BRAND NEW SIN - Brand New Sin
June 10, 2002, 22 years ago
(Now Or Never)
I'm not one to buy into hype, but oh man, have I got to give it to Brand New Sin. When guitar player Ken Dunham says, "This record will make you want to play air guitar in front of the mirror again," he's not kidding. Brand New Sin is a major label sounding band on an indie, a musical force that is a hybrid of less extreme Pantera, groovier Black Label Society and a quick shot of latter-day COC. While speeding down the highway with the windows down is the capacity most naturally suited to this this record, it's also a subtle affair, the needs of the songs themselves coming before thrashing balls-out. It's not an exaggeration to say that material like 'Broken Soul' or 'Desperate Times Desperate Means' could find themselves on (hard) rock radio, and that isn't a put-down: it's unfortunate that tunes like these don't grace the airwaves more frequently. For all those who thought the last Down album was too convoluted, Brand New Sin will fuel your fire, straight up.
