Sunrunner are an American band from Portland with Heavy Prog sounds reminiscent of the 60s and 70s, active since 2011 with several albums released. The new release “Sacred Arts Of Navigation” out on March 11, 2022 via Fastball Music and containing 11 medium-long tracks, including the final of over 12 minutes. The album opens with “The Launch” a good 1 minute intro with the sound of the sea and guitar arpeggios, which turns into a Prog song at the end, accompanying us to the next. Distorted guitar riffs open “Promise Of Gold,” with a tight rhythmic session but distant from Progressive sounds and closer to Metal. The vocal is dirty and aggressive, while the tempo changes and some drumming passages take the sound off topic in my opinion. A mix of sounds that I find not very incisive with a quality of the recordings that in my humble opinion is not optimal. From the darker atmospheres “Faraway Worlds” and with a more Metal sound, with interweaving of clean and melodic voice with the aggressive one. This track shows a more elaborate imprint and closer to the Prog sounds, with better ideas than the previous one and better developed. “Invisible Demon Of Ideology” follows the sound of the second song, closer to traditional Heavy Metal, with the guitar at the center of the stage. The judgment is similar to that of the previous track, with few Prog cues except for the solo guitar cues, a little isolated in the context of the song. Halfway between Rock and Metal “Where Is My Home” presents more engaging choral vocals, with some passages and a more interesting structure. Overall a pleasant, linear and smooth listening, but this track too is not very Prog. “Acadia Morning Ride” is an instrumental ballad with guitar arpeggios, rhythmic and involving and with a cheerful atmosphere. A very interesting and pleasant passage, which shows another facet of the band’s sound. Returning to the Metal sounds “Obstacle Illusion” is a track with a tight rhyme, but as in the previous ones I didn’t find many prog ideas. Closer to the classic style of Heavy Metal, in some passages I found the sound ensemble a bit confusing, despite the guitar solo insert. Another instrumental track, this time with harsh sounds is “Dragonship,” the most interesting so far of the Metal tracks. Tempo changes and good guitar textures, with perhaps the most Prog ideas so far, make this one of the best tracks on the record. Unlike the rest of the tracks heard so far, “Last Night In Tulum” has a more delicate sound with a warm and expressive vocal. Guitar arpeggios, percussion create a pleasant and flowing passage of the album, linear but well composed and executed. “No Mess, No Magic” returns to the most classic Metal of the first tracks, with an accelerated rhythmic session and ideas that are not very original and distant from the Prog. The final track of the album “Navigating The Apocalypse” which exceeds 12 minutes in duration is the most interesting in my humble opinion. Tempo changes, more refined passages and a sound closer to the Prog make this last track the best of the album, certainly important for this work. Fans of Progressive sounds will unfortunately find little inspiration in this album, except for a few passages in the finale and the long concluding track. A band that with improving some details could certainly propose a more incisive sound, a little distant from Prog, but that could meet the taste of the fans of the most classic Metal.
Tracklist
01. The Launch (01:04)
02. Promise Of Gold (05:40)
03. Faraway Worlds (05:26)
04. Invisible Demon Of Ideology (03:52)
05. Where Is My Home (05:28)
06. Acadia Morning Ride (03:58)
07. Obstacle Illusion (04:21)
08. Dragonship (05:31)
09. Last Night In Tulum (04:36)
10. No Mess, No Magic (04:15)
11. Navigating The Apocalypse (12:23)
Lineup
Bruno Neves / Vocals
Joe Martignetti / Guitars, Backing Vocals
Ted MacInnes / Drums, Backing Vocals
David Joy / Bass