Sunbomb is the collaborative project between two legendary US rockers, Tracii Guns (LA Guns) and Michael Sweet (Stryper), and have a second offering of songs for the masses in “Light Up The Sky.” The project came into being when the President and A&R director at Frontiers Records suggested the collaboration to pay tribute to the early years of metal. “Evil and Divine” was released in 2021 and had a clear nod to early metal masters Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Three years later, here they come again!
The partnership seems to have a separate but equal nature where Tracii takes on the instrumental composition and Michael takes on the vocals and lyrics. I don’t have deep experience listening to either of these great musicians or their bands. For an album like this, that might be a plus because I am not going to be hankering for what they did in their previous bands, and approach this like any other band making a record based off of the early metal masters. I might just say the emperor has no clothes because I don’t get Michael or Tracii’s idiosyncrasies.
The album is not exactly what I expect when one says early metal and throwing around names like Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio, and the like. In a good way. They aren’t copying but reinventing the early metal years. The sound feels largely saturated with deeper tones and a slight sludginess that doesn’t bog down the pace. There is a simplicity to the songs that is endearing with an emphasis on Tracii’s guitar riffs and straightforward song structures. Michael’s vocals have that higher range common with early 80s metal with the occasional falsetto shriek. There is an uplifting message to the lyrics that make the songs appealing particularly for those that like music with a purpose. All in all, there is some good music here.
The guitar work is the star on this album. The songs have a strong emphasis on guitar riffs that have more attitude than flare, particularly the nostalgic doomy riffs in “Unbreakable,” “In Grace We Will Find Our Names,” and “Winds of Fate.” But, Tracii does more than doom. There are some more driving rock tunes with a clear nod to Zeppelin in “Rewind” and “Setting the Sail.” I particularly enjoyed the use of chromatic tones to play outside of the well-worn minor or pentatonic scales. The solo efforts are quite solid in a similar way to the riffs. They are well executed and quite tastefully done, lifting the stature of the song and not competing with it.
I struggled with the other side of the partnership. Don’t get me wrong, I think Michael has great chops and does not do bad on this album. It just doesn’t resonate with me. Most of the singing is drenched in vibrato and sounds like it pushes up on the upper end of his range giving a very strained feel to it, holding back intensity. Execution apart, the melodies land in this weird middle ground where it isn’t sweet, but not monotonous and kind of is just there. Sometimes you feel like it could stick, but in the end it doesn’t. The unfortunate effect is that the lyrics aren’t getting across to me, even though I know there is some goodness there.
But one song on the album shows the best of them both. “Beyond the Odds” is a driving hard rock tune where Michael’s voice really comes into its own with some solid guitar work from Tracii. I can get more of the lyrics on this one and particularly like the line, “beyond the odds, by the grace of God.” The solo on the song is perfection showing that you don’t have to be too technical for a good solo. The song length hits right, something some of the other songs struggle with.
With such experience behind the vision of this project, I wish I could be more excited about it. It could just be me, so feel free to check it out especially if you dig early metal riffs and high vibrato vocals. It plays rather well in the background for me and sets a certain 70s/80s hard rock vibe. My hope for these two veterans would be to re-evaluate how they both can resonate while still getting their early metal kicks.
Rating: 7.5/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – Unbreakable
2 – Steel Hearts
3 – In Grace We’ll Find Our Name
4 – Light Up the Sky
5 – Rewind
6 – Scream Out Loud
7 – Winds of Fate
8 – Beyond the Odds
9 – Reclaim the Light
10 – Where We Belong
11 – Setting the Sail
Sunbomb is:
Michael Sweet – vocals
Tracii Guns – guitars
Mitch Davis – bass
Adam Hamilton – drums
Release Date: June 28, 2024
Record Label: Frontiers Records
Discography:
Evil and Divine (2021) [review]
Light Up The Sky (2024)
Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
Lyric video for Steel Hearts
Video for Unbreakable