Alunah – Strange Machine
Release Date: 15th April 2022
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom
FFO: Black Sabbath, Windhand, Mount Salem.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Apparently, Alunah are based out of ‘Sabbath City’, a pseudonym for Birmingham in the United Kingdom. As a man who will always state that Judas Priest are the greatest band to emerge from this city and not the aforementioned Sabbath, I dispute the nomenclature. That aside, Strange Machine, the 5th album from Priest City’s Alunah, is a consistent slab of Black Sabbath influenced Doom.
In stating the ‘Doom’ genre, we must advise that this is old-school Doom. It is 70’s metal with a rather captivating, female vocal throughout. This is no Conan, nor does it reach the heaviness of other female fronted Doom bands, such as Windhand. But in fairness, Alunah do not attempt to copy these bands, instead they plough their own field with relative aplomb.
As I mentioned, Strange Machine is a very consistent album. There is not one poor track on the album…consistency personified. Alas, there is also not a stand-out track either, a fact supported by the fact that only the title track sticks in my mind as I type this review. I have listened to this album on more occasions than I should have – I am hitting deadlines as I write this review – and nothing is memorable, aside from the excellent vocal delivery from Siân Greenaway. The range of this lady is utterly superb, hitting potentially the highest notes I’ve heard outside of Rob Halford (Priest City y’all).
The biggest frustration about Strange Machine is that it is a ‘safe’ album. I must say that there is absolutely nothing that will make you dislike the album, there are actually a few decent high points.
The biggest issue is that Alunah have delivered an album that is dependent on a superior vocal performance, supported by a myriad of Doom traits that leave you with an immense feeling of what could have been.
(3 / 5)
