SUMMIT // Darwin Doing It Right

It’s almost appropriate that Matthew Greenaway should be a man of relatively few words because Echoes of Aberration, the debut release from Summit for which Greenway is vocalist, will leave you at a loss for words. Really.

The biggest surprise is that such a massive and cohesive sound comes from a band based in Darwin, revealing a little known scene that the rest of the country would do well to investigate.

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Listening to opener Cut You Open you might forget to breathe until it’s over, it’s crazy good. Even in their infancy Summit have the power to draw out fan girl tears. A DIY band from the Northern Territory, whose sound rings true with early 36 Crazyfists and Killswitch Engage, music lovers should be stoked Summit have made themselves known. Chuckling bashfully at all the compliments coming his way, Greenaway says, “Funny you should mention those bands because they’re massive influences for all of us. Are you sure you were listening to the right band?”

Modesty will get you everywhere. Greenaway is Summit’s only vocalist, covering the harsh and clean with ease. But where did Summit come from? Where do they want to go with this sound? It’s not niche but it’s already so cemented it’s difficult to discuss the ifs and buts. “Josh [Haines, drums] and Jordy [Atwill, guitar], they were playing early 2016, fucking around, writing a few tunes–they were looking for vocalists for a while and weren’t happy.

“I was working with Wes [Beck, bass] at the time–he hit me up, [see] if I was keen for a jam. We all got along as mates and they liked what I had to offer. I loved their music straight away, they’re such talented lads.”

And there you have it, a match made in heaven. It all progressed pretty quickly for Summit, who started playing gigs in and around Darwin after only about five months. “They probably had three songs already written before I got there,” says Greenaway, “Then we got six or seven written and started gigging, having a bit of fun with this–it wasn’t until the end of last year when we stated recording we decided to take it a little bit more serious. A lot of hard work, time and money, I feel like it’s paid off.”

There’s a surprisingly good scene up in Darwin. I think it’s because it’s so isolated, you’ve got some really good quality bands up here, all different genres.
[ Matthew Greenaway ]

With such a cohesive sound and a solid line-up, Greenaway can’t pinpoint the exact element that’s meant so much buzz around Summit before their EP has even dropped. “I don’t have a lot to do with the promotion side of things the boys take care of that. We’ve got a lot of mates that back us and have shared or songs.”

Most people wouldn’t think of Perth having a big music scene largely because of its isolation, least of all Darwin. But hey ho, what do you know, it’s there and it rocks. “There’s a surprisingly good scene up in Darwin,” Greenaway explains. “I think it’s because it’s so isolated, you’ve got some really good quality bands up here, all different genres. You might have heard of Tapestry, a lot of grunge, a lot of punk, a few pop-punk bands, another really good metalcore band …” It’s at this point Greenaway has been reminded of something. “I want to strongly state, we are not metalcore. At all. I don’t know why we’ve been labelled as that. But yeah, a great mix of genres up here, we feed off one another, pushing each other, keen to play shows with other bands.”

Firmly putting it out there, Greenaway is right, Summit aren’t metalcore. Echoes of Aberration takes on a life of its own and to hear it, your focus is more on the sound than on any appropriate labelling. Yo pick it apart for what it is and that’s a credit to Summit for having such a captivating sound. “There’s so many different influences from all of us,” says Greenaway. “Jordy came from a pop band, the other boys have done a whole different type of genres. We’ve all got different tastes in music which has helped us along, and because we all get along, we want to mix these influences.

“Definitely after recording the first EP, we know what direction we want to head in now. It’s one of these things–every band records their first album they’re happy with it or they’re not–we were stoked with ours, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a really good learning curve, it’s definitely something we want to pursue.

“Right now, we’re just having fun. Every musician’s dream is to make what they’re doing their full time job, but yeah, it’s too soon to say, we’re just having fun with it. We wanna get better at what we’re doing, we wanna write another EP and get it out next year, focus on writing songs and having fun at gigs.”