This Summit Fever – Self Titled

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · May 28, 2025

This Summit Fever is a two-piece stoner rock duo from The Midlands, United Kingdom. The band consists of Andy Blackburn on guitar and vocals, and Gareth Ayres on drums. However, the drums on this album were performed by James McSorley. They have two EPs available, 2021’s Doubt, and 2023’s Distraction Rituals. They just released their debut Self Titled album on April 4th 2025 on Majestic Mountain Records. It contains eight tracks and is around thirty minutes long.

I am really amazed with how many awesome two-piece bands are emerging in the heavy underground scene. With recent discoveries like Jesse Stilettö and Year Of The Cobra releasing killer albums earlier this year- to last year’s amazing Stonekind and Vessel, the dynamic duos as of late, are very impressive and amazing. You can now add This Summit Fever to that expanding list.

The opening track “Breathe You In” starts with some feedback and cranks into a hard rocking and grungy-esc rhythm. It’s hard to believe that there are only two guys in this band with the expansive tones that they produce. The song is excellent and has a great fuzzy sound that covers it all and fills in a lot of space. The cool and almost whispery vocals of “I breathe you in, you breathe me out’ at the end are excellent, which are them repeated more aggressively. “Currents” has elements of heavy psych wrapped around a killer groove. This Summit Fever calculates a rocking flow through each and every song on this recording. Andy Blackburn has a great voice that makes the riffs come alive and he has an infectious fuzziness in his guitar tone, like on “Hooks”. The drumming is wonderful and keeps these songs fresh and interesting too. The wah guitar leads midway through “Hooks” are outstanding and formulated beautifully with the hard pounding percussion.

“Superfluous” is an atmospheric head trip pronounced with segments of heavy chorded riffing. The musical dynamics are on point with these tracks and when the guitar pauses, the drums carry on. There are progressive movements happening in the music but nothing is overly dramatic or even remotely overdone. The songs are mostly a lean three plus minutes long but so involved and interesting. “Voices” begins with a space phased drum beat that kicks into a solid fuzz rocking rhythm. The guitars mellow out when the verses begin, exhibiting softer vocals. The transitions are superb shifting back into heavier riff rocking territory in between. The song has an almost grunge vibe to it too which shows the musical variance of the band. The fifth track “Partly To Blame” is another excellent rocker that displays stoner grooves dazzled in fuzz and melody.

“Only Quietness” continues down the hard rocking path with dynamic rhythms and hard pounding drum beats and tones. This Summit Fever is a fantastic band that has excellent song writing skills that decorate every song on this Self Titled masterpiece. The eighth and final track is called “It Haunts Us”. It’s the longest song on the record at 4:44 and the most mellow and subdued overall. It completes this excellent release with a dreamy and atmospheric elegance. Another notable mention is that guitarist/ vocalist Andy Blackburn recorded and produced this album himself and started this band as a one man project during the pandemic. The album is only thirty minutes long but very expansive and compelling through and through. I have listened to this one many times since its release and I am really impressed with it. The thought-provoking song structures are riveting and extremely appealing. This album should intrigue and entertain everyone who likes heavy rock music, period. Another strong contender for debut album of the year.