want to be outsiders in any way, but it is because we don't care about the present metal scene at all and don't get any influences from it.

8. Finally, is there something different to expect from a forthcoming release, or do you believe that Summoning's conceptual works of epic atmospheres will steer in the same path 'til death?
Silenius:
You are right; that is the point. We will never change.
Protector:
There is not need for us to put so many new elements in the music of Summoning, because we have both our other musical projects ("Ice Ages": www.iceages.info, "Die Verbannten Kinder Evas": www.dvke.info, and "Kreuzweg Ost": www.hollenthon.com/kwo) where we can live up all our other musical interest. I think it is much more honest to keep our different musical interests in our different projects, than to put them all together in the music of Summoning (knowing that most fans will swallow them, because the name "Summoning" stand for it).