Category: The Vintage Caravan

Alunah's 2014 In Review

31/12/2014

Being in a band can play havoc with your memory bank, so every year we do this Year in Review to remind ourselves of the amazing times we have had. We also do it to thank everyone who has supported us, it's not possible to thank everyone but we hope you realise how much we appreciate all of you.

This is our third year in review and last December "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!" Well, guess what? We topped it again. We recorded our third album "Awakening the Forest" which was our first for Napalm Records, we toured the UK in May / June and Europe in October, made our first music video, had amazing press support, played with some world class bands, visited new countries, met tonnes of amazing people, released and then sold out of our 2010 debut album "Call of Avernus" tape cassette, and signed re-release deals for "Call of Avernus" and "White Hoarhound". We would like to thank everyone who came to our gigs, bought something with our name on it, wrote about us, and told their friends about us. Thanks to these people in particular for the dedication and support given to us this year (and some, since the beginning!), if we've missed anyone we're really sorry, it's impossible to thank everyone:

Sebastian, Mona, Andy, Daniel and Moni at Napalm Records, Matte, Beth, David, Kat and Sylvain at Sound of Liberation, Nathan & Jae at Cosmic Tomb, Remi at PRC Music, Olivia Burr, Mez Dewsbury, Greg Chandler, Tony Reed, Jay Ackerman, Michael Cowell, Rhodri Thomas, Simon Matthews, George Sanderon, Dominic Sohor, Elin Larsson, Edgar Livengood, Gazelle Amber Valentine, Billy Goate, Tony Gaskin, Peter Keevil, Johhny Zed, Paul Castles, Frank Schneider, Ed Barnard (get well soon!), Mick & Geraldine OFGB, Emma Billingham, Paul Billingham, Vic Taylor, Andy Smith, Sioux, Gudi, Jonay (DUDE!), Emma Sainsbury, Jon Anderson, Phil Smith, Jason Woodroffe, Andy Thorley, Naiko Franklin, Fiamma Fatale Tafur, Guido Isaza, Neil Hadden, Martin (Dom Overlord), Stuart Smith, Gina Smith, Alex Johnson, Jon Paul Davis, Emily Yardley, Pete Green, Chris Hatton, Tracey Hatton, Mike Jeffries, Heather Jeffries, Mel Bull, Gaf Evans, Glyn Evans, Bek Cross, Emma Wileman, Lee Wileman, Nick Flagg, Louisa Tam, Paul Evans, Sarah Latimer, Dave Booth, Rick Eaglestone, Julia Willett, Dave Mason, Barb Mason, Simon Burchmore and Glenys Burchmore.

We must also mention the following bands, promoters, radio shows, magazines and websites who we've worked / played with in 2014:

Brant Bjork, Spirit Caravan, Grand Magus, Kadavar, Windhand, The Vintage Caravan, Brain Police, Mars Red Sky, The Order of Israfel, Monolith Cult, Ki, Lonely Kamel, 1000 Mods, Conan, Black Willows, Dozer, Naam, Greenleaf, Purson, Hung on Horns, Pigwitch, Terror Swarm, Iron Rat, Up in Smoke Festival, Trip Out Festival, Terrorizer Magazine, Zero Tolerance Magazine, Metal Mouth, The Sleeping Shaman, The Obelisk, The Sludgelord, Doomed and Stoned, Doomantia, Midlands Metalheads, Loudwire, Hand of Doom, Heavy Handed Radio, Ohmzs Sound Services, Maximum Volume, Decibal Magazine, The Midlands Rocks, About.com, Metallized Magazine, Hammerworld Magazine, Spark Rock Magazine, Metallian Magazine, Sweden Rock Magazine, Northern Darkness, The Soggy Bog, Rock a Rolla Magazine, Metal Hammer Magazine, Deaf Forever Magazine, Scream Magazine, Rock Hard Magazine, Death Before The Cage, Aardshock Magazine, Rock Tribune Magazine, Hard Force, Rock 'n' Reel, New Noise Magazine, The O2 Academy Group, Heretic Promotions, Fear Me Music, DesertScene, Kick Ass Metal, Stoned Gatherings, Dead Pig Tour Booking, Immerhin, Roadtrip To Outta Space, Graf Hugo, The Slade Rooms, Freakout Club, Voice of Art, The Vault, The Unicorn, and Jackhammer Promotions. There are so many more to add to this list, and we're sorry if we've missed you - we appreciate everyone!

In 2015 we will re-release "Call of Avernus" and "White Hoarhound" on PRC Music, and will announce various UK and European gigs and festivals. Merry Christmas, and here's to a happy new year - these were our most popular blog posts of 2014...

These are our favourite memories...

Album recording at Priory Studios

Dave recording his guitar parts Album Recording

Greg Chandler and Soph recording

Filming "Heavy Bough"

London, England (October Tour)

Innsbruck Austria (October Tour)

Paris, France (October Tour)

Pratteln, Switzerland (October Tour)

Brant Bjork and Alunah (October Tour)

Mars Red Sky and Alunah (October Tour)

Gudi, Sioux, Jonay and Soph in Oelsnitz, Germany (October Tour)

Comments

Alunah Live Review by Midlands Rocks (supporting Grand Magus) - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, 15/03/14

27/3/2014

Comments

"With Birmingham’s Alunah to open tonight’s proceedings, the Slade Rooms were in for a treat. That they were onstage not long after the doors opened did little to deter the many that showed up to take a listen and show their appreciation. An apt opening to an evening of diverse metal, the band hammered out their down-tuned melodic and dragging doom/psych/classic rock with all the fervour of a headliner at Bloodstock."

Read full review: http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/grand-magus-asomvel-the-vintage-caravan-alunah-slade-rooms-wolverhampton-saturday-15th-march-2014

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Midlands Metalheads - Alunah Interview with Soph and Dan

26/3/2014

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So we’re here at the Slade Rooms, could you tell us a little bit about tonight’s show?

Soph: We’re here supporting Grand Magus, The Vintage Caravan, who are really cool and Asomvel

Where was your last gig?

Soph: Bradford at The Vampire. We headlined a gig up there, with Monolith cult, Pig Witch and Space Witch. That’s a lot of witches!

How would you describe your band to somebody who has never heard you before?

Soph: Heavy…Down-tuned…Female Vocals…Groove…A heavy rock band really.

Dan: It’s pretty difficult to describe your own band. I mean there are lots of buzzwords, “Doom,” “Psychedelic,” things like that

Soph: I think there are so many different styles within Doom, you can’t just call yourself a Doom band really. I suppose that’s what we’re described as most!

What would be your ideal show line-up to play? Anybody you’d love to support?

Soph: Black Sabbath-

Dan: You’ve gone with the most clichéd answer!

Soph: So if Black Sabbath called you up, you’d say: “Oh no, sorry, it’s a cliché! I can’t possibly,” would you?

Dan: No no no of course not. (They laugh.)

Soph: But there are lots, we’ve been really lucky and gotten to play with a lot of the bands who have inspired us. For a show I’d love to play… I’ve been listening to a band called Ahab, on Napalm Records. They are blowing me away at the moment. I’m not sure how we’d fit, but it’d be cool to do a gig with them.

Your next album is going to be with Napalm Records as well isn’t it? Could you tell us a bit more about that?

Soph: We’ve pretty much written it, haven’t we?

Dan: Yep, apart from one track. But that’s pretty much done

Soph: It needs to be finished for May, because that’s when we’re recording. I’d say it is sounding heavier than our other albums. There’s more of a theme running through, rather than individual songs. We’ve tried to give it more of a style. It’s a lot more melancholy. We’re tried to create a lot more of an atmosphere with it.

Your Facebook says you’ve been going around for seven years, if you could meet yourselves starting out now, what would you say?

Soph: I’d say, ditch the jeans, ditch the custom band t-shirts and sort your roots out! Haha! No, when we started, we’d got certain ideas of bands in our heads that we wanted to sound like and went out trying to be like them. But as you start to get to know each other, play with each other- (not in that way!!)- you do find your own style. I think we have that now. We don’t try to sound like anybody else. I think I’d have learnt my craft a little bit more before going out there and doing gigs. Made my vocals sound better and learnt the guitar more.

What would be your best tips for somebody who is just starting out in a band?

Dan: Work hard at it. Work your way up. Believe in yourselves, I suppose. Listen to what people say. Never just accept the good stuff because a lot of people know what they’re talking about.

Soph: That’s one thing that used to really get to me. You’d go on Internet forums and you’d read all of these horrible things that people were saying about you. Being a female in a band, it can get really personal. It used to really bother me, but as I’ve gotten older, I realised if I’m enjoying what I’m doing, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks, to a certain extent. You get more comfortable in your skin, so when you do read comments about your abilities, or your looks, or whatever, you don’t pay attention to them.

Dan: There are always going to be differences in opinion.

Soph: You’re not up there to be judged, you should be up there because you’re enjoying it and if people like it along the way it’s even better.

I imagine it’s frustrating that female fronted bands seem to always get judged against other female fronted bands.

Soph: There’s that and a lot of people think of “female fronted” as a genre. To be fair, we were guilty of it when we were starting out. We would describe ourselves as “female fronted doom”. As we went along, we starting thinking “why do we need to point that out?” If people come to our gigs and don’t like the fact that there’s a girl in the band and think “oh, nobody warned us about that!” then that’s their problem isn’t it? You wouldn’t have to point it out if you’re a male fronted band would you? There are so many cool female members in bands at the moment, you feel less pressured into needing to say that anyway now.

Any final words?

Soph: Thanks to everybody for the support The Midlands have been really supportive. Please check out our album when it comes out!

Source: http://www.midlandsmetalheads.com/alunah-interview-15th-march-slade-rooms-wolverhampton/

Comments

Alunah Live Review by Midlands Metalheads - Supporting Grand Magus - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - 15/03/14

20/3/2014

Comments

"Musically they are fantastic; melodic doom grooves with steady driving beats. Their appeal lies in the combination of heavy music and hypnotic, but strong vocals. Singer Soph Day’s commanding voice fits perfectly into the style. Whilst their set feels disappointingly short, their final two tracks are where the band truly shines. White Hoarhound, the title track from their current album, grabs everybody’s attention and the band gives a solid performance, showcasing extremely impressive musical unity.

Final track Belial’s Fjord is an excellent finale, with talented drummer Jake Mason particularly noticeable. As it is the music that makes Alunah truly stand out, it was unfortunate that a slight crackling noise from onstage kept disturbing the performance. Whilst this was probably a minor fault, the hypnotic effect of the music is easily shattered. Overall, this was a mesmerizing performance from an excellent band."

Read the full review: http://www.midlandsmetalheads.com/grand-magus-the-vintage-caravan-asomvel-and-alunah-15th-march-slade-rooms/

Comments

Alunah Live Review by Maximum Volume Reviews - Supporting Grand Magus - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - 15/03/14

19/3/2014

Comments

"It almost seems a tad unfair to call Alunah stalwarts of the Midlands metal scene, but it is very nearly three years since we first saw them, low down on a bill that included the mighty Stone Axe. Here, they are again opening, as they seem to do on a regular basis.

They fact is they get these duties for two simple reasons. They are a very good band with very good songs. Downtuned Sabbathy stuff is the order of the day, and songs like “White Hoarhound” hit the right heavy groove, as does closing tune “Beilal’s Fjord” which is arguably the band at their peak. If it’s unfair to call them stalwarts, it is also mightily unlucky that Alunah are bottom of bills like this, maybe they can make the move up, because god knows they have paid their dues long enough."

Read the full review here: http://maximumvolumereviews.co.uk/2014/03/16/grand-magus-asomvel-vintage-caravan-alunah-slade-rooms-wolverhampton-15314/

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Alunah 2014 English Dates (inc. Grand Magus, Windhand and Purson)

17/1/2014

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We've recently been busy writing our third album, which will be coming out later in the year on Napalm Records. We've been tucked up in our small, draughty hut in rural Warwickshire and to stop us going completely insane we're venturing out on the following dates, which include a small 5 day tour. We'll be playing with such awesome bands as Windhand, Purson, Grand Magus, The Vintage Caravan and Monolith Cult so we really do hope to see you! Check out our Gig page for Facebook event links.

Click to Enlarge

* Mainland Europe Tour Dates
Coming Soon *

08.02 | The Vampire, Bradford
w/ Monolith Cult, Space Witch & Pigwitch

15.03 | The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton
w/ Grand Magus & The Vintage Caravan

13.04 | The Asylum2, Birmingham
w/ Windhand & Inter Arma

10.05 | Doom for the Doomed
The Asylum, Birmingham w/ Purson & Others

28.05 | The Unicorn, London
w/ King Goat & Three Thrones

29.05 | The Green Door Store, Brighton

30.05 | Midsummer Nights Doom, Firebug, Leicester
w/ Stereo Virgins & Others

31.05 | The Star & Garter, Manchester
w/ Desert Storm & Others

01.06 | Till Death Doom us Part - venue tbc, Bristol
w/ Gringo & Others

05.09 | The Trip Out, Scald End Farm, Bedford

Comments

Alunah's 2014 In Review

Alunah Live Review by Midlands Rocks (supporting Grand Magus) - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, 15/03/14

Midlands Metalheads - Alunah Interview with Soph and Dan

Alunah Live Review by Midlands Metalheads - Supporting Grand Magus - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - 15/03/14

Alunah Live Review by Maximum Volume Reviews - Supporting Grand Magus - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - 15/03/14

Alunah 2014 English Dates (inc. Grand Magus, Windhand and Purson)

* Mainland Europe Tour Dates
Coming Soon *

Alunah Blog

Categories

Archives

Alunah's 2014 In Review

Alunah Live Review by Midlands Rocks (supporting Grand Magus) - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, 15/03/14

Midlands Metalheads - Alunah Interview with Soph and Dan

Alunah Live Review by Midlands Metalheads - Supporting Grand Magus - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - 15/03/14

Alunah Live Review by Maximum Volume Reviews - Supporting Grand Magus - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - 15/03/14

Alunah 2014 English Dates (inc. Grand Magus, Windhand and Purson)

* Mainland Europe Tour DatesComing Soon *

Alunah Blog

Categories

Archives

* Mainland Europe Tour Dates
Coming Soon *