Echo Road, 4-piece rock band from Ridgefield, NJ, released ‘Greetings to the Optimist’ today, the lead single off their upcoming sophomore album, Gemini, which arrives on November 22.
Listen to / Download “Greetings to the Optimist”- https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/ech…
Recorded at Shorefire Studio in Long Branch, NJ by Joe DeMaio (Bon Jovi, Skid Row), Gemini is a 12-track concept album that uses an allegorical retelling of Cain and Abel to illustrate the inner turmoil of an individual discovering good and evil within.
Mixing and mastering was done by Tommy McCormick (DMX, The Wonder Years) at Big and Tall Recording, with overdubs completed there and at William Paterson University Studios.
Musically, Echo Road traverses deeper into hard rock with their most upbeat and electric songs to date. Mixed in are colors of progressive metal (‘Death Instinct’, ‘Casting a Shadow’) and R&B/soul (‘Waiting for June’), with the focus remaining on effective songwriting and straightforward hooks.
The new album marks the band’s first since 2022’s Out in the Open, which the band independently recorded and released. Between 2023 and early 2024, they dropped three singles ‘ThunderFunk’, ‘My Favorite Kind of Rain’, and ‘Envy of Mine’, which appear on the full LP.
Referring to ‘Envy of Mine’, Keep it Rock Podcast stated “It is like a blend of Rush, Black Sabbath and Greta Van Fleet with a tiny dash of Maiden – all in one four minute package. Excellent structure, it’s well produced and [the playing] was immense. All the things that came together – the various parts from the galloping verses to the gentle classical edged section leading into the chorus and, the chorus itself.”
Listen to ‘Envy of Mine’ here
Echo Road was born in 2016 when four students met in high school marching band and bonded over their love for classic rock music. Fast forward to the present, and they have performed on prestigious stages such as the Mercury Lounge, Bowery Electric, bergenPAC, and the Stone Pony.
“With our first album, we were looking to simply get something out there, but with Gemini, we took our time to create a sophisticated work that is a true representation of Echo Road. This album is the band at its finest,” says the group.
Echo Road will perform Gemini in its entirety at their album release show on December 21 at Debonair Music Hall with supporting acts Mood Merchant and Camino Walker.
Connect with Echo Road online-
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/echoroadban…
FACEBOOK: / echoroadband
