Sunburst is a Greek metal band that was formed in 2010 by Gus Drax, who is best known for his guitar-work in Paradox, Black Fate and Biomechanical. He recently joined Suicidal Angels too. In Sunburst, he is joined by Vasilis Georgiou (vocals – Black Fate, Innosense, The Chronicles Project), Kostas Milonas (drums – Paradox, Outloud) and Nick Grey (bass – End Of Innocense, Jailcat). The band takes inspiration from Dream Theater, Nevermore, Conception and Symphony X.
Sunburst have played at several European festivals such as PPM, Moonlight Metalfest and R-mine Metalfest. Their debut album ‘Fragments of Creation’ is mixed and mastered by the up and coming producer Panagiotis Katsaounis (P.K Productions). The album will be released on 26 February in Europe and North America through Inner Wound Recordings.
The band has managed to capture a heavy power metal sound and still keep their progressive side as the album opens with ‘Out Of The World’. The guitars crunch and Vasilis Georgiou’s vocals (often compared to Roy Khan of Kamelot) soar. “I’m a king without a crown / I’m a song without a sound / I’m a rising sun / That’s blinding your eyes”. Then it’s the video and single release, ‘Dementia’ which takes a further turn down a dark path. It has light and shade with melodic parts mixed with guttural guitar riffs. “Give me time / Erase my sorrow / Close my eyes / I don’t want to follow”.
There is guitar soloing aplenty throughout ‘Symbol Of Life’ as it takes an intense hard rock route before the blistering pace set in ‘Reincarnation’, which has several time changes. There is space to breathe as ‘Lullaby’ takes the form of a power ballad. Then it’s back to swarthy guitar in ‘End Of The Game’ as it declares “Crawl on your knees to beg forgiveness / from a god you cannot feel”. They speed onwards with the instrumental ‘Beyond The Darkest Sun’ showing off Gus’s guitar pyrotechnics.
‘Forevermore’ sees the pace slacken for melodic effect as it tackles the aftermath of a love affair. Whereas ‘Break The Core’ takes a harsher approach with the blackened backing vocals from Astrous (Aenaon). Then they bring in several guest musicians for the epic rendition ‘Remedy Of My Heart’. It has symphonic interpretations alongside the prog power metal as it takes the form of a five-part movement with Mina Giannopoulou (The Rain I Bleed) providing soaring backing vocals.
Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby
Rating: 8/10
Tracks:
01. Out Of The World
02. Dementia
03. Symbol Of Life
04. Reincarnation
05. Lullaby
06. End Of The Game
07. Beyond The Darkest Sun
08. Forevermore
09. Break The Core
10. Remedy Of My Heart
Sunburst line-up:
Vasilis Georgiou (Black Fate,Innosense) – Vocals
Gus Drax (Biomechanical, Paradox, Black Fate, Suicidal Angels) – Guitars
Kostas Milonas (Blacklegs, N.U.R.V, G.K Group) – Drums
Nick Grey(End Of Innocense, Jailcat) – Bass
Special guests:
John K. – Orchestral Arrangements on “Remedy Of My Heart”
Bob Katsionis (Firewind, Outloud, Serious Black) – Keyboards on all songs except “Reincarnation” & “Remedy Of My Heart”
Mina Giannopoulou – Backing Vocals on “Remedy Of My Heart”
Astrous (Aenaon) – Backing Vocals on “Break The Core” & “Remedy Of My Heart”
Record Label: Inner Wound Recordings, Feb. 2016
Pre-order your copy here
Weblinks: Facebook
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video below: ‘Dementia’