Published: July 1, 2024
Today, SUNBOMB, the musical alliance between two steadfast warriors of the U.S. hard rock/metal scene: Tracii Guns and Michael Sweet, drops their sophomore album 'Light Up the Sky' via Frontiers Music Srl. Developed as a tribute to the classic heavy metal of the 80s, SUNBOMB melds influences of classic metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, and Judas Priest.
To celebrate the release, the band shares the track "Light Up the Skies" and a visualizer to go along with it.
About the track, Michael Sweet had this to share:
"'Light Up The Skies' is a raw track that takes you back to a time when music was driven by guitars, with powerful grooves that woke you up immediately. Me and Tracii could not be happier with the results. In a time where computers rule, we’re trying to keep the human side of hard rock alive."
Tracii played all guitars and bass on 'Light Up the Sky' with drums handled by Tracii's old L.A. Guns bandmate, Adam Hamilton.
'Light Up the Sky' is a project created, overseen, and directed by Serafino Perugino, President and A&R director of Frontiers Records Srl.
Like its 2021 predecessor, 'Evil and Divine,' the music here is once again very heavy and firmly planted in the 'metal' category, with a wink to a traditional approach to the genre. While Tracii wrote the music for the album, the fact that Michael Sweet has been writing in an increasingly heavier style on latter-era Stryper albums made him a perfect vocalist for the album.
Tracii first leaked the news of the SUNBOMB project in a March 2019 tweet, where he described the band's approaching debut LP as "the Metal record I would have made when I was 17 years old.” then, in May 2020, he mentioned on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk that:
"(‘Evil and Divine’) is really kind of like [L.A. Guns' 2019 album] 'The Devil You Know' times three. It's more on the heavy side of 'The Devil You Know' album. And Michael Sweet, he's a really fantastic metal singer."
About 'Light Up the Sky,' Michael had this to say:
"I’m always humbled to be a part of a project like this. This album takes the SUNBOMB vision to another level with killer songs and amazing energy. Tracii really delivered on the riffs and it made it very easy for me to come up with melodies that were fitting for each song. It’s different yet familiar at the same time in the best of ways. We’re very fortunate to be working with a label that still believes in the best music in the world - rock!"
'Light Up the Sky' Track List:
1) Unbreakable
2) Steel Hearts
3) In Grace We'll Find Our Name
4) Light Up the Skies
5) Rewind
6) Scream Out Loud
7) Winds of Fate
8) Beyond the Odds
9) Reclaim the Light
10) Where We Belong
11) Setting the Sail
12) Where We Belong (acoustic version) bonus track Japan
SUNBOMB are:
Tracii Guns - Guitars
Michael Sweet - Vocals
Adam Hamilton - Drums
Mitch Davis - Bass
Produced By: Tracii Guns
Studio: Drums Recorded at Palm Ranch Studio
Vocal Editing: Kenny Lewis/Mixed Emotions
Recorded By: Adam Hamilton
Vocals Recorded By: Michael Sweet
Mixed By: Adam Hamilton
Mastered By: Derek Hughes
