Following a dense and spacey keyboard intro courtesy of keyboard extraordinaire Alessandro Del Vecchio that sports a noodling synthesizer lead that Jens Johansson might have dreamed up, the banger of an opener and title track “Brothers In Arms” hits the pavement at full speed with a brilliant blend of up tempo Deep Purple trappings and a driving, Stratovarius-like edge, fueled heavily by the power drumming approach of Michele Sanna.
In the same fashion as every preceding opus under this band’s belt, “Brothers In Arms” is an album that makes no apologies for where it takes its cues, and delivers all the expected mid-80s influenced AOR goods with that signature, loud and large production quality that Frontiers Records is known for dishing out.
In fact, apart from the gravely, Ronnie James Dio-like swagger that Romero brings to the table, Princiotta’s six-string work proves the most consequential element at play on these eleven arena-worthy anthems. Suffice it to say he brings a solid blend of tastefully flashy leads and melodic goodness into the equation that bonds seamlessly with the sweet savor of early 80s Rainbow, mid-80s Deep Purple and Dio influences that has been the signature Sunstorm sound since its 2006 inception. Roughly a year and a half to the day that this quintet and super-group earned themselves a new lease on life, lightning has indeed struck twice with the arrival of the even more potent and magical follow up that is “Brothers In Arms.” Coping with yet another shift in personnel due to the exit of virtuoso guitarist and Frontiers alumni Simone Mularoni after a stellar 3 album run, this veritable comeback kid institution has found a more than adequate replacement in Luca Princiotta, arguably best known for his work with Doro Pesch, though one would be remiss not to consider the stellar work he brought to the Iron Maiden tribute band turned power metal outfit Clairvoyants. The exodus of the man originally standing at the helm following 2018’s “The Road To Hell” may have spelled the end of an integral part of the Frontiers Records family after a brilliant 5 LP run for some, but even with the two-year pandemic putting everything in a state of limbo, this modern AOR mainstay refused to die and came roaring back as strong as ever with 2021’s “Afterlife,” featuring current Rainbow and Lords Of Black vocalist Ronnie Romero standing in the place of Turner.
Originally a mid-2000s answer to the renewed interest in AOR in Europe and also a vehicle for 80s vocal icon and former front man of such noted acts as Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force and Deep Purple singer Joe Lynn Turner, the band has managed to maintain a consistent blend of qualitative and stylistic affinity with the aforementioned bands despite being subject to frequent lineup shifts. Sunstorm is a name that has come to embody consistency, which may seem counterintuitive when considering that the persons comprising said melodic metal/rock outfit has been about as ephemeral as a chameleon’s colors.