SUNRUNNER – Sacred Arts Of Navigation
SUNRUNNER – album “Sacred Arts Of Navigation” (Μarch 2022, Fastball Music)
- The Launch
- Promise of Gold
- Faraway Worlds
- Invisible Demon of Ideology
- Where is my Home
- Acadia Morning Ride
- Obstacle of Illusion
- Dragonship
- Last Night in Tulum
- No Mess, No Magic
- Navigating the Apocalypse
Sunrunner is very interesting band that was formed in Portland, Maine, USA. Last year, they released their fifth full-length release, entitled “Sacred Arts of Navigation”.
Bringing together 11 brand new tracks, ‘Sacred Arts Of Navigation’ is a “thematic, but not conceptual album”, as the band’s singer explains. According to Sunrunner, the new album is a continuation of the previous record. A future world of technology mixed with the re-introduction of ancient survival skills. It is a thematic album, not a concept. The songs stand alone, but all fit together.
Yet the real surprise is not that the songs both stand alone and fit together as parts of the same thematic, but the way that these very different ideas blend together and result in something that is coherent and has a logical and musical flow. Sunrunner write an album that cannot be just placed under a specific genre, since each song of the record has its own Mo, its own style that may or may not has a connection to the previous track.
Since I understand that this description might sound a bit vague, I will go into specifics to give you a better idea. While the “Sacred Arts of Navigation” at first gives the impression that this is a quite straightforward heavy metal album with the song “Promise of Gold”, the Sunrunner present an epic, doom metal profile in the very next song, entitled “Faraway Worlds”, that reminds something out of a Candlemass album. We are only two tracks in, without counting the intro, and the band has showcased two different musical profiles. From here and as the rest of the album unfolds and further develops, Sunrunner follow a more power metal oriented path, with distinct British heavy metal influences, epic and fast- paced. Still, Sunrunner find a way and break again this established pattern with one of the most unique sounding tracks of the record, entitled “Last Night in Tulum”. By blending Latin sounds and a faint heavy metal influence, Sunrunner create a melodic, mellow and beautiful song that can only be described as if the Calexico ever went into heavy metal.
Full of surprises and fresh, exciting ideas, the Sunrunner deliver a very interesting album that I cannot but recommend and urge you to give it a shot since it is a very promising listening experience.
Review by Mr Athens 79
Sunrunner links:
Band/Artist location – Portland, Maine
Website – Facebook – You Tube – Bandcamp – Merch – Reverbnation –
Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer – LinkTree –
Check our page for Sunrunner
