Sunrunner
Sacred Arts of Navigation

Are we getting some sci-fi native American kind of story? That was my thought when looking at the cover of Sacred Arts of Navigation by Sunrunner just before placing the disk in my car stereo. I didn’t really think the cover with some kind of future ship, the armed guy and the landscape looked particularly interesting, and when playing the album this was confirmed, it wasn’t a very interesting album. I have allowed the album to spin quite a few times now, and I am not a fan. The American quartet with a few albums already under their belt doesn’t impress me much, there are some good stuff but far from enough.

Musically it is a lot of nostalgia, recorded live in the studio it feels almost like a nod to the seventies. You can compare them to many bands, the good thing is that they span a bit wider than some with metal, rock, nostalgia, some progressiveness woven into their musical fabric. It doesn’t sound very original; they don’t navigate the oceans of rock and metal enough to reach anywhere interesting. But the variation over the album is decent with the tracks at least spanning a decent variety, but the playing time is long. The production is average, and so is the vocalist, there isn’t much about this album that stands out.

When listening to this album I find that it starts out promising with feel and energy, but it slowly dies. Then I stop on Last Night in Tulum, the ballad that breaks from the rest and sounds relatively interesting without being a particularly magnificent track. In the end I find that these few highlights do very little to propel the album from the claws of mediocrity. There are so many albums that knocks this one out of the water; if you are in the sci-fi fandom, you could check the vinyl reissues of the first two Star One albums. I didn’t get the new Star One to review but I can guarantee that it is better than this one, if you like sci-fi. Why not Number of the Beast that is 40 this year? If you are more of a classic heavy metal guy, there are just so many better choices than the mishmash of tired nostalgia that Sunrunner has put together.

I don’t think they master the sacred art of navigation, at least not when it comes to navigating the endless oceans of rock and metal. Sunrunner never takes us anywhere really interesting, they have a few good elements of their newest album but not enough to be interesting. Another band that is lost in the treacherous waters of heavy rock and metal music, it is probably not wise to take a ride with them.

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