Sunday, April 28, 2024

Double Dose of Canucks: Freeways & The Hazytones

Another feature that I haven’t done in quite a while on the blog is Canuck Spotlight, where I shine a light on a deserving Canadian band. I’ll shake things up a bit and do a quick double dose focusing on two awesome bands: Freeways and The Hazytones.

Let’s start with Freeways who’ve just released their sophomore LP this past Friday titled Dark Sky Sanctuary via metal boutique label Dying Victims Productions. The Brampton, Ontario quartet first came to my attention in 2020 in the middle of Covid lockdown when I stumbled upon their first album, True Bearings. I instantly fell in love with their brand of hard rock and ‘70s-inspired classic rock. Dark Sky Sanctuary follows in the same vein, providing us with a superb collection of eight vintage-sounding rock tunes. Fans of Thin Lizzy and Blue Oyster Cult in particular will really dig this band and their new record. Some of the highlights for me include the catchy first single, “Can’t Deny Destiny”, the head-bobbing “Give Em the Gears”, the soon-to-be-classic title track “Dark Sky Sanctuary”, “Private Myth” which is reminiscent of Ann and Nancy Wilson’s Heart, and the groovy final track, “Cracked Shadow”.

Freeways on Bandcamp: https://freeways410.bandcamp.com/music

Dying Victims Productions’ Bandcamp page for Freeways: https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/dark-sky-sanctuary

The Hazytones are a four-piece stoner/doom rock band from Montreal, Quebec. They’ve been putting out awesome music since 2016 and their upcoming third LP, Wild Fever, due out on May 10th via Canadian label Black Throne Productions, is their most polished and best yet in my humble opinion. I saw them live a few weeks ago here in Quebec City and they put on an amazing one-hour show with a set consisting mainly of tracks for their latest, the afore-mentioned Wild Fever. Doomier and more diverse than their previous two efforts, some of the highlights for me include the infectious title track “Wild Fever”, “Night is Young” which is probably my fave song on the album, loaded with dark atmosphere; the retro first single, “Disease”, the fuzzy “God Told You”, and the closer, the venomous “Eye for an Eye”. If you want to know more about the band and their creative process, you can read the conversation I had with them last week.

Watch the videoclip for “Wild Fever” on YouTube

The Hazytones on Bandcamp: https://thehazytones.bandcamp.com/ 

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