Much like we endeavour every year before Bloodstock, this year, for Scotland’s Wildfire Festival which kicks off on 22nd June, we’re interviewing every band set to play the stages of Wiston. You get to hear (or read) right from the horse’s mouth who you should be watching over the course of the weekend.
Previous years have seen some excellent acts grace the stages as our reviews can attest to and trust us when we say this year is no different! So get reading and listening so you can plan your coffee/beer/food breaks accordingly…
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Ritual King
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Manchester, UK.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Ritual King started in spring, 2016 but we have jamming together as musicians since 2013.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Before we came up with the name, we were in the process of writing what was to be Ritual King’s debut EP. Our producer at the time (Alex Miller) would refer to us as King and we were playing around with the word Ritual at the time. Put two and two together and the idea came to us.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our music is fundamentally heavy blues, influenced by 70s rock and modern stoner rock. We think what makes our sound most unique is that we implement elements of folk rock into our music which we’re yet to hear in any other stoner rock band. Also, our vocals stand out as they’re clean and higher pitched. Combining these two unique elements helps us have our own identity in the UK stoner rock scene.
What’s your live show like? Why should people watch you?
We have always been known to excel in our live shows rather than our recordings. If you’re looking for heavy riffs, infectious grooves and catchy melodies make sure you get down to a show! We like to think our stage presence holds the energy and ion of old school performances from the likes of Pearl Jam and Guns N’ Roses. We work cohesively as a unit live and we like to intise the audience into what we do.
Have you played Wildfire before? If so, when?
This is the first time we’ll be at Wildfire, and after hearing nothing but great things about the festival, we’re excited to be on the bill performing in front of a new crowd.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
Our set is a power house of riffs. A whole host of new experimental material along with the most popular of tracks already released. Expect the unexpected!
Which band are you most looking forward to seeing?
We have a number of good friends on the bill, bands we’ve met and performed with over the time we’ve been together, for example Witchtripper & Sauza Kings. We’re looking forward to catching up with them and seeing them play! Definitely can’t wait to see Buffalo Summer & Massive Wagons. We couldn’t pick just one from such an impressive line-up.
What have you got planned for the second half of 2018?
We have a busy second half of 2018 ahead of us. We’ll be on the road touring with our good friends Regulus, then later we head back to the studio to begin recording the debut album. We also have a number of big gigs in store including Hard Rock Hell’s Stoner Vs Doom festival at the O2 academy in Sheffield, as well as a trip out to play in Bruges, Belgium. Buzzing to get on with it all!
What’s been the highlight for the band’s career so far?
One of our biggest highlights has to be when we played Roadkill Festival in Belgium in 2016. The festival has played host to so many of our favourite bands and it was an honour to be a part of, especially so early on in Ritual King’s career!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
It’s a tough call, but it has to be our EP launch where we were on our final song of the night, and the crowd rushed on stage with us. To be honest, the wildest things tend to go on after the show where we get to meet new people and have a killer party.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
If we could someone it would have to be Clutch. There’s so many great bands in the stoner rock scene but Clutch stand out amongst the rest in of being not only the biggest, but one of the pioneers of the music we love to play. Who we’d have open would have to be our friends from Plymouth, Cybernetic Witchcult. Lots of top bands in the underground scene at the moment but I think they’d suit this bill the best.
What day/time are you playing at Wildfire? (If you have your slot yet!)
We’re playing on Friday the 22nd at 5pm! Be there!
Pistonhead Lager, Cloven Hoof rum or Thistly Cross cider? And yes, we’ll be counting the votes!
Tough choice, but we think Cloven Hoof rum has the upper hand in this battle.
Ritual King: official | facebook | twitter | youtube | bandcamp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0TRSC_tk1w
