Sun Cries Red

Black Smoke Trigger

August 08, 2024

Review by: Chino Flor

Photo Credit: Christine Solomon &  Maryanne Bilham

Black Smoke Trigger is a band from a small town in New Zealand that erupted on scene 2019 with their debut EP Set It Off. The band is composed of lead guitarist Charlie Wallace, vocalist Baldrick, bassist Dan Fulton, and drummer Josh Te Maro. An extremely talented group creating timeless, powerful music that stays true to what Rock n’ Roll is all about. They just released their debut album “Horizons” alongside their lates single “Sun Cries Red”.

The vocals of the song is very commanding and powerful paired with lyrics that’s both very relatable and poetic. The guitar riffs are killer and melodic with a solo that just captivates. The rhythm and beat courtesy of Fulton and Te Maro can only be described as thunderous. An overall great song reminiscent of a classic and powerful embodiment of rock music. Headbanging as the bridge plays is a typical reaction you would get listening to the song.

During the live announcement of the album and song’s release, Wallace, shares “‘Sun Cries Red’ came to life while we were in pre-production for the album ‘Horizons.’ After the initial writing session, we stayed up all night recording the demo. Dan finished his bass part and went to bed, and the rest of us continued on in an alcohol-fueled recording session. After going over and over the song, adding different layers in our AirBnb in Nashville, Dan burst out of his room absolutely pissed off that we had been going so long and so loud, which was kind of hilarious. We needed to finish the demo, so of course, we just continued on. A couple of days later, when I was recording the guitar solo in the studio, he said ‘Where did that solo come from!?’ which was possibly one of the funniest moments from recording the album. After explaining it was written when he was all pissed off that he couldn’t sleep, he said ‘well I didn’t realize you were writing epic stuff like that,’ it was good fun. The song lyrically is about looking back at something that is important but neglected, seeing something in a shadow of its former glory.“

You can pre-order the album HERE while streaming the track HERE. The music video is also out and can be viewed HERE.