True Bearings

Not only is Brampton, Ontario the "New India" (as cynically reported, tube-side), but home to one of the coolest and most hot rocking bands to ever emerge from Canada's oft frozen wasteland, having released a bunch of EPs, singles, a split with Angel Sword and Tanith, as well as pair of kick-ass full-lengths since forming back in 2017, alongside Fresno, California's equally melodic Haunt. Also, now that the soaring quartet's finally graduated at Metal Archives' staunchly welcoming heavy metal academy, it's high time to hop on the open free road to its seven masterfully crated, radio-friendly gems which skirt classic, highway cruising 70s vibes.

Although some might balk at the above stratospheric score, it's important to view Freeways as the phenomenal guitar band that it is. The level of maturity and musical know-how exhibited right off the bat is almost disconcerting - as in, how did they ever get so good? Anyhow, the top rated act consists of front man guitarist Jacob, fellow axe man Dominic, bassist Amarjot and drummer Sebastian; together they knock it not out of the park, but out of orbit without missing a beat.

In terms of song writing complexity and six string dexterity, Haunt and Philadelphia's Sumerlands spring to mind, with sprinkles of a Dire Straits and The Cult level of riff intricacy at the forefront, the kind which forces saddled emulators everywhere to perform insane finger pirouettes along the ole fret board. (I suspect this unusual rock n' roll-ness is what delayed Freeways' honourable archival ascension, but thankfully the metal gods answered the call.)

As tight as the overall ensemble is, Jacob's harmoniously chilled out vocals bring to mind Cauldron's Jason, with opening "Eternal Light, Eternal Night" harking immensely to 2018's New Gods. (It's hard to believe so much time has elapsed!) So great is this track, I often find myself re-starting the album simply to hear it again in all of its heroic glory, including steadily deployed, textbook killer guitar solo. Another facet of Freeways' appealing sound is derived from its rhythm section's effortless looseness and ease, propping each song up with a light but powerfully rocking foundation. They all rule, sounding congruous yet still varied enough from one another to give the album a super breezy, intensely re-listenable flow. The tracks "Sorrow (Love In Vain)", "True Bearings" and "Dead Air" are genre establishing classics, while the longer next-to-last "Time Is No Excuse" recalls old school, pre MTV ZZ Top thanks to its warm and bluesy, Cheap Sunglasses style vibe.

We're so fortunate to now list Freeways as essential listening within this globally revered and timeless heavy metal directory.

If you haven't yet heard True Bearings, what are you waiting for?!