Last Christmas Eve when we wrote our first Year in Review, we stated that "in our 6 year history, this year has been our best", well we topped that this year! We played over in Europe for the the first time, released our first 12" Record, signed a worldwide album deal with Napalm Records, gained a new bass player and played with some of our favourite bands such as Saint Vitus, High on Fire and The Sword. We can't thank everyone who made this year awesome, but we truly appreciate everyone who came to a gig, bought merch and supported us!
The year wouldn't have been what it was without the input from the following people, most of whom we said thanks to last year; they continue to be the best people to have on your side! Gareth Imber: Gaz left Alunah this year to concentrate on his other band, but we can't write this without thanking him. We spent 4 years with Gaz, and wrote and recorded 2 albums with him. We wish him all the best for the future! Dan Burchmore: Dan joined us earlier in the year, he's an awesome bassist and a top bloke! He learnt our songs straight away, spent his first Alunah gig supporting Karma to Burn, and immediately got stuck in writing songs for our forthcoming album! We're excited about our future with Dan, and Napalm Records. Sebastian Muench and the team at Napalm Records / Spinning Goblin Productions: Napalm released White Hoarhound on 12" vinyl back in January. We entered talks with them a few months ago regarding a long-term partnership, and at the beginning of December we signed a worldwide contract. News of the deal can be read here >> Matte and the team at Sound of Liberation: We also partnered up with European booking agency SOL this year, and embarked on a 10 date European tour taking in France, Germany, Poland and Denmark. We are currently making plans regarding our 2014 tour. Olivia Burr: Liv tirelessly sells our merch for us, provides transport when needed and handles all management queries for us! We couldn't do what we do without her! Mez Dewsbury at OHMZ Sound Services: Mez accompanies us on the road, providing sound and technical services. He also promotes local stoner/doom gigs at Scruffy Murphys as part of his promotions company Heretic Promotions. Awesome bloke, professional and a top laugh! Mona Miluski at Platinum PR: We came on board with German company Platinum PR to help promote White Hoarhound, and they have gone above and beyond to get us some amazing international press. They continue to be awesome! Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios: Greg recorded both of our albums, he totally gets us, and is an easy creative guy to work with. He pulled out all of the stops to deliver some brilliant sounding demos recently, and has given us great advice regarding the legal side of the music industry. We will be working with him on our 3rd album also. We must also mention the following bands, promoters, radio shows, webzines and podcasts who we've done stuff with in 2013. Again, in no particular order and sorry to those we've missed: High on Fire, The Sword, Lonely Kamel, Saint Vitus, Ufomammut, Kadaver, Orchid, Gentleman's Pistols, Mos Generator, Fatso Jetson, The Wounded Kings, Samsara Blues Experiment, Witchsorrow, Conan, Black Moth, Black Star Riders, Skindred, Black Spiders, GOLD, Slow Worm, Jex Thoth, Moghul, Mage, Temple of Lies, Diesel King, Eldorado, Grifter, Greenhorn, The Albion Codex, Trippy Wicked, Hannah Rachel McCaul, Karma to Burn, Desert Storm, Stubb, Huata, Belzebong, Dopelord, Stoneache, The Skeletons, Cultura Tres, Prosperina, Heavy on The Ride, DesertFest Berlin, Heavy Days in Doom Town, French Metal Webzine, O2 Academy, Scruffy Murphys, Kerrang Magazine, I Did The Booking, Paranoid Hitsophrenic, Midlands Rocks, Contact FM, Rocking The Midlands, Doomsmoker.pl, Evil Wizard Promotions, Castle Cases, Vein-Tap.Com, Stoned Gatherings, Black Bullet Live, Terrorizer Magazine, Metal Mouth, Destruction Music, The Sleeping Shaman, Doommantia, The Obelisk, Cosmic Tomb, Temple of Perdition (R.I.P - thanks for everything!), The Sludgelord, Uberrock, Repulsive Revolutions, Stonerhead Let Groove Your Brains Tonight, Stonerrock.eu, The Paranoid Music Blog, Blabbermouth, Moonlight666.com, Hard Rock Hell, Native Ground, Metal as Religion, Brett Devey Photography, Zero Tolerance Magazine, Doommantia, Michael Cowell, DesertScene, Rock Regeneration, Doomed and Stoned, The Morsel, Get Ready to Rock, Get Your Rock Out, TBFM Radio, Planet Mosh and Eyes From The Mosh Pit. In 2014 we will release our third album, re-release Call of Avernus on tape cassette, play various festivals, play with Grand Magus, tour Europe and the UK and hopefully meet a load more awesome people! Here's to a happy new year, these were our most viewed blog posts and images of 2013... Top 5 Most Viewed Blog Posts 1. Alunah's 2013 European Tour Diary - by Soph 2. Alunah Sign Worldwide Album Deal with Napalm Records 3. Alunah Announce New Bassist 4. Alunah to Support St. Vitus in Birmingham 5. Alunah Play Hard Rock Hell 7 Top 10 Most Viewed Images of 2013 Thanks to Planet Mosh for our interview and photographs at Hard Rock Hell VII.
Listen to the interview http://planetmosh.com/alunah-interview-at-hard-rock-hell-7-291113/ or read an interview with Soph from 2012 http://planetmosh.com/soph-day-from-alunah-interview/ "First up for me was a great set by doom metallers Alunah with vocals dutifully taken care of by Soph Day the sound hit you in waves of guitar and ripping bass, certainly not a downer but a great set"
- Get Ready To Rock! "That groaning cupid’s grief doom from ‘Alunah’ brought us all into another level of dark existence" - Rawramp "Dave Day was a very interesting technical guitarist, and Dave [Dan] Burchmore’s bass threatened to liquefy me via sonic attack. Soph Day is a good singer with an interesting vocal style, keeping it right on the edge of being in tune. Songs like White Hoarhound are great, and they were an interesting change in pace for the day" - Get Your Rock Out Thanks to the guys at Get Your Rock Out for the video interview at Hard Rock Hell VII, as well as the review and photos... appreciate it! "Alunah was a little bit of an odd tonal shift for the second stage as it was trying to be moody and depressing. Doom metal always struggles on a festival stage, but there was definitely some talent involved; Dave Day was a very interesting technical guitarist, and Dave Burchmore’s bass threatened to liquefy me via sonic attack. Soph Day is a good singer with an interesting vocal style, keeping it right on the edge of being in tune. Songs like White Hoarhound are great, and they were an interesting change in pace for the day." Read the full Friday review here: http://getyourrockout.co.uk/wp/album-reviews/live-reviews/hard-rock-hell-2013/hard-rock-hell-2013-friday/
We've just about recovered from our last few days playing Liverpool, Hard Rock Hell and shooting our album photos. Massive thanks to Kabir for putting us on at The Pilgrim in Liverpool, and to GOLD for sharing backline with all the bands. Also great to play with our friends in Slow Worm again.
We had a blast at Hard Rock Hell VII in North Wales the day after, big thanks to Fleur and the crew for making the event run smoothly, we had a great time on stage and off. We got off stage at 3pm, and had our first interviews at 3:30pm so unfortunately we didn't get to see our friends in Grifter and Stubb, but we managed to catch a bit of Groan. What happened next was a bit of a blur, we think we saw Skindred and Trippy Wicked before stumbling back to our freezing cold caravan. Live photos can be viewed here >> The day after we met up with the guys from Stubb; singer Jack is creating a custom paint job on Soph's spare guitar, so we met up to hand it over. We then spent the rest of the day being guided by our sound tech Mez (and Welsh native) around Snowdonia, Betws-y-Coed, Conwy Falls and LLangollen shooting the album photos (and visiting the pub!) for our 3rd album. We can't wait for you to see them, they look incredible and we should also have some news on the release very soon. Metal as Religion have included Alunah in their top 5 picks for Hard Rock Hell Festival:
"Hard Rock Hell 2013 has been labelled “Cirque Du Rock”... a Rock ‘n’ Roll circus extravaganza of grotesquely monumetal proportions. Full of twisted darkened moments and unrivalled camaraderie - and laced with the kind of pure adrenalin pumping high-octane rock ‘n’ roll you didn’t think was still achievable.This is a festival created by a circle of people who continue to know how to do it. And do it well. Aussie Rockers Airbourne and Tracer are set to join fellow countrymen Electric Mary for an all out Antipodean attack on our Homeland (Well, the principality of Wales, to be exact.) But fear not, because we have found five new tantalising treats from Europe’s darkest underbellies to tempt your tender tinnitus-sizzled ear-holes - and to get your snake-oiled boots a-groovin’. 2013 appears to be one of the best HRH bills yet" "Birmingham based ALUNAH is a psyche/stoner/doom band which unleashes an incredible paganistic sound characterized by thick guitars, a punishing rhythm section, and earthy and hypnotic vocal melodies. Sometimes groovy, oppressive, or downright grimy depending on what the situation calls for, the songs are dark and slow without being downers! Try ‘White Hoarhound’ for a thick slice of eagle feathers and tar pit. Black vaporizing guitars bubble up like methane seepages. And the moonshine clarity of the vocal from Soph crystalizes your fancies and lifts you from doom-filled decay. But not for long" Read more: http://metalasreligion.com/2013/07/18/hard-rock-hell-cirque-du-rock-our-first-picks/ The Hard Rock Hell line-ups for each day have been announced, we'll be playing on the Friday alongside some great bands... especially excited for Black Star Riders!!! Times and stages still to be announced.
We're really pleased to announce that we'll be playing Hard Rock Hell 7 (Cirque Du Rock) which takes place November 28-30th at Hafan Y Mor Holiday Park in Pwllheli, N.Wales. Full line-up so far is:
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