Album Review: Sunbomb - Evil And Divine

Some people think they re wildly more creative and prolific than they really are. They churn out record after record, not realizing they are flooding the market with inferior versions of their own sound, dulling any enthusiasm someone might have for any one of those many, many records. Michael Sweet is one of those people, having put out countless albums in recent years between Stryper, his solo career, Sweet & Lynch, and now Sunbomb. This album finds him paired with Traci Guns, who continues to have a career simply because he was once connected to Guns N Roses. I find it fascinating that decades of making not a single song anyone cares about hasn't been able to kill his career.

Nostalgia's a powerful drug.

This time out, the two 80s 'legends' are seeking something heavier than their usual fare, which didn't strike me as a good idea. As it happens, I was right. Sunbomb is a project where both men try far too hard, and the shortcomings of their decades in the business are put on full display.

It starts with their aging ears, possibly damaged from the countless times they have stood in front of blaring amps on stage. Like several other veteran artists I've encountered in recent years, they think this record sounds great, when the production is hazy around the edges. Traci's guitars are fuzzy in a way that isn't heavy, and Sweet's vocals vacillate between shrieking to get above the guitars and being completely buried in the mix. This record sounds like the pre-production demos.

It continues with Sweet's penchant for over-singing everything. These songs are packed with Sweet starting off at full volume, which leaves him nowhere to go when the song is supposed to rise to the chorus. That's not the only issue, though. It's also exhausting to listen to someone giving their absolute all each and every second. Rather than sounding powerful, it leaves me wondering why he has to shout at me the whole time. Shouldn't the songs have more dynamics than this?

It finishes with lackluster songwriting. It's never worse than when they try on Sabbath-esque sludge, but throughout the record we get guitar riffs with no bite, and vocal melodies from Sweet that never stick. Being heavy means not having to write memorable songs to a lot of people, and that's the mistake Sunbomb finds themselves making. Sure, they've cranked up the amps a bit more this time around, but the songs are the same mediocrity both have been putting out all along. Being heavier doesn't make a boring song any less boring.

Sunbomb comes across to me as a project put together just so both men can say they're getting heavier rather than getting older. This might well be their heaviest album, and Sweet might scream and shriek more than ever, but I don't care about any of that. Those are descriptions of tone, not quality, and that quality is missing in action.

I won't say Sunbomb is a bomb, but it's solidly a dud.