SUNROAD- Wing Seven
Sunroad has been rocking Brazil for 20+ years, and though they're not a household name in America (they should be), Heaven's Metal has been keeping up with the band for years, reviewing cds, and interviewing them for our All Brazilian issue back in 2009, and last interviewed by the late Dale Huffman in 2013. Sunroad's history actually predates drummer and frontman Fred Mika's salvation in 1999. The band moved from doing covers, and then original material as a bluesy hard rock band, incorporating elements of faith into their rock craft. Members came and went, and the band honed their skills, sticking to the guitar centered sounds of the golden age of heavy metal, eschewing the fads of the times. New singer Andre Adonis has the golden pipes of a Klaus Meine (The Scorpions), with a little grit. His contributions make Wing Seven a super polished, classy production.
Wing Seven is a supermarket of styles, from classic metal to 80's pop metal, all viewed through the lens of bluesy hard rock. The obvious comparison is to The Scorpions, what with Adonis' voice and Sunroad's penchant for mixing heartfelt ballads with the rockers, or to Whitesnake for "standing in the shadow of the blues," but there's much more to Sunroad. "Destiny Shadows" opens the album with a classic/ power metal intensity that brings to mind Rainbow or Dio and gets the blood boiling. "Brighty Breakdown" and "White Eclipse" carry the same white hot lightning. Other numbers, such as "Drifting Ships" and "In the Sand" are bluesy mid-tempo rockers. "Misspent Youth" and "Whatever" lay down the blues guitar groove slow and heavy. Grab your lighter, as there are some ballads on the album, "Last Sunray in the Road" being a bluesy ballad, and "Pilot of Your Heart" actually reminds me a little of Queen. "Skies Eyes" is an acoustic ballad, and the closer "Craft of Whirlwinds" starts out that way, but then leads into a heavy rocker. "Tempo (What Is Ever)" is sort of a mini Portugese Gregorian Chant that ends abruptly, and "Day By Day (Delaying)" is a full on metal jam that will challenge your best air guitar skills.
I am overjoyed to finally have a Sunroad album available here in the US thanks to Roxx, instead of being a pricy import, but I have to vent that the tracklisting is wrong. The true track order is:
1. Destiny Shadows
2. Drifting Ships
3. Brighty Breakdown
4. Pilot of Your Heart
5. Last Sunray in the Road
6. White Eclipse
7. In the Sand
8. Misspent Youth
9. Tempo (What Is Ever)
10. Whatever
11. Skies Eyes
12. Day By Day (Delaying)
13. Craft of Whirlwinds
However, don't let this deter you. If you like the classic metal guitar sounds of the 70's and 80's, and the MTV ballad era, with the unmistakable vocals of The Scorpions or Tygers of Pan Tang, then look to Brazil, and let Sunroad be your guide. Highly recommended. (Roxx Records/ Musik Records) 4 out of 5 stars
