Alkanes are an alternative rock and metal band from Scotland, and at first I wasn’t sure if I’d like them since this isn’t exactly the kind of music I listen to; however, these guys exceeded my expectations.
They’re only a trio formed in 2014 after their guitarist Dale Sutherland started experimenting with his songwriting and wrote heavier tracks than he did for his previous band. They released their EP last March, and for a debut album it was really impressive.
Their music has lots of post rock influences, but they’re not exactly “post”, and as they said themselves they’re more alternative rock/metal than post. Basically they remind me of the older Breaking Benjamin mixed with modern post metal bands. Their songs feature mainly clean vocals with a few growls here and there and their vocals are satisfying. But if you read any of my other reviews you know how important mixing, mastering and general sound quality are to me.
Well, these guys did it better than most new and independent bands but they still didn’t quite nail it. Everything sounds too airy, I’m not sure what they could change but something feels off, I think it could be that the guitars need to be layered even further to give them a somewhat louder sound.
My favorite track has to be the second track on the EP ‘Persistence to Existence’ which you could check out here.
If you’re interested in the rest of the EP, you could find it on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer and other well-known music distribution platforms.
I also have to add that all profits from the EP will be donated to “Diabetes Scotland” so, hey, you could also help people out for a good cause while listening to exceptional music.
Edited by: Jailan El-Rafie
