Here is a pleasant surprise towards the end of the year! Surfing the internet I came across the Athenians Sunlight and “Son Of The Sun”. The name seemed familiar and I was racking my brain to remember where I know them from.
So I stumbled upon a press release from my favourite Greek Rebels where the band was presenting together with Rhodium, another love of theirs, tracks from their then upcoming second album which was expected in… 2019. So either I’ve missed episodes or the topic deserves further investigation!
But that doesn’t matter much since “Son Of The Sun” is here and it’s an excellent piece of work. The sound of the band has changed a lot as they have changed from hard and heavy to melodic power metal. That’s right my friends, if you love the sound that bands like Stratovarius, in their slower days, established with their sword get ready for an enjoyable listen.
From the original line-up only Makis Kaponis (guitar) and Panos Anastopoulos (keyboards) remain, who are now joined by Manos Karachalios (bass), Andreas Kalogeras (drums) and Mike Karasoulis on vocals.
All of them together therefore present a colourful album with a strong positive aura. Guitar and keyboards have the first word with melody bubbling up from every composition. In its 44 minutes the album offers strong emotions with tracks like the opener “Son Of Fire”, the more choppy “Can’t Let You Go” which is probably the only line of contact with the band’s past, but also “Echoes Of Hope” without the rest going backwards.
All the details have been taken care of and the cover artwork by Gustavo Sazes is impressive.
“Son Of The Sun” is a strong comeback album and hopefully a new beginning for a more stable record for Sunlight.
