Sunwraith Channel Retro Sci-Fi on New Single ‘Golden Sphere’
Following the release of their debut track Thanasphere, Auckland progressive post-metal trio Sunwraith return with their second single, Golden Sphere, out today via independent label Rothko Records.
Where its predecessor established the band’s brutalist foundation, Golden Sphere maps out an eerie, volatile sonic geography. Opening with haunting analogue synthesis, restrained percussion, and solemn French horn, the track steadily narrows into angular bass before exploding into expansive vocals and dense walls of saturated guitar.
Anchored in the atmospheric stillness and existential tension of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker, the composition pivots on an airy, weightless bridge that transports the listener into the heart of a surreal, reclaimed wilderness before being overtaken by beams of fuzz and a climactic conclusion.
“The song draws on the movie’s source material, Roadside Picnic by the Strugatskys, and other works by the auteur. It considers the confrontation of human desire and the indifferent mechanics of weird physics and time,” says vocalist and guitarist Mathew Bosher. “We wanted the arrangement to feel like navigating the Zone: quiet, watchful moments interrupted by strange, overwhelming forces.”
Formed by Mathew Bosher (Kerretta, Magnalith), bassist Brendon Kahi (Decortica, Domes), and drummer Logan Compain (Pegasus, Carthaginian), Sunwraith continue their collaboration with engineer Dave Holmes. The group pursued vintage instruments and tape delay experiments alongside discerning digital elements to create an empathic mix of spatial dynamics and kinetic energy.
Refining influences from Faith No More, Cult of Luna, and early Muse, Golden Sphere functions as the next thematic entry in Sunwraith’s forthcoming debut full-length album – a body of work exploring entropy, human adaptation, and creativity as an act of defiance against the void.
Golden Sphere is available to stream across all digital platforms today.
