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DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the highly anticipated second album of
Canada’s FREEWAYS, Dark Sky Sanctuary, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
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!