ALUNAH – Fever Dream
Release Date: 20th September 2024
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Bandcamp
Genre: Hard Rock, Stoner, Doom, Psychedelic, 70s Rock, Retro Rock, Classic Rock.
FFO: Witch Mountain, Mount Salem, The Oath, Black Moth, Jex Thoth, Blood Ceremony, Ruby the Hatchet.
Review By: Mark Waight
From the spiritual home of heavy metal (Birmingham, UK) ALUANAH have been producing classic old school style hard rock for well over a decade now with an already impressive back catalogue of six albums to their name. Their latest and seventh album (also notably their third for the Heavy Psych Sounds label) Fever Dream is in my opinion their most accomplished release to date with their finely honed sound proving to be a sweet tantalising treat for not just your ears but your mind and soul too!
Sadly, at the time of writing this ALUNAH have just announced that Fever Dream will be their final album with the current line-up of Sian Greenway (vocals), Matt Noble (guitar), Daniel Burchmore (bass) and Jake Mason (drums) as Sian is leaving the band to pursue a solo career. The rest of the band will continue as before, so we can only hope that they find a suitable replacement vocalist in due course and continue to create the wonderful music that we always associate with ALUNAH.
As far as Fever Dreams goes, is it a fitting swansong for the current ALUNAH line-up? Well yes indeed it is, so read on.
It’s Never Too Late for a rocking good tune and Fever Dreams proves that point by kicking off with this superb up-tempo cracker just about perfect to get you in the mood. Released as a single, Trickster Of Time is one of my absolute favourites, Sian Greenway’s vocals are just divine as they switch between melt your heart and pure hard rock. A flute solo adds a bit of old school Jethro Tull style charm
Title track Fever Dream takes things down a notch or two with a chilled out and cool as you like song that quietly bubbles along like a summer stream before things heat up a little without ever getting too carried away. The guitar playing is simply enchanting. Hazy Jane then takes up the mantle with an almost jazz like appeal to it before the juices really begin to flow again, the riffs deepen and almost before we know it, we are back into a proper retro rock rhythm.
Sacred Grooves has an authentic spiritual, almost hippie edge to it with a wild and mushroom enhanced psychedelic feel that drifts along nicely between moments of clarity and euphoria. Staying on a similar theme, instrumental track Celestial keeps us pinned firmly in the early 70s with its heavy bass and blues infused guitar playing.
The Odyssey shifts smoothly up and down through the gears, accompanied by some lovely choral vocals and a finger tingling guitar solo, too. Penultimate track Far From Reality then picks things up once again with a much harder and more bludgeoning approach to lift thing up, really set out the stall for a showdown finale.
Outstanding final track I’ve Paid The Price leans very heavily on blues influences with a piano making the ideal partner for Sian Greenway’s silky vocal delivery and bringing the album to a close with a very tight band performance. The perfect farewell!
I am a lifelong fan of this great retro sound, after all it’s the very thing that somewhere in the mists of time attracted me to hard rock and metal in the first place. Hence, I have nothing but admiration for bands like ALUNAH who keep that classic groove going and Fever Dream is testament to the fact that this style of music is still very much alive, as popular as ever and as relevant today as it has ever been. Long may it continue!
I absolutely love Fever Dream and if you are a genuine fan of the old days then you will, too. Recommended!
(4 / 5)
