It's a bitterly cold Saturday night in Glasgow but that hasn't stopped the more hardcore doom fanatics descending upon the Audio venue. It's not a massive turnout but Doom metal, compared to some other metal genres, has always been a bit more underground. Thankfully the weather hasn't put off Birmingham based ALUNAH who have brought their hypnotic doom laden rock northwards in support of their last album "Awakening The Forest". There are 4 bands this evening, ALUNAH are supported by 3 local Glasgow bands all belonging to the Doom genre, so it promises to be a very heavy night.

First up are PYRE OF THE EARTH who start their set off with their own interpretation of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE's "White Rabbit". They then went on to play a selection of songs some of which will appear on their forthcoming E.P. Only a half hour set from these guys but they impressed the crowd and had quite a few heads nodding along. Singer Eilidh Harris even jumped down off the stage to have a mosh with some of the audience at one point. Great stuff.

ISAK who are up next describe themselves as "a blend of heavy fuzz, stoner grooves and psychedelic space jams". This 3 piece from Glasgow have been around the scene since 2012 and are a band that aren't afraid to speed things up a bit now and again; their opening number blows away a few cob webs from the watching audience. It's worth checking these guys out if you get the chance.

A bit of a change of pace when BURIED SLEEPER take the stage. The band's opening instrumental number starts off with atmospheric noises and slow drum beats and then develops into some ominous sounding crushingly heavy down tuned riff-age. This isn't a band that you can easily mosh too. The slow soundscapes the band produces are more likely to reduce you to a comatose state than induce the urge to stage dive. If the music wasn't atmospheric enough the smoke machine did it's best to hammer the message home. Through the mono-coloured lights only silhouettes could sometimes be seen dancing in the fog. It's obvious the band love what they do, and it comes across in their music. They've won over this crowd and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them soon.

The first thing I noticed, even before ALUNAH hit the stage, was the size of Dave Day's pedal board. No it's not a euphemism. Being a guitarist myself I stood in awe at the sheer majesty of the multitude of brightly coloured metal boxes. I counted 13 of them. I don't know if he used them all but his guitar tone tonight was absolutely killer. After the short intro, a recording of Lead Belly's "In the Pines", ALUNAH launch into "Bricket Wood Coven'' from their last album "Awakening the Forest". The guitars are just crushingly heavy on this track. Dave Day's Green amp produces a massive wall of sound as he moshes away like some kind of bearded Doom wizard. Front woman Soph Day is on form tonight and her ethereal vocals drift through the venue like smoke pouring off a stage, which it was, Soph had to wave her hand around a bit to clear some of it. "Heavy Bough" was next, another great track from the last album. Dan Burchmore's mop of hair is in perpetual motion throughout as he pounds out his thundering bass lines. Jake Mason, when he can be seen through the mist, sings along and visibly enjoys playing live. ALUNAH play through 9 tracks tonight, a mix of old and new, every one a crowd pleaser. The band put on a convincing performance, with quality material to draw upon, which left no-one in the venue in any doubt that they are a force to be reckoned with. If you can catch them on one of their forthcoming dates then make sure you go out and support them. This was their first time in Scotland and hopefully we'll see them back again soon.

Setlist:
1. Intro
2. Bricket Wood Coven
3. Heavy Bough
4. Scourge and the Kiss
5. Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
6. The Mask of Herne
7. Belial's Fjord
8. Awakening The Forest
9. White Hoarhound
10. A forest (The Cure Cover)

*Photography by Lara Vischi