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| It's grim up north. |
For those of you not yet familiar with the resume of one Mr Daniel Downing, I shall give you a brief overview:
His main claim to fame is probably being one the the guitarists in Folk-Metallers Ravenage. And on top of of the several work-in progress solo projects on the go he also finds time to drum for Windrider. A jack of all trades with his fingers in more pies than the average Greggs employee.
But our business is with Aloeswood. He released a pretty tasty demo in 2011 called 'Forsaken Landscapes', kindly made available for the sum total of fuck all by clicking here. Considering the total lack of live activity he garnered a nice cult following for the release, eventually culminating in their first and so far only performance at Warhorn's Festival in York. (You can view drum-cam footage here.)
Fast forward to now and he's just released two tracks for a split entitled 'Winter Hymns' (Also freely available here.) One of which is the 14 minute tour-de-farce 'Winter', which I am informed shall be played in it's entirety at our little festivale.
For those too lazy to download it, heres a youtube upload of said track:
What lies in wait is a blistering homage to bands such as Agalloch, Alcest, Woods of Ypres et al. But imbrued with enough personality to stand aside from the aforementioned contemporaries.
But that's enough from me, how about a few words from the man himself?
How in blazes are you good sir?
"Excellent, thank you! Just finished a band practice and things are going well with our set. Getting more excited about Rapture by the minute!"
For the benefit of the as-yet uninitiated readers of this, can you describe your music?
"I would describe Aloeswood as atmospheric black metal with elements of a few other styles thrown in to make things more interesting. Fans of Agalloch, Alcest, Enslaved and Winterfylleth would enjoy us."
How do you eat your Creme Eggs?
"Last time I ate a Creme Egg was before walking up a mountain in a blizzard. So I'll say that. Clearly the most grim and frostbitten of all chocolate!"
What does 2013 have in store for Aloeswood and/or any of your other musical projects?
"Currently writing and recording the new Aloeswood album, but no date is set for release yet. Hopefully doing some more gigs too. Aiming to get some outside of England! Ravenage are also writing and recording the new album. There's some good gigs and tours coming up for Ravenage too!"
Say the rest of your band die in horrific circumstances. Who would you get in to replace them and why?
"I'd probably just find people who look alike and refuse to believe that my band was dead.. I can think of a few look-a-likes already..."
Are you seriously going to make your drummer play the entire intro to Winter?
"Yes! Of course. He's actually George Kollias in disguise, or at least he likes to think he is. He wanted a challenge... He hates me and loves me for it."
Have you ever played any gigs in Leeds prior to this? If so, how was it?
"I haven't played any gigs in Leeds before but I've wanted to for a while as I always enjoy gigs in Leeds. Ravenage are playing 'Kin Hell Fest in April which should be great!"
Tell us a joke!
"What's the difference between a drummer and a drum machine?"
"You only have to punch the information into a drum machine once! Our drummer is unfortunately learning this the hard way.. Haha!"
And finally, in the form of a haiku, tell the readers why they should come and see Aloeswood.
"Aloeswood are boss
Bring a spare pair of boxers
Graeme has chest hair"
The lovely Danny Downing there. If you like what you've read and/or heard, do feel free to purchase a ticket for March 9th's festivities here.
See you all tomorrow for the next band!
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