SUNRUNNER – Sacred Arts of Navigation

I was intrigued by the album artwork and the song titles to “Sacred Arts of Navigation” by the US quartet known as Sunrunner and very much looking forward to immersing myself in the 11-track opus, but sadly, their particular mixture of prog rock, hard rock, and heavy metal simply does not appeal to yours truly.

Apart from the vocals being absolutely horrendous, my main gripe with this record is that way too many of the ideas present on the disc are half-baked. There is nothing compelling or musically interesting going on here, and it lacks a captivating atmosphere. Nearly all the compositions appear aimless and without purpose, and there is no real warmth or flow to them, which is to say that the LP lacks depth and cohesion. Things do not move seamlessly from one part to the next and despite the abundance of energy that these guys display throughout, the whole affair comes across as disjointed and fails to spark the imagination. The tune entitled “Dragonship” is way better than the rest due to its old-school heavy metal riffs, good melodies, and even better solos, and parts of it almost sound like something that Deep Purple or Uriah Heep could have conjured up back in their 70s heyday. Too bad none of the other tracks are even remotely as cool as that one.

Overall, “Sacred Arts of Navigation” is a letdown and has no staying power. There are better options and alternatives out there, folks.