Dying Victims Productions, jewelcase, sticker, obi, FREEWAYS are comprised of four old friends from the peripheral fringes of the greater Toronto area who decided to channel their shared love of dollar-bin Canadian hard rock records and poorly ripped recordings of NWOBHM they’ll never afford into a nearly decades-long pursuit of seeing how far they can play from home and how many drink tickets they can accumulate at a single gig. So far, that plan has produced a handful thrilling of short-lengths (on both tape and 7” format) and an absolutely stunning debut album, True Bearings, released in 2020 by the late/great Temple of Mystery Records. And True Bearings was presciently titled: this was the sound of FREEWAYS hitting a fever pitch of hard rock glory, plaintive and poignant and positively bleeding pathos every step of the rough, wild way. That widely celebrated debut LP took the band overseas again that spring, where they were even-more-warmly received by rivetheads old and young. With the untimely closing of said label and their growing throng of fans in Europe, DYING VICTIMS stepped in to reissue True Bearings last year, setting the stage for their hotly anticipated follow-up. At last, it’s here in the form of Dark Sky Sanctuary. Whereas the debut’s cover art (partly) forecasted its contents – cold and cutting on the surface, with a wealth of warmth lurking within that figurative RV – so does the cover art of Dark Sky Sanctuary similarly suggest its sonic arc. The effervescent elan of FREEWAYS is in full force here, except that that’s daubed in hues darker for the band and perhaps a bit thornier as a result. On Dark Sky Sanctuary, the quartet’s fueled by a fire here that sees them both exploring their busier & more aggressive side as equally as their stripped-back & pensive one. It’s difficult to truly qualify the latter as “poppier,” but it’s not impossible to view the moodier side of turn-of-the-‘80s radio rock through FREEWAYS’ unique, ever-engaging lens. Somehow rougher and more polished, Dark Sky Sanctuary is a sonic safe haven for those who still hold hope for heavy rock as an authentically emotional artform. FREEWAYS are fully recommended for fans of Blue Öyster Cult, Wishbone Ash, Praying Mantis…and FREEWAYS!
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