UK high-octane duo This Summit Fever presents »Distraction Rituals« EP, a muscular, grunge-tinged, four-pack of heavy fuzz rock!
UK heavy fuzz rock duo This Summit Fever presents their brand new EP, »Distraction Rituals«, which is releasing this Friday, April 28th, 2023.
Watch a music video for the opening track »Messiah« below!
Tracklist:
01. Messiah
02. Sometimes A Tidal Wave
03. It Contorts
04. The Widow
This Summit Fever, the high-octane and self-described “Heavy Fuzz Rock” two-piece from just outside of Birmingham (the birthplace of heavy metal), has announced the upcoming release of their newest self-produced fuzz rock EP, »Distraction Rituals«, due Friday, April 28, 2023. »Distraction Rituals« is a powerful refinement of the band’s heavy, riff-driven, stoner-rock-infused grunge of their 2021 debut EP, »Doubt«.
“We wrote and recorded »Doubt« between Covid lockdowns with the intention of eventually being a trio or quartet,” says Andy Blackburn, the band’s guitarist and vocalist. “But when we struggled to find the correct personnel, we committed to being a two-man setup and tried to capture our live sound on »Distraction Rituals«. Since we’re focused on what we can do live, the guitars on this new EP are even louder, the riffs are even more interesting, and the drums are even more exciting.”
About »Distraction Rituals«’ unique sound:
Although »Distraction Rituals« will sound familiar to fans of stoner rock, grunge, post-rock, and garage rock, they’ll have a hard time pinpointing just one major influence.
“There are a lot of bands out there that are happy to sound like Kyuss or Black Sabbath, which isn’t a bad thing at all,” says Blackburn. “However, we’re very conscious of not doing that. We’re taking a lot of different influences and trying to do something else. We’ve mixed in influences from bands like Soundgarden and Nirvana, and we’ve also pulled inspiration from genres like dreamcore.” With that, »Distraction Rituals« is a swirling, intoxicating blend of sounds that should appeal to a wide fanbase – just like 2021’s »Doubt«.
To create the band’s characteristic fuzz, Blackburn splits the guitar signal to capture both the bass and guitar tones. For the low end, he plugs into an octave pedal, then a bass fuzz pedal, then a bass amp. For the band’s dark guitar tones, Blackburn sticks to C# and drop B tunings, and then he runs everything through another fuzz pedal. Both amps are precisely EQed so that the bass amp only delivers the low end, and the guitar amp only captures the mids and highs. The result is a warm and powerful fuzz that immediately wraps the listener in a sound unlike anything else.
About »Distraction Rituals«’ songs & themes:
»Distraction Rituals« is a loose concept EP about society’s tendency to ignore problems and focus on immediate pleasures instead. The EP opener »Messiah«, for example, is about humanity being distracted by things that don’t truly matter while politicians push unsavory legislation. »The Widow«, meanwhile, explores the occasional value in distraction – especially following the death of a loved one.
And where »Doubt« was about the band’s own self-doubts and insecurities coming out of the pandemic, »Distraction Rituals« captures a band finding itself and reflecting on the world around it. That pursuit has culminated in a new, can’t-miss EP!
Album credits:
Recorded and mixed by Andrew Blackburn.
Mastered by Dean Honer.
Artwork by Christian Soden.
This Summit Fever is:
Andrew Blackburn – Lyrics / Vocals / Guitars / Songs
James McSorley – Drums
FFO: Red Fang, Lowrider, Cave In, Fu Manchu, Black Sabbath
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well