This is a very laudable debut album.

Highway Dream was formed in the famous musical Italian City of Cremona. The four-piece (originally a five-piece) released a debut EP 'Born To Be...' back in 2009 that featured four original songs and a cover of the Scorpions classic 'Rock You Like A Hurricane'; the latter not an unsurprising cover as Isabella "Isa" Gorni is also part of the all-female Scorpions tribute band, Virgin Killers. HD have spent the last five years honing their song-writing skills and playing live shows in Northern Italy and produced a very creditable debut album. This is certainly not your run-of-the-mill Female-Fronted Rock band and is an eclectic mix of Rock tunes with many different influences evident. Lead vocalist Gorni has a deep voice, with only a slight hint of an accent, and comes across like the wonderful Sass Jordan singing Metal.

'Unbelievable' kicks the album off in fine style with Gabriele "Gheghe" Frosi's bass very high in the mix, as it is throughout the whole album; I can hear hints of early Rush in this song.

The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Oscar Burato at Atomic Stuff Studios in Isorella, Brescia, Italy. The mix is excellent, however the overall production (obviously affected by budget) does somewhat let the album down a bit, especially the horrid drum sound. Drummer's Massimo "Max" Agliardi plays his heart out on the album but it sounds, at times, that he has been locked away in a basement.

'Don't Let You Die' is more Melodic Rock sounding and features the first of many excellent guitar solos courtesy of Gorni's husband, Roberto "Roby" Zoppi. The album contains not one, but two title tracks, the first being 'Highway Dream' with its Mötley Crüe-like rhythm and the second is the album title track 'Wonderful Race' with its L.A. Sleaze vibe. The heaviest track on the album, with its thunderous bass and killer riff, is 'Many Reasons', a song that could easily have been an outtake from Metallica's 'Kill 'Em All' album!

'Let Me Be Your Breath' sees a change of pace and allows Gorni to show off her vocal talents. 'Like An Earthquake' features more heavy bass during the verses but is straight ahead Rock by the time it reaches the chorus. 'Falling Down' is another heavy track with heavy bass and another scorching solo whilst 'Some Stars' is a ballad that reminds me of American all-female band L7. Arguably, the band saved their best song 'til last with a true Sleaze anthem 'Born To Be A Rock Star' that I imagine will go down a storm in the live arena.

Taking aside the production issues, this is a very laudable debut album.

Mark Donnelly