There is growth in all of the right places. The outcome is a deep, fuzzed out sludge and bark-like delivery of the vocals that the band has been honing since their inception, but the songs are longer, the riffs are slower, and the bite is stronger than that of their previous release.
The first track, for which the album is named, sets the tone for all that is to follow with a weedian blues powerhouse. Dustin and Sid lead us on a slow journey through the void of interstellar space without bringing us back to earth and setting us square on our feet, which is more than fine by me. The title track also serves as a perfect transition to the marathon effort of “The Bearded Dragons,” which, clocking in at exactly thirteen minutes, is the longest song on the album by far.
It seems to me that the most common mistake that a doom or stoner metal band can make is to put too much emphasis on the vocals, such that they start to sound, at the end of the day, like something out of the 1970's except with heavier bass and slower delivery. To my pleasure, Sunchaser is in no danger of erring in this way. The vocal sections are short and sweet, and their abrupt, abrasive delivery reminds me much more of the Melvins than The Sword, or Red Fang. On the title track, for instance, the vocals don't kick until about a third of the way through the song. Throughout much of the album, vocal sections are spaced out from each other in all of the right places.
