TRACII GUNS & MICHAEL SWEET

THE STORY OF AN UNLIKELY PAIRING — L. A. GUNS’ TRACII GUNS AND STRYPER’S MICHAEL SWEET — AND THEIR DOOMY NEW SIDE- PROJECT, SUNBOMB

They have a new band — and it’s not called Guns N’ Moses!

O YOU GUYS BOTH AGREE WE SHOULD HAVE NAMED the band Guns N’ Moses?”

Stryper’s Michael Sweet is asking this question, straight-faced, to Guitar World over Zoom. But the singer-guitarist isn’t referring to his long-running Christian metal crew. He’s talking about Sunbomb — the new side-project from L. A. Guns’ mainman Tracii Guns. Before we can parse Sweet’s deadpan delivery, Guns, who’s also on the call, bursts into laughter: “I agree with that!”

Jokes aside, the question does highlight a seeming paradox surrounding Sunbomb: How in the world did a nice guy like Sweet find himself singing over Guns’ heavier-than-ever exploration of blackmetal-tinged doom and classic heavy metal?