Sunlight: 'Our songs contain a mix of elements.'

Following their debut album titled 'My Own Truth', the band open up exclusively to Fuzzy Hound!

Today we welcome Sunlight to Fuzzy Hound. Let's start with your album 'My Own Truth'. Are you happy with everything that's happened since it came out?

'Quite a few years have passed since this first complete work of ours. We often discuss what went well, what we'd have liked to go better, which makes sense since as time goes on we hold higher standards for ourselves. It's definitely an album that contains all the songs we'd been playing live since we were young, and it's how people got to know us. So we're happy, because we managed to release it worldwide, both digitally and physically, and it opened the road for us to tour abroad several times to promote it.'

Tell us a bit about this particular work. What prompted it? Where did the title come from?

'The band has been active since 2009, and from the start the goal was to record our material so that at some point we could release it. After quite a few live shows, and once the line-up "locked in," the right moment came in 2015. The album's release was handled by the Ukrainian label Metal Scrap Records, while production took place at CFN studio by Dionysis Christodoulatos. The title "My Own Truth" came from the song of the same name on the record, which musically reveals the style the band was in at that particular time.'

So what exactly is your own truth (from My Own Truth)?

'Tough question… We'd say that our love and passion for music is what leads to the expression of this truth. The goals, dreams, worries and concerns we had over the past decade, when we wrote these songs, is the truth captured in these 9 tracks on the record. Of course, many of these elements remain unchanged even today, as we create new truths of our own.'

The record has Power/Hard Rock elements, and then some. What are your influences as a band? Which artists influenced you in making this record?

'Since the record includes songs from the early years of Sunlight , during which there were also quite a few changes to the band's line-up, there's clearly a "mix" of elements. For example, there are tracks on the record where our Hard Rock roots are obvious (e.g. "Eastern Train"), and they express more of our earlier songwriting efforts. In contrast, in the newer compositions (e.g. "Struggle for Deliverance") Heavy-Power dominates. Overall, then, we'd say our influences lie across, and remain across, that whole spectrum. From more classic bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Bon Jovi, Queen, Helloween, Kamelot, all the way to the newer scene like Dynazty, H.E.A.T., Avantasia, etc.'

What method do you use to write music? Is there some drive that inspires you? Any particular subject matter?

'For now we haven't gone for releasing a concept album. We draw inspiration daily from situations in our lives and pair our compositions with lyrics that may touch on social issues of our time, on stories of love or hate between people, on describing the feelings stirred up by an experience, and so on.

For composing and "creating an inspired mood," there's definitely no formula! The whole result comes straight from within us, following "our own truth" as we said above. In practical terms, usually one of us brings an idea to the studio, either finished or in parts, so it can then be shaped into something more complete with everyone's help. After quite a few rehearsals we pre-record the track so we can experiment with it further.'

What's your take on the music scene in Greece? How do you see the level of the music? Are there bands and artists you'd single out?

'If we focus on the rock-metal scene, the level is clearly high and, we'd say, keeps rising, as "fresh" faces bringing extra energy keep being added to the already big names in the field (e.g. Rotting Christ, SepticFlesh, Firewind). Among others, the more recent works by Warhammer, Domination Inc., Fortress Under Siege are worthwhile and worth a listen. Of course we should also mention that, besides metal, the stoner rock scene is very popular in Greece right now too, represented by great bands like Nightstalker, 1000mods, Naxatras , who have a loud presence abroad as well.'

Is there a chance you'll play live now that things have improved a bit? Do you have plans for shows in the near future, or more generally?

'It's true that after the tough period we went through, we're thirsty for live shows and contact with our audience. That said, right now you find us in a period of reorganizing, as we're finishing up the recordings for our upcoming album and carefully planning how to promote it. So there's nothing in the works for live shows in the immediate future. Most likely, you'll catch us on stage once our new record comes out.'

Songwriting-wise, do you have new material in the works? A follow-up album to 'My Own Truth'?

'Yes, we're near the end of recording and we believe you'll soon have something new from us in your hands. It's 9 new tracks moving along purely melodic-power metal paths. Production was handled by Fotis Benardo (ex-SepticFlesh, Nightfall), while the recordings were done at Devasoundz studios. In the coming period we'll announce more details about the album's release, as well as info about the artwork and tracklist.'

Is there anything you'd want to change in future work? Some element you'd like to add?

'What's certain is that we constantly want to evolve our sound, and that brings a desire for change. Of course, we always give our best for the best result, and we feel that the songs we've released so far are exactly what we wanted at the given moment they came out. As for additions, we like experimenting with other instruments too, like we did on Lonely Man's Song with the help of Christos Armenis on violin. There might be more such "surprises" in our upcoming releases.'

Thank you so much for being here, and we wish you every success in everything you do! Feel free to close out our chat however you like!

'We want to thank Fuzzy Hound for having us, and we hope to meet very soon at some live shows!'