Road, The: Five Years Later

The Road is a joint New York/Boston three piece rock band consisting of Michael Bruce (guitars, bass, drum tracks), Aaron Moulin (guitars, vocals) and Greg Wilson (lead vocals, trumpets, lyrics). As you can probably surmise from the list of instruments this is a very guitar oriented album. I wouldn’t go as far to say this is progressive rock but it certainly has its proggy moments. Five Years Later is the band’s third album, following Drift (2007) and Monomyth (2010). You can find both reviews on this site.

Probably the heaviest moment of the disc begins with the first track “Despair�. An intense guitar attack breaks out quickly and just as suddenly stops to let some doomy riffs settle in. Now the sound is more alternative rock, maybe a slight resemblance to The Red Hot Chili Peppers. These alternating heavy and doomy moments lead into a ripping guitar solo, a bit angular in design and generally quite moody. I suppose a Crimson reference could also be noted at times. With “Cycles� the melodic nature of the band comes to fruition with catchy guitar riffs and excellent lead vocals. “Border� is another proggy offering with skillful use of acoustic and electric guitar. Again the riffs are really catchy and the vocals, both lead and backing are very good. I love the heavy chorus in this one. The heavy guitar and inventive riffs and solos in the somewhat angular “Descent� and the catchy “Lament� incorporating Wilson’s trumpet for the first time makes for more highlight material.

It took me a couple spins to catch on but I am really digging Five Years Later more and more with each successive spin. This one has taken me by surprise and will likely have some staying power with my year ending best of list.

Track Listing:
1. Despair
2. Cycles
3. Change
4. Border
5. Faith
6. Step
7. Descent
8. Lament
9. Reasons Why
10. End Of An Era

Added: October 3rd 2019
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 791
Language: english

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