I feel like I’ve been hearing about Sunbomb for at least a couple years. Before the project even had a name, label, or presumably anything recorded outside of demos, the odd couple of Michael Sweet and Tracii Guns had been teasing it in various interviews. As different as their respective main bands (Stryper and L.A. Guns for the uneducated) and genres are, this collaboration shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Both men grew up in the glory days of old school heavy metal. The trailblazers of the 70s and early 80s paved the way for them to have fruitful careers.
Sunbomb’s debut album, Evil and Divine, pays homage to these bands. More specifically, it pays tribute to two bands in particular: Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. Considering they’re the two most important bands in metal history (feel free to debate me in the comments), characteristics of their sounds tend to creep into just about every metal album, regardless of subgenre. That’s not the case here. Sweet and Guns knowingly pay tribute to these metal gods with the utmost integrity and respect.
On the Sabbath side of the spectrum are “Take Me Away” and “World Gone Wrong”. These tracks are filled with those slow, plodding doom riffs that Iommi made famous. Sweet’s powerhouse vocals and the overall modern production remind me of The Devil You Know era Sabbath. Yes, I know they were technically billed as “Heaven & Hell” at this point, but we don’t abide by Sharon Osbourne’s draconian laws here. Meanwhile, my choice cut, “Stronger Than Before”, combines the darkness of Sabbath with the hard rock hooks of Thin Lizzy. It’s simultaneously doomy and danceable!
On the Priest side of the spectrum are “Better End”, “Story of the Bind”, and “No Tomorrows”. These songs do an exceptional job capturing the spirit of late 70s priest, particularly around the time of Sin After Sin and Stained Class. They’re straightforward English flavored headbangers, but with those nuances of doom, prog, and goth that’d prove influential to bands like Iron Maiden and Mercyful Fate. They were clearly influential on Sweet and Guns as well, who do a rather convincing job revisiting these sounds of the past.
Evil and Divine has its fair share of curveballs as well. “Been Said and Done” is an acoustic AOR flavored ballad reminiscent of Boston, who ironically Sweet once fronted. It’s the one song that doesn’t belong and almost derails the pace of the album, but they can’t all be winners. If we take a 180 turn, we’re greeted by the album’s two heaviest tracks, “Born to Win” and “Evil and Divine”. I never imagined the guys who wrote such power ballads as “Honestly” and “The Ballad of Jayne” would be cranking out aggressive thrash metal, but here we are. Granted, it’s thrash that doesn’t stray from its traditional roots à la Metal Church, but still.
All in all, Evil and Divine is a lot stronger of an effort than I imagined it would be. This isn’t to discount Sweet or Guns’ musicianship or songwriting abilities. I’ve just become used to rehashing my explanation behind the hit or miss-ness of Frontiers. It’s practically become a weekly ritual. Thankfully, Evil and Divine is a hit that will hopefully amount to more than a one off collaboration.
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Dio