Alunah will be re-releasing their sold out debut album 'Call of Avernus' (2010) and their second album 'White Hoarhound' (2012) on CD via PRC Music Canada in 2015. 

The sold out debut album, originally released by Catacomb Records in 2010, will be re-released on 7th April 2015 with new artwork (see photo below), designed by Alunah's Sophie Day and themed to reflect the lyrics.

The 'White Hoarhound' CD was originally released on the now defunct PsycheDOOMelic Records in 2012, on vinyl via Napalm Records in 2013 (now also sold out), and received rave reviews. The band sold out of copies during their recent European tour, and only a handful of copies remain in existence. The CD re-release will also have new artwork, and will be out in the latter part of 2015.

"The guys who run PRC have been releasing music for over 20 years, and are not only passionate music fans, but experienced professionals. They originally contacted us regarding 'Call of Avernus' and after some lengthy conversations we knew they were the right company to work with. More recently PRC spoke to us about 'White Hoarhound', and as passionate Alunah fans who want to spread our music far and wide, we were very happy to agree to another re-release. This doesn't affect our album deal with Napalm Records regarding our new recordings going forward, but simply enriches the ever-growing Alunah tree" - Sophie Day, Alunah

Both albums will have official in-store distribution via PRC's partners throughout USA, Canada and Brazil, and limited copies will also be available from the official Alunah store (worldwide postage). PRC will be releasing 'Call of Avernus' pre-order details shortly, and these orders will be shipped in advance. PRC Music have a wide range of metal titles available, including doom bands such as Among Gods, Ice Dragon, Clorange and Krownn.

The UK Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal scene has been a revelation over the last few years throwing out some brilliant bands for everyone to check out. Desert Storm, Alunah, Conan, Diesel King, Sea Bastard and Steak to name but a few.

Now we have Gringo. A genre defying Rock Band playing their own blend of Rock/Metal music. Their debut album - The Cold Burn - is a very strange beast indeed. Psych, Doom, Stoner, Classic Rock and Space Rock combine for a brilliant wildly fucked up ride from start to finish.

The press bio said the following:

"The Cold Burn" is the debut album by Cleobury Mortimer (Shropshire, England) based band Gringo. The band describe themselves as the twisted end result of a combination of influences ranging from Iommi to Einstein, hangovers to horsepower, space cadets to space exploration; unhindered by genre cliches whilst remaining true to the heritage of Midlands heaviness.

So from that description we are expecting Black Sabbath with Brains venturing into Space. Well that's what I read from it. OK so lets get down to business. What you do get is a cosmic/space party that feels like an extended jam between Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath, Kyuss, Mastodon, Monster Magnet and Thin Lizzy.

So if you're a fan of those legendary bands then your going to love these riff-slaying astronauts as Gringo are not ashamed of where they have came from. The Cold Burn may not be the most original album but damn it is definitely one of the most wildest I have heard this year.

First track - Decaying The Orbit - gets straight down to business in laying down some epic riffs for you to rock out to. Co-Lead Vocalists - Andy and Mark have a great duelling competition going on to give this track such a great laid back affair. The 7 minutes flies by as your having too much fun to care. A great start to the album.

2nd track - Legalise It - is a 41 second sonic based track showcasing the bands Sci-fi ideas. There are a few track within the albums 14 tracks. Short based Sci-fi style noises and sounds before the epic riffs kick in once again.

Especially on 3rd track - Babylon. A fast paced affair over and done with inside 3:15 minutes. Though it still has plenty of great head-banging riffs for you to check out. Originality isn't the name of the game here folks but gigantic huge riffs are and this track has plenty.

Up next is - The Void - An almost 5 minute track showcasing once again the bands superior skills at writing highly infectious riffs and vocals to match. If you're a fan of 70's style Classic Rock then this track will speak intergalactic volumes to you. The song is dripping so much into 70s style Classic Rock territory that Darth Vader has this track on repeat listens on his iPod in a galaxy far, far away.

You may think 14 tracks is too much for an album like this and I would agree with you but Gringo have created an album with such an easy-going atmosphere that you will be head-banging right from the start. They have written some truly epic riffs with a sublime Space-Rock feel. I dare you not to rock out with devil horns or lightsabers in the air when 5th track Curiosity comes on to slay you with. As it has some of the albums finest riffs played at maximum level.

The Cold Burn carries on this insane blend of genre defying riffs that will entertain the hell out of you through out the albums 42 minute running time. Gringo have some crazy ideas up their sleeves to stand out from the crowd and The Cold Burn is the perfect album to show-off their brilliant talents.

Though Gringo do call on one of their famous friends to duet with on the excellent last track - No Way Out. Soph Day from rising UK Doom/Stoner Metallers - Alunah - lends her excellent sultry vocals to the albums best track. It has a slight Mastodon - Crack The Skye feel though Gringo make it sound so original. It ends the album on a great high.

Set your riffs to stun as Gringo have delivered an excellent debut album full of sonic riffs to impress you with. The Cold Burn is another winning entry from the UK Stoner Metal scene. Hunt it out when it's finally released.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Catacomb Records for sending me a promo to review. The Cold Burn is available to buy from on November 11th 2013.

Gringo’s self-proclaimed influences include the formidable genius of Tony Iommi and Albert Einstein, and both men would surely approve of this exciting piece of stoner innovation. ‘E’ may equal ‘mc2’ (we’ll trust Albert on that one) but Gringo have come up with their own formula for smart, inventive metal.

The word ‘gringo’ – simultaneously a derogatory Spanish-language term for a foreigner and a descriptor for an outsider who has embraced a new culture – may initially be suggestive of Mexico, deserts and tequila, but this band from the Midlands of England is more complex than that.

In fact, the band’s monicker perfectly represents the two sides of their music. On one hand, The Cold Burn delivers dynamic, big-riffing stoner metal that is familiar and accessible, tying in with the latter definition of the word. But then there’s the other side, which deals with alienation and the unknown, and this is where the band’s wide-ranging influences come to the fore.

In addition to the usual Sabbath and Kyuss nods, this album resonates with the sorrowful wailings of Alice In Chains, AC/DC’s kick-ass attitude, the tight groove of The Obsessed, Voivod’s penchant for avant-garde experimentation, and even the lunatic sci-fi thrashings of Vektor. It’s a captivating combination that ensures Gringo have carved themselves a special niche in the overcrowded stoner market.

The Cold Burn cleverly balances progressivity and tradition. Straightforward metal passages that feature uplifting key changes and Iommi-inspired guitar work (particularly in the title track and opener ‘Decaying Orbit’) are countered with adventurous tempo switches and time signatures as well as synthy spacewalks.

A number of the songs feature atmospheric keyboard-tickling that would not be out of place on an Amorphis or Stratovarius album and it works brilliantly. In fact, it’s a shame that Gringo choose not to integrate even more of these passages into their music rather than in slightly self-conscious mini-tracks between songs.

There are a few other missed opportunities, such as the song ‘Curiosity’ – a dense, hypnotising creation that does not quite build into the epic it could have been. And the repeated use of layered vocals throughout The Cold Burn can make it difficult to engage with the central vocal melody. It’s a commonly used trick that too often saps a little energy from the music and here it reduces the impact of Gringo’s intriguing lyrical content. The band’s reliance on this would be understandable if singer (and guitarist) Marc Temple lacked confidence in the strength of his voice, but, as shown in strange little ditty ‘The Great Provider’, his vocals are potent enough in isolation.

The Cold Burn is an original and sometimes brilliant album that is sure to entertain, whether your cranium is accustomed to theoretical physics, Sabbath homage or good old-fashioned head-banging.

http://doommetalheaven.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/album-review-gringo/

Get your tickets here: http://www.livenation.co.uk/artist/clutch-tickets

Cheers to Metal Hammer and Dom Lawson for this awesome review!

[click image to enlarge]

So what do we have here? Another Stoner Metal band from the UK. What makes this band standout from the other great Stoner Metal Bands from the UK.

Well I will tell you. Firstly General has a certain Gaz from ace UK Doomsters – Alunah – on guitar. Plus their excellent debut album – Where Are Your Gods Now – has been mastered by the legendary Billy Anderson and recorded by Greg Chandler.

And it sounds amazing from the word go. You can hear every grizzled Stoner Metal riff to perfection.

Now back to the album. Where Are Your Gods Now is a 9 song full throttle 54 minute blast of Stoner Metal
carnage. Taking influence from the classic Stoner Metal bands of Monster Magnet, Clutch, Kyuss and Fu Manchu.

But adding some great Doom/Sludge Metal influences to their music as well. If you were brought on mid 90’s to early 00’s Stoner Metal then your going to love this like I did.

Opening track – Better Dead – shows that General mean business from the offset. Lead superbly by ace vocalist – Graham who has a hint of early Dave Wyndorf about him. The band showcases their own blend of high voltage pummelling riffs.

You know from this song your in for a great ride. OK it might not be breaking any new barriers but when the music sounds this great you just don’t care.

Just strap in and listen to the almighty angry grizzled sounds of General. As they do sound like an old grizzled Army Veteran who has seen it all before. The carnage, the destruction and not wanting to care anymore.

Up next is Make Or Breakdown which sets out the foundations for this great album. A 5 minute blast of machine
gun type Stoner/Sludge Rock riffage that is very hard to ignore. It will have you head-banging or playing air guitar from the very first second.

Now  the next song is where the album takes off in a big way. Bullet Train is a 6 minute blast that Monster Magnet would be proud to call their own. This is where the band is at their most ferocious and angriest. As Graham shouts out “I don’t need you anymore”. This is where General come into their own existence and where
you will love this album.

General show with their next song – The 7 minute – Out Of The Sky they can slow things down to a gentler pace which shows the band in a devastating reflective pace. But still as powerful as the other 3 great songs that came before it. This is the band’s “lighter/mobile phone in the air” song that all great bands need to slow things right down before the normal business of pounding heavy riffs carries on as normal.

And carry on they do. Especially with the next track.- Blood Of The Pig – A mean dirty Sludge Rock song that showcases this bands talent once again in writing a hard hitting riff. Led superbly well yet again by Graham. It has a cool psych rock vibe that makes it one of the albums standout tracks.

OK I have reviewed the first 5 songs and that is all the songs I am going to review as I don’t want to spoil it
for you anymore. But believe me the album has 4 more excellent tracks to show why I rate General so highly.

The last song Hydrogen is an 11:42 minute monster of a track that will have you pressing the repeat button over and over again.

Where Are Your Gods Now is truly thunderous affair that should get them noticed in the ever expanding Stoner Metal scene. Like their army rank they have battled through the ranks to proclaim themselves as one of the brightest hopes of UK Stoner Metal.

General might not win any awards for originality but they make up for it with the amount of amazing hard hitting
riffs on show from start to finish.

An excellent album from a great band that I am expecting big things from in the years to come.

You can buy Where Are Your Gods Now from Catacomb Records from all good stockists now.

http://thesludgelord.blogspot.com/2012/09/general-is-stoner-metal-band-from.html

Coming from Coventry, here's GENERAL, one of UK's hottest new bands and "Where are your Gods Now" is their debut album freshly released on Catacomb Rds...

Recorded by Greg Chandler (Serpentcult, Moss, Alunah) and mastered by Billy Anderson (Acid King, Cathedral, Orange Goblin, Eyehategod), this quintet plays some very interesting Stoner/Heavy Rock that takes influences in Clutch, Kyuss, Monster Magnet and Orange Goblin (not just to cite a more local name...).

I would say that quite logically, especially considering this is a 1st album, you won't find in here many surprises but there's no boring songs at all and if heaviness, catchiness and tightness prevail like here, don't you think
then that 95% of the job is done?!!! Towards those 3 major ingredients, there's a real sense of completion about this debut album and this gives also serious hopes for the future; there's so many many bands playing Stoner nowadays and too often so generic (is John Garcia the most clowned guy on earth ?) that it's yet almost a feat to be able to feel that GENERAL has a potencial that goes way beyond 99% of those bands !!!

The memorable vocals of Graham Stokes are as essential as the catchiness and massive 70's influenced guitar riffs; some doomy or sludgy elements can be introduced here and there, bringing haunting and dirtier hints to an identity that never sound too polished, even in the quieter moments.

I've a preference for three or four tracks that stand out like "Bullet Train", "Monkey City", "Make or Breakdown" but the overall is solid with a constant infusion of straight in your face and groovy riffage that believe me
guarantees real good times of headbanging entertainement !!!

http://templeofperdition.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/fate-of-future-leader-general-where-are.html?spref=fb

“Where Are Your Gods Now?” by General is tonight’s main topic of discussion. Let’s get started, shall we?

First and foremost, this album is STRAIGHT UP DOOMY STONER SLUDGY PUDGY NOISY FREEFLOWING ELECTRIC GUITARS FORMING ALL WALL  OF NOISE RUCKOUS ROCK. If you’re not into that sort of thing, please, feel free  to leave the room. However, if you love to groove, than crank up the volume and  lets dip into the land of General!

For this album,  I’m not going to go to in depth, or worry about analyzing each song track-by-track. I’ve always enjoyed listening to this kind of album with nothing  to do but chill and enjoy the dirty, fuzzy tone of the guitars. General has  established an immense wall of sound that provides an overall feeling of goodness. They’re a little bit of rock, a little bit of doom, a little bit of sludgy goodness.

Some standout tracks in my mind include “Make Or Breakdown,” “Out of the Sky,” and “Feel the Same.” The album has an incredible tempo that seems to move from beginning to end. Although the guitars’ tones and   tunings seem to remain constant and unwavering throughout the recording, General  is able to weave a complex weave of energy and emotion in each track. To state  that every song sounds the same would either mean that you were flat out not  paying attention to the music, or that you picked up the incorrect album. They  are strong in what they do, but they do not limit themselves to any one  influence of the genre.

I thoroughly enjoyed this album from beginning to  end. If there is one thing that I found ultimately interesting
while listening  to the album, it was General’s ability to completely surprise me with each  track. Their formula is far from simple, but these musicians make it appear as  easy as tying their shoes.

All in all, this album kept me banging my head  the entire way through. Strangely, I also had a giant smile on  my face the  entire time. The album is not so much a new take on doom, as it is a doom band  that has made a nice little home within the genre. I would imagine that even  non-metalheads of the scene would enjoy this disc. I don’t believe it would be a  must have to them, but I know that it will definitely get regular spins from me.  In fact, this is a definite track to keep around – for any time or activity of  the day! I didn’t rank it that high, because frankly, it’s not exactly mind  blowing. BUT- with the previous remark stated, I would URGE YOU TO BUY A COPY!  This is a great metal album to have in your collection, whether it’s your  physical or virtual collection. Land mark album? Not necessarily… Must have? Oh,  yes.

http://339metal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/where-are-your-gods-now-general-review.html

This week we celebrate Lammas, the mid-point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox.  

To help us celebrate, we're not asking you to join us in the forest we're simply offering 25% off all orders in our store, whether you're into your stoner, doom, sludge or psychedelia you will find a perfect Lammas soundtrack!

This offer will last for 2 weeks (30/07/12 - 13/08/12). Simply type in the code LAMMAS in the promotional box when you are ready to complete your order!

Visit the Catacomb Records store