Three Lane Road – Three Lane Road EP
Three Lane Road – Three Lane Road EP
TLR Records / Head First Entertainment
Release Date: 27/12/2016
Running time: 24:28
Review by Dawn King
9/10
If you thought the 1980’s era of hair metal was dead and buried then look no further than Texan band, Three Lane Road. Formed in 2014, these melodic hard rockers were originally put together as a studio project for singer/guitarist Wayne Brito’s musical output and only became a live outfit when they played their first gig in March 2016 at The Underpass in Texas. Pulling Musket from a former band and discovering Davis and Geisel from advertisements the quartet only took to the stage when music fans in Dallas insisted they take their act out of the studio and into the local venues.
Since then they have shared the stage with Joe Lynn Turner, Junkyard and Bang Tango.
Citing bands such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Dokken, Skid Row, Styx, Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon as influences on their Facebook page, it is clear they wanted to emulate the sound of these top arena rockers from the 70’s and 80’s, something they have done well.
As quoted, again, from their Facebook page, their music is “melodic vocal lines sang by Wayne Brito, coupled together with tastefully driven guitar leads from both Allan Davis and Wayne Brito, bring to life a nostalgic rock feel.”
And its no surprise they are influenced by this era of rock. Having listened to the album before I saw any pictures of the band, I was actually shocked to see that these guys are not twenty-something year olds, latching on to the music of a by-gone age. These guys were there the first time round and have probably brought all the albums and worn all the t-shirts.
Recorded at Empire Sound in Carollton, Texas and produced by Alex Gerst, the EP is comprised of material mainly written by frontman Brito, and sets us up for a full length, as yet un-named, album due for release in 2017 which will include all six songs from this EP, as well as three more new tracks.
Says the band, “the idea is to get these six songs out there as an introduction to the band, with the full nine song album, which is in production now, set to come out in January or February. We are using the EP to get people excited about the upcoming full length album and to introduce the band to a worldwide audience.”
With hooks and over the top melodies easily relatable to their hard rock heroes, this EP is full of sweeping choruses, punching riffs and pitch perfect solos and, although vocalist Brito misses a few notes here and there, on the whole, he does a great job.
All in all this is a fantastic EP and, to quote the overly used but to the point cliché, this is “all killer with no filler.” The pace is kept up from start to finish, with not even the whiff of a power ballad, so indigenous of this genre, in sight. My guess is they are saving this for the full length album but only time will tell on that one.
Being a fan of “80’s hair metal” anyway, I loved this EP and am waiting with baited breath for the full length album. It’s only three more songs and if this EP sets the standard then I am sure they will rock just as much as this does!!
Long live HAIR METAL \m/
TRACKLISTING:
1. I Want
2. I’ll Fly With You
3. Strange Way
4. Time Of Our Lives
5. Dreams
6. Lift Me Up
LINE-UP:
Wayne Brito – Vocals
Steve Musket – Bass
Dan Nelson – Keyboard
Jaime Northrup – Drums
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dawn ‘The Metal Priestess’ King and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to do adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities
