The definition of Sunroad is an inner trip searching for deepest spiritual knowledge and the man-God relation...apparently!  Which leads me nicely to Brazilian metallers Sunroad, a band that were formed in Goiania City over a decade ago and have recently released this their sixth offering 'Long Gone'. Sunroad have been described as one of the most important bands in Brazil and were voted in the top five best bands on college radio, which beggars the question, "What the hell must the rest of bands residing at the tail end of the top ten sound like?"

I don't know whether it is the bargain bin album art that 'Long Gone' comes wrapped up in that immediately has me quaking in my boots, or maybe it's the band's logo, which appears to have been designed in a primary school IT class, or the band's press shots that display a range of shirts not seen this side of an 'over forties' singles night, or most possibly it's the substandard production, where there are moments where I'm almost expecting to hear one of the band's mothers announcing that their tea is on the table.

But I'm more than willing to overlook these points and concentrate solely on the music, after all I've witnessed so many average bands over the years with a total inability to write a decent tune, paying to get a named producer into the studio to work their magic on their lame offerings, but as the saying goes "You can't polish a..." Anyway back to the music in question and Sunroad. The album opens with the fairly decent 'Fast For Me' displaying an infectious guitar riff, even though it lays buried in the mix, and there are a few more pleasing moments such as the sing-along anthem of 'Getting Free' but there is nothing on the album that screams at you "I'm here to break your balls" like a great heavy metal album should, instead we are given something more like a polite "excuse me". On the positive side Sunroad have a great vocalist in Jordan Farja and are an equally fine band of musicians, now if only they could write a decent tune.

Sadly Sunroad remind me of so many support bands I've witnessed/endured over the years at local rock clubs. The sort of band that you can tap your foot along to politely but equally forget them the moment the last drops of beer leave your glass and you head back to the bar. And this is the same reason that these aforementioned bands have sunk without trace which is also the same reason Sunroad haven't yet set the world alight in the same way fellow Brazilians Sepultura did in their glorious heyday.

Astonishingly Sunroad have experienced a South American tour supporting Joe Lynn Turner, and if the band are quite content with support slots in their home country then good luck to them, if they want their name on people's lips outside of their homeland then they need to produce better material than this, as frankly I'll be 'Long Gone' before I have to listen to this album again.

http://www.myspace.com/sunroadgroup