On their latest record „Solennial“ the British occultic metallers ALUNAH once more lured us deep into the forests of England by creating their own version of doom and stoner metal. We took the opportunity to ask leadsinger and guitarist Sophie Day about nature mysticism, the creation of their new album, their recent cooperation with Svart records and her opinion on British humor.
You already got quite a fanbase, however, some of our readers might still be unfamiliar with you. How would you describe the music of ALUNAH to someone who doesn’t know you yet?
We’re described as doom by a lot of people, including ourselves in the past, but we’re moving a little more away from that now, so I think heavy earth music is a great description.
Your mixture of stoner and doom metal might not be that groundbreaking, but it surely is recognizable. Which bands have influenced you the most?
Obviously Black Sabbath are a huge influence, but we love many different bands from the classic rock, blues, metal, and even pop genres. During the writing of „Solennial“ I mainly listened to Ahab, Crippled Black Phoenix, Myrkur, Betty Davis, Empyrium and Joe Volk… so quite varied.
What do you think are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a musician?
I’m a self-taught vocalist and guitarist, so I have many weaknesses relating to my playing and singing, especially if you ask a pro. I guess my strength is the ability to learn my craft and write catchy songs, which is always my aim. It doesn’t matter how sad or uplifting the song is, I always want it to stay in people’s heads.
Your current album is called „Solennial“. Three years have passed since its predecessor „Awakening The Forest“. That’s a bit more than between the records before that. Why did it take longer this time?
We actually finished recording it in September 2016, so it was two years which is what we aimed for. The reason for the March 2017 release, was down to pressing plant deadlines.
How was the feedback from critics and fans?
So far the feedback has been amazing. Without sounding egotistical, we knew we had written a great album, but with it being our fourth, we didn‘t know what people expected of us. It’s nice for critics to be into it, but for us it’s far more important for the fans to be into it.
Is „Solennial“ meant to be a concept album? What exactly are the lyrics about?
It’s a very loose concept album, yes. I’ve always gone into great detail about my lyrics, but for this release I’m letting the listener come up with their own ideas about them. The lyrics, titles and song themes were in place before the music was written, it was important that the songs are in the order that they are for the story to make sense and be complete. It is for that reason that we’re playing the album in order, in full every night on our tour.
Your lyrics are usually full of nature mysticism and occultism. What is your personal connection to these subjects?
I have a deep connection to the natural world, I live in a beautiful part of England where I can walk to stunning forests or get in a car and be in the Welsh mountains within an hour. I walk around with my eyes fully open, taking in the beauty and decay, and it is of massive inspiration to me both in how I conduct my daily life and in music. The occult interest comes from being a young child on holiday in such places as Boscastle and Tintagel, plus, you cannot escape folk stories and the occult coming from England. My late mother-in-law who we pay tribute to in the booklet, was a Tarot card reader, living in a countryside cottage when I first started dating my now husband (and our guitarist Dave) back when I was a young teenager. She sparked my interest in paganism and I’ve learnt more and more as the years have gone on.
The artwork is quite similar to that of „Awakening The Forest“ from a stylistical point of view, it also seems to be occult, but also more detailed. What can you tell us about it?
I was aware of Adrian Baxter’s artwork around two years ago and approached him to work on our album. At the time I had a few songs written, and the concept of the album, I sent him this and within a few weeks he created the artwork. It is a combination of my lyrics visualised, as well as his take on the album concept. It was a pleasure to work with Adrian, what you see now is pretty much what he initially came up with, his creation was so similar to what was in my head, that it didn’t need much changing.
What are the biggest differences between „Solennial“ and your other releases before that in your opinion?
I think this is the album that we were a little bit scared to write before, but desperately wanted to. I think it sets us apart from being a regular stoner or doom band and hopefully opens us up to fans of other genres. We also pushed ourselves more as musicians, it is more exposed and takes more skill to play live, but that only pushes us further.
This is the first time you started an album with an intro („The Dying Soil“). Why?
We have had intros before, but they’ve been more instrumental or sound effects rather than actual songs. „The Dying Soil“ was meant to be a song in it’s own right, but we were running out of space and wanted an intro, so we condensed it so we could still include it. It was the first track we wrote for the album, I actually wrote the lyrics just after our last album and have been playing about with ideas for it for two years. I think it actually works really well, and we use an instrumental version of it live to come on stage to.
Contrary to your previous record you also used strings and male vocals. Why did you do so and in which way did it expand your musical expression?
I’ve always wanted to work with Charlotte Nicholls who plays the cello, but nothing seemed to work in my head previously. As soon as we started writing „Solennial“, we knew the cello would be perfect. Male vocals are also something I wanted, but anyone I wanted was either far too famous, dead or lived in another country!! I went to see Oily Toys which our friend Rich Harris fronts, I’d seen him sing before and he had a great voice, but this time it was different. It was Pete Steele and Jim Morrison rolled into one, which was perfect for the songs we had in mind, so I asked him straight afer his gig, to guest with us. He’s actually appearing with us in Birmingham, as his band are supporting.
Another special thing about the album is your cover of The Cures „A Forest“, which you had already played live. What fascinates you about this song and why did you choose to include it on the album?
We all decided the time had come for us to do a cover, and Jake suggested „A Forest“. I loved The Cure, but wasn’t that keen on that song. I wanted to cover „Willow’s Song“ off The Wicker Man soundtrack, but looking back, this would have been too obvious. We have been playing „A Forest“ for a good few years, so it made perfect sense to find a place for it on „Solennial“.
Which track on „Solennial“ is your personal favorite and why?
I love „Reckoning Of Time“, it’s got everything – heaviness, softness, emotion, great lead lines and a catchy little vocal at the end! You can see why I don’t review albums! (laughs)
„Awaking The Forest“ was released via Napalm Records, „Solennial“, however, on Svart Records. Why did you switch labels and why did you choose Svart Records?
Svart are a label we looked up to and respected, and we felt we would get the same in return. We also felt they would not try to compromise us. So many of my favourite bands started on Svart, namely Hexvessel, and I’ve only heard good things about them. We are very happy to have released records on both labels, but I feel that „Solennial“ belongs on Svart.
What’s next for ALUNAH?
We’re preparing for our UK tour which begins this week, and then our European tour which begins in May.
Well, let’s end this interview with our traditional Metal1.info-Brainstorming:
Brexit: Bullshit
Paganism: Inspirational
City – country: England
British humor: the best and the worst (but in a good way!)
Tea: With soya milk and sweetner please
ALUNAH in ten years: Disenchanted folk outfit
Alright, thanks again for your answers. Is there still something that you want to tell our readers?
Thank you very much, check out www.alunah.co.uk and www.facebook.com/alunah.doom for updates and check us out on one of the following dates:
The Flapper, Birmingham (UK): 06/04/17
Bannermans, Edinburgh (UK): 07/04/17
Rebellion, Manchester (UK): 08/04/17
The Lounge, London (UK): 09/04/17
Metal Front, Coevorden (NL): 06/05/17
Route 66, Dusseldorf (DE): 07/05/17
Music City, Antwerp (BE): 08/05/17
Kurzbar, Mannheim (DE): 09/05/17
Immerhin, Würzburg (DE): 10/05/17
Coq d’Or, Olten (CH): 11/05/17
Bloom, Mezzago (IT): 12/05/17
26. April 2017 Stephan Rajchl