Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen/Inverness rock duo Alkanes team up with prog metal legend for new single

'It was an opportunity to work with a name with a bit of weight.' Alkanes singer/guitarist Dale Sutherland on teaming up with prog metal legend Acle Kahney for their new single

Aberdeen/Inverness alt rock duo Alkanes are set to release their first single for three years. Photo supplied by Alkanes.
Aberdeen/Inverness alt rock duo Alkanes are set to release their first single for three years. Photo supplied by Alkanes.

Aberdeen/Inverness alt duo Alkanes have teamed up with a prog rock legend to release their first new material in three years.

Hotly-anticipated new single Artefact is released on Friday.

It is the lead single from EP This Is It which will be out on May 5.

Alkanes brought in Acle Kahney, guitarist with prog greats TesseracT, to master Artefact.

Kahney has produced every TesseracT release and also mastered and produced bands including Heart Of A Coward, Sylosis and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes.

Alkanes are set to release their new single Artefact on Friday. Image: Supplied by Alkanes.

Alkanes singer/guitarist Dale Sutherland said: “When it came to mastering we sat on it for a long time as we wanted to get it right.

“Then we got in touch with Acle and thankfully he was keen to do it.

“Connor (Meeks, drums) was really buzzing about that as he is a huge fan of TesseracT.

“Acle has done some incredible work outside of Tesseract.

“He has worked with Counterfeit as well as Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes so we weren’t really sure if he would work with us.

“However we thought we would take the chance as it was an opportunity to work with a name with a bit of weight.

“Acle responded really quickly and said he would do it.

“We were really impressed with the work and Acle was very complimentary about the tracks.”

‘Passion and energy’ returns for duo

Artefact will be the duo’s first release since Make It Right three years ago.

Dale relocated to Aberdeen last year, with drummer Connor remaining in Inverness.

Guitarist and singer Dale revealed the popular duo considered calling it a day due to inertia caused by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.

But now they are back rejuvenated and will launch their new EP at The Tooth & Claw in Inverness on Friday May 5.

Alkanes will be joined at that show by special guests Distance Between Us, Fight the Raptor and Dead Sapien.

The duo also play Aberdeen’s Krakatoa on Friday May 19 and Bloc+ in Glasgow on Wednesday May 3.

Alkanes are set to release a new EP on May 5 with a launch show in Inverness. Image: Supplied by Alkanes.

Dale said: “I moved back to Aberdeen last year so we are between the two at the moment.

“We weren’t really sure if we were going to do anything as we had been sitting on tracks for a while.

“Our first sell-out show was just weeks before Covid hit.

“After that the momentum died out and nothing really happened with us for a few years.

“We had been sitting on a handful of songs for a while and I didn’t want to end it on nothing.

“I said to Connor the very least we are doing is recording those songs.

“Since recording them I don’t see any sign of it stopping any time soon.

“I feel we have the passion and energy that we had for it back.

“It seems like we are ready to push on again.”

Influences merge for dynamic sound

Originally formed in 2014, Alkanes blend emotionally raw and honest lyrics with dynamic riffs and powerful rhythms.

They produce a thunderous sound for a two-piece.

The duo share different influences but they merge to form a dynamic sound.

Alt-rock duo Alkanes are set to release their first material in three years. Image: Supplied by Alkanes.

Dale said: “I started putting this together in 2014.

“There have been a few line-up changes throughout but it has never been through fallouts or anything like that.

“I really appreciate everyone that has come and gone in this band.

“I am the only original member left but this band wouldn’t have done what it has without all those people being part of the journey.

“Now it is myself and my good friend Connor.

“Connor and I understand one another and click so well in terms of writing.

“He is into a lot of progressive metal and I touch a bit on that although I am very much into alternative and rock.

“We blend all that well into one package.”

You might also like…

Conversation