Anyone who knows me and/or reads this blog knows what a huge fan I am of ’90s hard rockers SARAYA. Saraya’s online presence is little to none, which has led to a mystique of sorts. This lack of presence from lead vocalist/songwriter Sandi Saraya or anyone else from the band has also led to conspiracy theories about their whereabouts, whether we’ll ever hear new music, and even rumors of reunion appearances on hard rock nostalgia festivals such as the M3 Festival and the Monsters of Rock Cruise.
Today, December 1, 2025, I got a Spotify notification that SARAYA had released a new album called Fire. Was I really seeing that there was a new SARAYA album? I couldn’t believe it, so I bolted over to Spotify, and I gave it a listen.
These days, with AI-generated music, it’s hard to tell the real thing from something created in an iOS app on an iPad or something. I continued to listen. Honestly, the songs are fucking bangers. Not a single bad song in the bunch, and they are a perfect mix of the self-titled debut and the iconic When the Blackbird Sings album.
I would love to go into a more detailed review. Still, honestly, I would feel like a fucking moron if I did a review raving about this material only to find out that it was some AI-generated album by some fucking freak ass fan in Europe or something. The more I think about it, I’m more inclined to believe that this is the actual case.
Over the years, random interviews have popped up on YouTube. In 2019, Sandi Saraya gave an interview to The Hustle podcast, which was the first time anyone had heard from her in close to two decades. In the interview, she talked about her past time in the band and just took a stroll down memory lane.
In 2019, the Focus on Metal podcast interviewed Tony Bruno, and that is where the story was honestly told. It shed a lot of light on the tension between Tony and Sandi and how Saraya came to an end. Tony went on to talk about his departure from the band, the growing tensions between him and Sandi from the business side of things, and how Saraya eventually burned the final bridge that kept them from moving forward, only to be stranded on an isle of obscurity with a cult following that grew more and more as the years passed. When asked about new material, Tony mentioned that he and Sandi had been speaking again and that they had written six songs, two of which had already been recorded.
I interviewed Sandi Saraya back in 2021, which, as far as I can see, is one of the last interviews she did at that point. During our interview, she was super sweet, but I could tell there was a lot of conflict within her. One moment, she talked about having zero interest in that world ever again, and then, not long after, she spoke of collaborating with former Bulletboys guitarist Mick Sweda and Tesla bassist (and ex-husband) Brian Wheat. Sandi also mentioned that a song was demoed for the never-completed third album. I believe the song was called “Get You Gone” (at least what I think the title was. She didn’t tell me), and based on what she said, the label wouldn’t put it out, but a few months before this interview, she was talking with Tony about finishing it and releasing it. I was so excited that she shared it with me, and I could hear the passion and excitement in her voice, but then she would take a complete 180 as she talked more about the industry side. By the time the interview ended, it was a complete mystery where she stood emotionally about making new music or doing music in general.
I’d love to think this is a new Saraya album, but I’m gonna put my chips in and say there’s a 90% chance it’s just AI-generated. It’s the result of a dream of what could’ve been and should’ve been. Someone out there imagined what Saraya would sound like in 2025, and they made it a reality. Take it or leave it. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but for now, enjoy it for what it is and let your imagination run wild.
Let the conspiracy theories continue.
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