Artist: Brand New Sin
Label: Century Media
Release: 2006
This thing is the real deal, incredibly authentic! Hard rock blast to the bone. And no, this isn’t some pretty melodic requiem for unhappy love and “jerking off into the void”. Brand New Sin, a quintet from Syracuse, are presenting their third studio album “Tequila”, and they honestly couldn’t have come up with a better title.
What we’ve got here is a proper raw mix of rock n’ roll with the occasional stoner rock move (The Proposition), a few refreshing southern rock frills in between, and there’s even a bit of the gloom (See The Sun) that was so typical of good old grunge. Authentic hard rock with no “lefts,” “rights” or other unexpected “low” blows in the boxing ring, just pounding with full force straight into the center of its target. With tracks like Motormeth, Did Me Wrong, Reaper Man and Said And Done, you’ll be lit up by the pure, direct energy of rock and roll!
The album is one hell of an eruption from head to toe! Sure, what lands on your plate is nothing more than Wiener schnitzel and pommes frites yet again, but it’s the commitment in the playing and the production itself that make the album immensely appealing. The riffs are witty, you can feel real authorship (freshness) in them, and that genuine garage sound. The solos are packed with big pull-offs and poisonous licks, everything is played with convincing fullness, yet totally straightforward, without a shred of highbrow doctrine, and the sound of a metal lathe and the smell of iron filings are definitely not missing either. Brand New Sin have the rare luck of having two completely equal guitarists in their ranks, who push each other on in a hugely inspiring way, so the work levels up at every single point of the album. It’s a guitar duo that works optimally in the musical waters Brand New Sin sail in. The riffs are simple and yet poisonously grabby. The transitions are decorated with simple guitar tricks (ornaments) that seem totally ordinary, but are woven in masterfully, in exactly the right doses, in exactly the right places. Optimal, like I said. Nowhere is there any pretentiousness, pomp, or experimental ballast that would tire out your association cortex or mess up your ears for no reason. Brand New Sin are an adrenaline-fueled blast that won’t let you stand still, and your pants shake like they’re at a proper village fire brigade party. Better not play this music in the car, because you’ll find yourself with a heavy foot on the pedal before you know it, and no speed limit will hold you back, which of course won’t please the gentlemen of the police, who rob the poor to give to the rich (Superhik logic).
You can smell the booze in the vocals. It’s the hoarse roar of a brute who walks into the saloon, slams the door so hard it flies off its hinges, smacks the bar so it splinters, bites the cork off a bottle of tequila, farts so greasy the air turns green, and helps himself straight from the bottle while sweat streams down his face. Brand New Sin don’t do jokes, they don’t do cuddling, kind words of encouragement or sympathy. It’s just plain pounding for a good three quarters of an hour. The album has four interludes and one cover, which makes nine proper original songs. And yet the cover of The Animals’ classic, with that venerable title we all know, is in the hands of Brand New Sin by far the most convincing of the billion renditions of House Of The Rising Sun by various bands you’ve ever heard.
Brand New Sin are dirty, arrogant, violent, and they are rock and roll!!! A real attraction for every motorcycle club! For everyone who loves Motorhead, Rose Tatoo, with a pinch of C.O.C. and of course the legacy of Lynnard Skynnard. Actually, we can wrap up the story with that last one. Brand New Sin are basically the Lynnard Skynnard of the 21st century. Furious southern desperados, and Tequila is simply an album that’s a rock n’ roll bomb right between the eyes from head to toe, without a grain of wavering or sugary fiddling around, where raw Gibson sound crackles from under the scorching Texas sun, while the rattlesnake stretched out its neck and croaked long ago, leaving the snake venom to drip away happily. “Tequila” is an album that will give you an easy ride to an unforgettable, rock-hard erection and turn you into tequila addicts!
Lineup
Joe Altier – vocals
Kenny Dunham – guitar
Kris Wiechmann – guitar
Chuck Kahl – bass
Kevin Dean – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Peter Steele – vocals (track # 12)
Production
Joey Z
Tracklist
1. Said And Done
2. Did Me Wrong
3. Spare The Agony
4. Ice Man
5. The Proposition
6. Old
7. Worm Whore
8. See The Sun
9. Motormeth
10. Numero Dos
11. Elogio
12. Reaper Man
13. Acehole
14. House Of The Rising Sun
Running time: 46:44
