Before this release the UK doomsters Alunah changed vocalists
and sometimes that’s a risky part in a band. When they announced they were changing
Sophie Day to Siân Greenaway last year, it came out of nowhere.
It left the band with a heavy burden. They needed to find a new vocalist that could fill the shoes of their predecessor, a vocalist that like Sophie could give us the haunting singing style we are used to with the band. When listening to the new ep ”Amber& Gold” you can immediately relax.
The new vocalist Siân adds more dynamics and richness to the new songs. She has a more dark soul in her voice. Her voice creates imagery to the listener of old Wizards on top of mountains adding curses to the people in the village. With the lyrics centered around nature it’s a perfect match to the tones of doom. It will be really fun to hear Greenaway sing the earlier material.
In the first song ”Mangata” you get the eerie harmony and you get the absolutely gorgeous lead work that are well known for the band. It’s soaked with the warm feeling that Dave Day has given us in the present. The warmth of the guitarist’s sound is and has always been a central part of the band’s music. He’s only adding a more aggressive tone or introducing a doomier part just right before the glorious voice of Greenaway comes in and it’s very effective and will be delivered through the whole ep.
To be clear the band doesn’t present any major changes on this EP but that’s not a negative thing. If you are a fan of Alunah’s former releases you see that the band continue the course they started with Solenial. That band is sounding like Saint Vitus did back in the day but with more grace. Amber& Gold has the same swirling and mystical feeling vibe as the previous ones. But it will also include something that makes you hungry for even more.
One of the standout songs of this album is ”Awn”. It has a wonderful Cure-feeling in the beginning before the song kicks in and Daniel Burchmore, the bass player, plays a distorted bass line adding an extra dimension to the song and with the swirling vocal tone that Sian delivers the song is nothing but epic.
The only downside for me on the album is “Wicked Game”, the old Chris Isaak song. If you need another version of that song it has to add some extra but I can’t see that coming.
-Doomsdaysjesus
