SUNNATA - Chasing Shadows (Album Review)

Release Date: May 10th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Chasing Shadows - Tracklisting

1.Chimera

2.Torn

3.At Dusk (Interlude)

4.Wishbone

5.Saviour's Raft

6.Adrift (Reprise)

7.The Tide

8.Hunger

9.Through the Abyss (Interlude)

10.The Sleeper

11.Like cogs in a wheel, we're trapped between waves of distorted time

Review

Chasing Shadows is the fifth full length record from visionary Doom/Stoner Metallers SUNNATA which is also their most complex and longest album to date. Combining their familiar Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal sounds with a mind-expanding COSMIC trajectory with harsh Droned textures elevating their music to greater heights. The mixture of Grunge, Post-Metal, Prog Metal and Ambient rhythms allows SUNNATA to play some of their most powerful sounds they’ve released to date.

The songs are all intricate pieces or chapters of a complex story with SUNNATA drawing upon sludgy progressive grooves and ambient based metal with the complex Psychedelic structures with a seedy Grunge based environment which bursts into life on the exquisite opening track of Chimera. A pulsating eight minute number with shamanic vocals and trippy musical sounds that sees SUNNATA having a more GLOOMIER appetite compared to their 2021 release Burning In Heaven, Melting On Earth which is my favourite SUNNATA album to date with this album a close second. The song is one of the most intelligent slices of Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal I’ve heard recently with the ethereal vocals and intense lyrics preparing you for what is to come the whole album.

Second song Torn opts for a classic Grunge aesthetic for the most part before SUNNATA drift into the Post-Rock abyss with swirling Sludgy guitars giving the track extra weight in the volume department on certain stages of the track. The vocals are excellent with different melodic and clean styles appearing which gives a more emotional feel to the whole album. 

Third track At Dusk (Interlude) is an Ambient/Psychedelic instrumental number with moments of solitary guitars and deep meaningful synths which is quite solitary and cautionary at the same time. A song with meaning and purpose that becomes quite haunting within its short two minute runtime. 

Fourth track Wishbone is a more experimental offering from SUNNATA with the Middle Eastern sounds and 80’s Electro tinged guitars that open the song. The vocals have a certain Lou Reed premise to them with SUNNATA exploring a Gothic/Alt-Rock diversion before the obsessive Sludge/Stoner Metal sounds appear and propel this track to become one of the standout songs on the whole album. The GRUNGE atmospherics allows the SEEDY instrumental sounds to become more warped and quite volatile with the jagged moments of the track.

Fifth track Saviours Raft is a trippy and mind-expanding affair with flashes of Post-Rock, Doom and Alt-Metal sounds converging for another one of the albums defining tracks. The music is HEAVY and PROGRESSIVE with a fantastic stop/start instrumental movement being played in the background which allows SUNNATA to subdued and brilliantly heavy at the same time especially when the sludgy extended and droned out riffs appear.

Sixth track Adrift (Reprise) feels like a continuation of the third track At Dusk (Interlude) with added vocals appearing. Taking a stance inspired by TOOL, this is another thrilling short offering from SUNNATA that has fantastic vocals throughout.

The second half of the album sees SUNNATA change musical and creative direction yet again with a Progressive attitude building into extended WEEDIAN rhythms and some intense vocal passages on tracks such as The Tide, Hunger, The Sleeper and Like cogs in a wheel, we're trapped between waves of distorted time. This part of the album is the most emotionally charged with SUNNATA switching between Atmospheric Doom, Psych Stoner Metal and Ambient Post-Rock with the most beautiful sounding parts coming from songs The Tide and Hunger which left me wanting to hear of this great style of music from the band.

Chasing Shadows is quite the trip full of vivid musical energy that we come to expect from SUNNATA. As I said earlier in my review, their previous album is my favourite record of years. However, this is still a first rate album from SUNNATA who are vastly becoming one of the most outstanding creative entities within the Doom/Stoner Metal scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Hold Tight PR for the promo.

Chasing Shadows will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from Friday 10th May 2024.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Polish Doom Band Sunnata release new single 'Wishbone' with live studio session video

Photo by Kamil Parzychowski

Feral wilderness prophets Sunnata, (sanskr. noun emptiness, voidness) have released a new single, 'Wishbone', ahead of their fifth full-length album Chasing Shadows which will be self-released on 10th May. The single is accompanied by a live session video, by Jan Gajewski, of the band performing at Soulstone Gathering in Poland

Check out ‘Wishbone (live session at Soulstone Gathering)’ here: https://youtu.be/goeIu6hL7bs

Pre-order Chasing Shadows here: https://sunnataofficial.bandcamp.com/album/chasing-shadows

Sunnata commented on the new single: "You’re doomed, adrift through life, and have no control. That’s what it’s all about.

"'Wishbone' is the first song written for what later became Chasing Shadows, our new album. Although at the first glimpse it seems to be a simple song, it has a couple of twists hidden in its meanings and technicalities. Let’s start from the fact that in contrary to a popular custom, we think that you won’t have your wish granted and the lyrical theme explores the idea of having very limited control over your life, or insignificance of made choices as the end-result.

"Secondly, when our drummer Robert created this ear-worming groove, he wanted to sneak it in to at least 2 other songs, cause he couldn’t stop playing it. Eventually it also led him to writing the crazy ass middle-eastern drums for another section of the song.

"And last but not least - it’s the first song from Chasing Shadows which we have ever performed live and we decided to drop a video from this performance for the single premiere! The song was quite fresh to us during the recording, but we are proud to reveal yet another piece of the most complex record of ours to date. Preach!"

Hailing from Warsaw, Poland, the four-piece doom metal sorcerers have been forging their own path towards the celestial realms of metal since their debut album Climbing The Colossus in 2014. Their mesmerising second album Zorya in 2016 propelled them further into the spotlight of the European alternative heavy scene, garnering increased momentum. The release of their third album Outlands in 2018 showcased a newfound depth of character, boldly venturing into the realms of progressive doom and exploring melancholic and mind-expanding avenues. Their fourth opus, Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth in 2021, proved to be their most transcendent work yet, seamlessly blending heaviness, intensity, and tenderness into a harmonious and captivating fusion that captivated fans and critics worldwide, demanding recognition and admiration.

With Chasing Shadows, Sunnata ventures into uncharted territory, pushing the boundaries of their sonic landscape to new heights. This album represents their most intricate and multifaceted work yet, delving into the extremes and nuances of their musical essence. Each track on Chasing Shadows weaves an alluring doomscape, filled with timeless and enthralling narratives. Garnering acclaim from both fans and critics alike, Sunnata has now unlocked a boundless realm of creative freedom, poised to explore limitless possibilities in their musical journey

Commenting on the album: "The fifth album for a band like ours is no joke. We are extremely proud on one hand, but also exhausted on the other as the creative process pushed us to the current limits. It’s the most complex and longest Sunnata record to date. Filled with nuances, genre blends and confident expansion of the band’s sound spectrum. Anyone familiar with our discography can easily tell that both change and experimentation are part of our nature, but at the same time - the constant need to push ourselves outside of the comfort zone, go beyond - is what stretches one's limits. Maybe this is why we liked the title so much - we are chasing the uncatchable - shadows, illusions, visions and try to frame them with our musical language."

Watch previous videos for 'Chimera' here and 'Saviour's Raft' here.

Renowned for their emotive and immersive live shows, Sunnata have graced the stages of numerous international festivals and shared billing with esteemed acts such as Mastodon, Paradise Lost, Entombed AD, Rotting Christ, Sleep, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, and The Sword. In celebration of their upcoming album release, Sunnata will embark on a summer tour, captivating audiences on the following dates (see below).

May 10: (PL) Warsaw - Hybrydy - Release Party
May 13: (CZ) Brno, Kabinet Muz
May 14: (HU) Budapest, Robot
May 15: (AT) Salzburg, Rockhouse
May 16: (DE) Jena, Klub Kuba
May 17: (BE) Liege, La Zone
May 18: (UK) London, Desertfest
May 20: (FR) Lille, La Bulle Cafe
May 21: (BE) Brussels, Le Lac
May 22: (NL) Nijmegen, Merelyn
May 23: (DE) Dresden, Ostpol
May 24: (PL) Poznan, 2Progi
May 25: (PL) Cracow, Studio
May 31: (DK) Esbjerg, Fuzztival Esbjerg
Aug 17: (UK) ArcTanGent

Tickets available at: https://www.atonal.agency/tickets

Sunnata are:

Szymon Ewertowski - guitar, vocals
Adrian Gadomski - guitar, vocals
Michal Dobrzanski - bass guitar/synth
Robert Ruszczyk – drums, percussion

For more information, follow the band online:

https://sunnataofficial.com
https://facebook.com/sunnataofficial
https://instagram.com/sunnataofficial
http://sunnataofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://youtube.com/user/sunnataofficial/videos
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oHuHx6xpW7IfamYXWFfmy?si=_vas1atoRdSL5Qns8xvIUA

Thanks to Hold Tight PR for all of the details.

Polish Doom Metal band Sunnata announce new album Chasing Shadows; release haunting new single Chimera

photo credit: Kamil Parzychowski

Feral wilderness prophets Sunnata, (sanskr. noun emptiness, voidness) have announced their fifth full-length album Chasing Shadows will be self-released on 10th May. Ahead of the album, the band have released their beguiling new single 'Chimera' with accompanying music visualiser.

Check out ‘Chimera’ below:

Pre-order Chasing Shadows here: https://sunnataofficial.bandcamp.com/album/chasing-shadows

Sunnata commented on the new single: "'Chimera', the opening track from Chasing Shadows, manifests the presence of duality across the entire universe. Just like a mythical hybrid creature, the song is a bizarre mix of different genres and ideas, glued together into a compelling passage. From a blast beat and Pattonesque vocals, through a ceremonial trance-inducing build-up to a heavy, rock n rolling riffage, 'Chimera' proves to be an amalgamation, binding those pieces together to form a single entity.

"The song’s lyrics bind many paradoxes together, posing them as something inherent to reality. Dreamy recall of hinduistic Maya sets the tone of the piece - an ever-evolving appearance, an ever-changing shape. The cycle of life - the one who comes from the horizon and goes away - is prevalent like an imperative. Those who try to deny it and shape the world to their individual needs are fighting for the cause that is unreachable.

"The evolution binds units together, but also sets them apart. Paradoxes are part of us. Only the one, who is born and dead at the same time, prevails."

The four piece Warsaw-based doom metal magi have been paving their own way to higher metal skies since their 2014 debut Climbing The Colossus. Their spellbinding sophomore album Zorya (2016) made the band gather even more momentum with regard to the European alternative heavy scene. Third album Outlands (2018) brilliantly brought out even more character, confidently crossing the frontier of progressive doom to land in even more melancholic and mind-expanding alleys. Fourth release Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth (2021) was their most transcendent, melding together all the heaviness, intensity and tenderness into a graceful, cross-pollinating form, to create something incredible that grabbed the attention of fans and press worldwide, demanding attention and respect.

Chasing Shadows sees Sunnata expanding their sonic spectrum with their most complex record to date. Exploring both the most extreme aspects and subtle incarnations of their essence, Chasing Shadows is a mind-altering doomscape painted with everlasting, captivating stories. Hitting high notes in the eyes of fans and journalists, from here Sunnata are free to roam wherever.

Commenting on the album: "The fifth album for a band like ours is no joke. We are extremely proud on one hand, but also exhausted on the other as the creative process pushed us to the current limits. It’s the most complex and longest Sunnata record to date. Filled with nuances, genre blends and confident expansion of the band’s sound spectrum. Anyone familiar with our discography can easily tell that both change and experimentation are part of our nature, but at the same time - the constant need to push ourselves outside of the comfort zone, go beyond - is what stretches one's limits. Maybe this is why we liked the title so much - we are chasing the uncatchable - shadows, illusions, visions and try to frame them with our musical language."

Known for their expressive and atmospheric live performances, Sunnata have already taken part in various international festivals and been invited to open for Mastodon, Paradise Lost, Entombed AD, Rotting Christ, Sleep, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats and The Sword. To celebrate the album release Sunnata will hit the road this summer on the following dates.

May 10: (PL) Warsaw - Hybrydy - Release Party
May 13: (CZ) Brno, Kabinet Muz
May 14: (HU) Budapest, Robot
May 15: (AT) Salzburg, Rockhouse
May 16: (DE) Jena, Klub Kuba
May 17: (BE) Liege, La Zone
May 18: (UK) London, Desertfest
May 20: (FR) Lille, La Bulle Cafe
May 21: (BE) Brussels, Le Lac
May 22: (NL) Nijmegen, Merelyn
May 23: (DE) Dresden, Ostpol
May 24: (PL) Poznan, 2Progi
May 25: (PL) Cracow, Studio
May 31: (DK) Esbjerg, Fuzztival Esbjerg
Aug 17: (UK) ArcTanGent

Tickets available at: https://www.atonal.agency/tickets

Sunnata are:

Szymon Ewertowski - guitar, vocals
Adrian Gadomski - guitar, vocals
Michal Dobrzanski - bass guitar/synth
Robert Ruszczyk – drums, percussion

For more information, follow the band online:

https://sunnataofficial.com
https://facebook.com/sunnataofficial
https://instagram.com/sunnataofficial
http://sunnataofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://youtube.com/user/sunnataofficial/videos
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oHuHx6xpW7IfamYXWFfmy?si=_vas1atoRdSL5Qns8xvIUA

Thanks to Hold Tight PR for all of the details.

SUNNATA - Burning In Heaven, Melting On Earth (Album Review)

Release date: February 26th 2021. Label: Self Released. Format: DD/CD/Vinyl

Burning In Heaven, Melting On Earth – Tracklisting

1.Crows
2.God Emperor of Dune
3.A Million Lives
4.Black Serpent
5.Völva (The Seeress)
6.Way Out

Review

While still listening to a ton of music over the last year I haven't written a review on quite a while. Thanks to Steve for bringing me back in. I decided to dive in head first with the thunderous new album by Sunnata. Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth is the Polish doom bringers 4th full length and delves deep into themes of religious fanaticism and crushing grooves. The band's sound is described as doom with touches of grunge and psychedelia. The description is amazingly accurate. The six tracks on the record are brimming with heavy guitars, driving bass, monstrous drumming and ominous vocals delivered in harsh screams and tight harmonies.

The record opens with the killer track Crows. A slow, heavy bass groove and eerie Mark Lanegan like vocals bring you in before exploding with Mastodon sounding power and harmonies. The quiet to loud grunge inspired dynamic is superb.

The sprawling God Emperor of Doom follows and entrances the listener for nearly 9 minutes of slow, dreamy dark psychedelia.

A Million Lives shows the band picking up the tempo and shifting it into quite a few different gears that deliver harsh screams and middle eastern sounding chants.

The spectacular Black Serpent keeps the tempo moving. Echoey, reverb heavy guitars and harmonies veer into screams and chants then into a slick QOTSA like breakdown. Another stellar moment.

Volva (The Seeress) slows things down again for a bit with a slow, heavy bass groove and angular guitars with dark, hypnotic vocals that erupt into a killer chorus equal parts Mastodon and Alice in Chains.

The record closes with the ominous sound of Way Out. Heavily effected vocals give way to reverb heavy guitars and a driving western drumbeat. The changes and feel of the track leave the listener as if they are looking into a dark sky and are unsure what they are seeing or would even want to see.

Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth was my first experience with this amazing band. Sunnata has definitely got a strong understanding and love for the Doom sound and I will most definitely be visiting their back catalogue and looking forward to the dark future with what they concoct moving on. This is a great record, you will need to check out!

Words by - Todd S - Instagram @alltheghoststhathauntyou

Thanks to Lisa at Hold Tight PR for the promo.

Burning In Heaven, Melting On Earth will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via SUNNATA from February 26th 2021.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Sunnata - Outlands (Album Review)

Release date: March 23rd 2018. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Outlands – Tracklisting

1.Intro 00:39

2.Lucid Dream 09:18

3.Scars 06:10

4.Outlands 07:37

5.The Ascender 05:34

6.Gordian Knot 04:22

7.Falling (Interlude) 01:37

8.Hollow Kingdom 12:36

Review

Outlands is Sunnata's new album and it sees the band expand their Psychedelic Sludge, Doom and Grunge sound. Outlands is a very complex sounding album and you may not like the album on your very first listen. Outlands is an album that demands your full attention. As the band create complex sounding rhythms that have a certain YOB-esque quality around them. The album also sees the band channel early-era Alice In Chains on certain parts of the album.

The vocals have quite a trance based effect around them especially on the second song - Lucid Dream. The opening track - Intro - is just a forty second interlude before the real journey begins with heavy grunge sounding guitars of Lucid Dream appear. Sunnata take the listener on a mystical journey with the music being channelled at many different psychedelic levels of heaviness and weirdness. The song becomes heavier with Sunnata expressing themselves through the power of progressive rock/metal.

One of the coolest aspects about this album is how Sunnata merge post-rock/post-metal themes and sensibilities with the heavier Doom/Sludge Metal sounds. The standout songs on the album have to be Scars, Outlands, Gordian Knot and the epic sounding Hollow Kingdom. Sunnata constantly challenge not only themselves but also the listener as the album takes so many different turns on the individual songs. I thoroughly enjoyed the Alice In Chains early grunge sounding dynamic of the album. Though Sunnata manage to create this album on their own terms. The vocals are never sound violently harsh though there are a few parts where the vocals do become louder than the music itself.

Sunnata manage to inject a few Middle Eastern psychedelic sounds on the album and especially on the title track - Outlands. The production is superb with the whole feel and sound of the album being first rate from the start. The instrumental work is another one of the albums strengths as Sunnata have improved immensely as musicians from their last album. They've created a more complex sound from their previous album and perhaps being more creative with their music. Maybe Sunnata have ventured into their Grunge influences compared to their previous releases. However there is still a lot of heavy Sludge/Doom Metal goodness waiting to be discovered on Outlands.

A lot of people have high expectations for this album and I can say they will be rewarded with a deeply complex and heavy progressive album that you will be listening to over and over again. As Outlands has set the benchmark of what to expect from Sunnata for their future releases. 

Outlands is their most challenging and complete album to date.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for the promo. Outlands is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl now.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Interview with SUNNATA

Polish Sludge/Doom/Stoners – Sunnata – released a superb debut album – Climbing The Colossus – which got them noticed within the Sludge/Stoner Metal world. It was a highly progressive album packed full of great riffs.

Since then Sunnata have been touring, honing their craft and have came back with their incredible new album – Zorya. Zorya is quite a different album to Climbing The Colossus and it's already winning rave reviews from Cvlt Nation, Terrorizer and ourselves of course amongst other cool publications.

It's been a while since I last spoken to Sunnata. I was given the change to catch up with Rob (Drummer) from Sunnata to see how the band started, what the new album means to them and other cool stuff that you can read below.

Hi Rob. Good catching up again Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today.

Hey Steve! All’s good, actually even better than we ever expected. We have just released our new album “Zorya” and the feedback we’re getting from people brings huge smile to our faces.

Can you give a brief history of the band. How the band came together. And did you know each other before you formed the band or played in previous bands with each other.

It started in 2008, back in the days of Satellite Beaver, our previous, stoner rock band. We have all met because of this band, didn’t know each other before. Sunnata was born by the end of 2013, as a result of huge change of musical perspective that has grown inside our minds.

We are here to talk about your excellent new album Zorya. What can people expect from the album.

They should prepare themselves for walls of fuzz, delay and reverb confronting the monolith of absolute silence, haha! We like it slow, heavy, trance-inducing and extremely catchy. No comparisons needed, because everyone have their own, individual references. We call it “ritual heavy music”. 

Photo by ELI

How would you describe the album. As it has quite a different sound from your debut album.

It’s definitely more heavy, but on other hand - not that aggressive as our debut. “Zorya” is more complex, organic, has bigger flow and it’s not “straight-in-your-face” type of album. We wanted it to sound huge, with lot of space, so I highly recommend to close your eyes and let it take your for long journey.

Zorya has received some great reviews so far. Has that surprised you the response the album has received so far.

You never know what to expect. Our perception is limited and filtered through prism of individual experience, so we are very grateful to see that “Zorya” is gaining good exposure and reviews from journalists we care about, including You, Cvlt Nation crew or Terrorizer Mag, to name a few. We did our best and it seems it profits.

Did you do anything differently when recording this album compared to your debut album. If so, what things did you do differently.

Well, everything was different from top to bottom. Firstly, while “Climbing the Colossus” was more like transition between both bands, “Zorya” is written and arranged and with 100% focus on what we wanted to do.

Secondly, recording process - all the instruments were recorded live and we did that under two days. It gave more organic feeling and recreated that specific energy that is generated during our live performances.

Last, but not least, we had more time to think, talk and play over every detail, so we felt more confident and comfortable during the recording session.

What inspired you when you were writing and recording the album and what was the overall recording experience like for the album?

There’s no specific inspiration behind “Zorya”. You will find there whatever you’re looking for. Such freedom was also an important part of recording experience. We went where we wanted to, felt good with that and - thanks to Satanic Audio crew - had gotten a chance to express and produce album without compromises, sounding the way we imagined it to.

Looking back on your first album, Climbing The Colossus, is there anything you would change about that album. If so, what would you change.

We prefer to look forward than backwards, but if you really want to know, we would definitely change sound of that album. Unfortunately, mistakes we’ve made back then unallowed us to do so. Besides this, we like this material and play lot of it live.

Over the last couple of years you have toured over Europe. How was the fans reaction to your music when played live and will you be doing any more tours in the future.

Oh yes, we did some touring, not very excessively, but around 150+ shows. You can probably imagine, that our live shows are the reason why are we in all this mess.

Reaction was very enthusiastic, which is good, especially that we have shared stages not only with doom/stoner acts, but also grindcore bands like Antigama for example. I also remember Laura from Kylesa coming to us after the show we’ve played together, saying “I don’t know what it was, but I really liked it”. Neither do we, but we like it too.

We are doing some shows in Baltic countries, festivals in summertime and we are about to book long, European tour in fall. We need to tour, we want to tour, so we have to tour. 

We have to talk about the excellent album cover. Who designed the album cover. And how much input did you have into the final design of the album cover.

All hail Jeffrey Smith of Ascending Storm! Great artist, pro and passionate about his work, who led us through entire creative process towards final result, which blew our minds. The one who can turn “we would like some clouds and spacey, gloomy landscapes” into real piece of art.

What is the song writing dynamic in the band. Is it down to an individual or a group collective.

Song writing in our case is something unbelievably strange. Basically, process looks like: we share ideas, talk them over and then magic happens. This is how songs are made. Collective wizardry.

What is your equipment setup when playing live or recording in the studio. Do you have an advanced setup or a basic setup.

I play ukulele and marimba, Szymon beats the shit out of cowbell, Adrian and Michal rips the tambourine and shakers apart.

For studio purposes we are more into classic stuff like: Matamp GT, Sunn T, Sound City, Marshall VBA400, etc. Add oversized Ludwig drums and various pedals, including Russian Big Muff, Pharaoh Fuzz, Small Stone Phaser, TC Helicon vocal effects and many more and you’ll get the impression. Nothing really extraordinary, but carefully chosen. Sometimes Szymon has to play the show from backstage, cause his pedal-board can’t fit the stage, seriously.

Thanks for doing this interview Rob. All the best with the new album.

Thanks for support Steve. See you on the road.

Words by Steve Howe and Rob from Sunnata

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for arranging this interview and for Rob taking the time out to talking to me. Zorya is available to buy on CD/DD now.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Sunnata - Zorya (Album Review)

Release date: April 11th 2016. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

Zorya – Tracklisting

1.Beasts of prey

2.Zorya

3.Long gone

4.New horizon

5.Again and against

Band Members

Szy – Vocals

Gad – Guitars

Dob – Bass

Rob – Drums

Review:

Sunnata return with their new album Zorya. Almost two years after their debut album that received some minor acclaim within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal community. Has anything changed since their debut album? Yeah, I think they’re sound has changed quite a bit as Sunnata have opted for a more progressive doom/stoner metal sound with subtle sludge vibes adding a more menacing approach.

Opening track – Beasts Of Prey – sees Sunnata opting for a heavy doom approach to their music that fans of Monolord will enjoy. The band then adds a more psychedelic desert rock vibe near the middle of the song but drowned out by heavier sludge based sounds. It’s an intriguing concept and the vocals add a superb progressive feel. A word of warning, this song runs for twelve minutes or so and the rest of the songs run about the same amount of time. So don’t go expecting short style songs as Sunnata create epic and highly intelligent soundscapes to lose yourself in.

Second track – Zorya – is more of a grunge driven number that owes a huge debt to Alice In Chains in both terms of structure of the song and with the vocals. Sunnata add a more sombre doomy atmosphere to keep the riffs somewhat fresh. Zorya perhaps gives you best impression of what Sunnata are really about, musically and lyrically as they create the albums standout track.

Third track – Long Gone – starts very slowly before Sunnata add different layers of noise. Firstly with the guitars and then the drums appear with Sunnata then creating the most direct sounding Sludge/Stoner Metal song on the album. I can detect a slight industrial rock/metal sound that allows Sunnata to fully experiment with their sound. The hazy psychedelic vocals add a doom and gloom feel to the album.

Fourth track – Long Horizon – sees Sunnata finally becoming a lot more at ease with their industrial rock/metal sounds. Though that doesn’t stop the band play some of the heaviest doom/sludge metal riffs on the album. It’s a very slow paced affair and that’s a good thing as this creates a very bleak mood for the band to further enhance their sound. This is perhaps the most progressive song on the album and one listeners will probably enjoy the most.

Last but by no means least is – Again And Against. Another ten minute epic that has more a chaotic almost nightmarish feel compared to the other songs on the album. Shades of Godflesh and NIN industrial sounds appear and it ends the album on quite a depressing note and I applaud the band for making that decision. They could have ended the album with a more upbeat song but that would undo all the hard work the band have put in creating this excellent album.

Sunnata have created something very different from their debut album and that should be applauded. They could of played it safe and released – Climbing The Colossus Part Two, but nope. Sunnata have released something far more brave and it’s a better album as a result. Zorya is a stunning and complex sounding album.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for the promo. Zorya will be available to buy on CD/DD from April 11th 2016.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp