Getting out of the desert and into the swamp, Summoner’s latest album Atlantian probably has more in common with Black Sabbath or Deliverance-era Corrosion Of Conformity than Kyuss. The opening wall of riffs on “The Gatekeeper” is a good indicator of what the rest of this eight track masterpiece holds as it builds and builds upon a slow monolithic groove. It’s almost as if Summoner took “Dead Moon” from Phoenix as a template for Atlantian and went nuts.

Atlantian is a different beast altogether though. The closest this one comes to the raw fury that Phoenix brought is the spiritual cousin to “Winged Hessians”, “Horns Of War”. That’s not to say that Atlantian is a slouch by any means. Far from it! While  Phoenix’s spacier moments went into the ether, the grooves here go straight for the jugular by incorporating some extra crunchy riffage throughout.

The main thing that Atlantian proves is that Summoner is constantly expanding their sound. Whether it’s the Geezer Butler-like bass line that opens “The Prophecy” or the sonic maelstrom which sounds an awful lot like some old school Metallica riffing that’s a precursor to the title track’s eventual slow burn, Atlantian continually astounds, surprises, and adds to Summoner’s musical repertoire.

Atlantian is available on November 19th through Magnetic Eye Records. Pre-order yours here. If you’re in the Boston/Cambridge area, be sure to check out the record release at the Middle East upstairs featuring some other local favorites like Jack Burton Vs. David Lo Pan, Second Grave, and Rozamov on November 30th. Event and ticket info can be found here.

Grade: A