Sunroad has been around for a while, but I’ve not yet made the acquaintance with this long-running band from Brazil. This is their 10th album and apparently, they have an affinity for iguanas, or at least the one they call their mascot. Starting with the album cover, I didn’t exactly know what to expect as there is a lot going on and gets me a little worried about an unfocused hodge podge in my future.
Formed in 1997 in Goiania, Goias Brazil, Sunroad is the vanguard of the olde school hard and heavy rock style that was prevalent in the 1980s. Their sound has been compared to UFO, Scorpions, and Uriah Heep showing a little bit of a progressive flare intermixed with their blues and hard rock. They have shared the stage with many notable bands including Stryper, Whitecross, Mad Max, and Dr. Sin over a fairly active career as a national force to be reckoned with. Along the way, they have formed alliances with other musicians that led to collaborations on records, which “Eclipse Of The Rising Sun” is the latest. Let’s hear what these Brazilians have got!
I am pleased that this is not as mixed up as the album cover: they deliver quite enjoyable guitar-forward hard rock with a talented rhythm section and great melodic singing. It is a large helping of Sunroad as it clocks in at over 60 minutes over 12 songs, showing quite a bit of bluesy ramblings of early rock bands and a little bit of the progressive. Although I often get my fill before the end, it is not unenjoyable listening. It is an older, but well worth the effort.
The band is aptly named as there is a quality to their songwriting that reminds me of driving on the highway over changing landscapes. The drums keep a steady tempo throughout the songs and provide tasty fills and pattern changes when the landscapes change as the bass and guitars shift the soundscapes from verse to chorus to bridge and beyond. Clean melodic vocals tell the listener where they are using backing vocals to raise cityscapes from the more meandering verses. As mentioned earlier, it is guitar forward with plenty guitar shenanigans in tasty guitar solos and bluesy riffs, but it gets balanced out with keys and organ. My favorite though is the chunky bass that shows just enough attitude while keeping the bones of the songs solid. Just like a road trip, it is best just to go with the flow and not force any expectations as the songs unfold.
Their strength is the diversity of songs. There is a good mix of songs from the driving “Immanence,” to the bluesy “Blind Spot,” and the King’s X inspired “Go and Find Your Groovy” that ramble a bit like the rock of the 70s with a focus on melody and harmony, but with more attitude and energy. It is progressive, but not in the same sense of modern prog-rock, but with smooth transitioning through various episodes particularly through the development section leading into the final chorus. There is one ballad in “If Only” that breaks up the pace and does well to inject a little bit of the tender amidst the grit.
There are a lot of guests here, showing their connections within the hard rock community. Their opening track features Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Reign of Glory) that sounded like it could have been a RoG song and some excellent guitar work from Edu Ardanuy (Dr. Sin). Although the hired guns do well, as a newbie to Sunroad I struggle with knowing the real Sunroad. That may not be the point, as drummer Fred Mika is the only one from the original lineup and they seem to enjoy being a band playing hard rock.
I’ve never regretted putting this record on as there are some good songs and great playing, but I have gotten lost along the way, losing focus for the second half of the album. If they edited down the songs, this may have helped me focus, but then Sunroad’s identity may have been lost. The best solution that I have found for this album is to start out a road trip with “The Eclipse of the Rising Sun” and just get immersed in the sound washes over while being hypnotized by the road.
Rating: 8/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist:
1 – Eclipse of the Rising Sun
2 – Immanence
3 – Blind Spot
4 – Thousands of Innocents
5 – Angels Found
6 – If Only (Quod Animal Vides?)
7 – Burnout
8 – Insane Is the Night
9 – Go and Find Your Groovy
10 – Sun Is Dark
11 – Anthem Of Freedom
12 – Final Act
Sunroad is:
Gui N Silva – bass
Van Alexandre – guitar
JP Costa – rhythm guitars, vocals
Fred Mika – drums, vocals
Guest Musicians:
Mark Boals – vocals on “Eclipse Of The Rising Sun”
Edu Ardanuy – lead guitar on “Eclipse Of The Rising Sun”
Alan Clark – vocals on “If Only (Quod Animal Vides?),” “Burnout,” “Sun Is Dark,” “Immanence,” and “Go Find Your Groovy”
Gennyson Ponce – keyboards on all tracks
Rafael Milhomem – lead guitars on “Final Act”
Mauricio Lavenere – acoustic guitars on “Eclipse For Rising Sun” and “Sun Is Dark”
Release Date: September 25, 2026
Record Label: Roxx Records
Discography:
Heat from the Road (1999)
Arena of Aliens (2003)
Flying n’ Floating (2006)
Long Gone (2009)
Carved in Time (2013)
Wing Seven (2017)
Heatstrokes (2019)
Walking the Hemispheres (2021)
Sunesthesia (2022)
Eclipse of the Rising Sun (2026)
Social Media: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp
Blind Spot (Official Music Video)
Thousands of Innocents (Promo Video)