VANDENBERG – Sin (2023) *HQ*
Not only a skilled songwriter and guitar player, Dutch Adrian Vandenberg is a painter artist as well. You could say that every music album paints a picture. On his new album ‘Sin‘ with his own band VANDENBERG, instead of utilizing a brush and canvas, Adrian and Co. paints with towering vocals, earthquaking rhythms, and the iconic and instantly recognizable guitar work of its leader.
Joined by terrific vocalist Mats Leven, drummer Koen Herfst, and bassist Randy van der Elsen, the influential axe-slinger delivers a vibrant, visceral, and vital vision on the group’s fifth full-length offering, ”Sin”, brought to life in broad strokes of anthemic hard rock and airtight metal and produced by Bob Marlette [Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper].
In many ways, “Sin” sound and feels like an early ’90s lost hard rock album, something that Whitesnake should have recorded after ‘Slip Of The Tongue’ – and yes, you’ll love ”Sin”.
We already presented here some months ago the album first single ‘House On Fire’, where Vandenberg replicated the sound of Whitesnake, right down to the vocalist. Singer Mats Leven is a monster, and he can sing heavy metal, pop, or hard rock. Here Mats delivers a huskiness and growl to his vocals as he tries to mimic Coverdale’s vibrato and does so to great success.
It’ not that Vandenberg is trying to emulate Whitesnake: the Duth and his band always sounded this bluesy hard rock since their origins.
Opening track ‘Thunder and Lightning’ has a manic frenzy to it that makes it feel like a mid to late 70s Deep Purple track. Leven nails Coverdale’s tessitura with such ease it’s not even debatable if he was actively trying to sound like him. It is all done deliberately and masterfully.
Vandenberg recreates the Whitesnake classic ‘Judgement Day’ with the title track ‘Sin’. It’s nearly note for note in places. While I love both songs, ‘Sin’ comes off as an unnecessary track to be recorded, as Vandenberg said everything that needed to be said with the former track. However, I will state that the solo laid here is much stronger than what Vai had to offer and fits the mood of the song better.
‘Burning Skies’ starts out with choppy notes and breaks. However, the choppiness ends quick, the groove kicks in, and the song became my second favorite from the album.
The best song is courtesy of the next track. ‘Hit The Ground Running’ is Whitesnake circa 1987. Showcasing the fastest tempo on the album, Vandenberg rips through the track with flashiness that harkens back to those Sykes/Vai days of yore. I’d be real money that this is the opening song in their setlist when they tour.
Would this album have been ‘Slip Of The Tongue‘ if Vandenberg had not been injured and prevented from playing alongside Steve Vai? No. Could this have been the album if Whitesnake had continued immediately after Vai left and they recorded another album in the early 90s? I believe so.
“Sin” feels like an album that was shelved in the early 90s when this music fell out of fashion. It’s a great peek into what could have been. Those years in Whitesnake certainly rubbed off on him.
The album is a great mix of high-energy rockers, groove-based bangers, and one ballad. This is everything I hoped it would be and needs to be purchased by anyone who loves the old school Coverdale era of Deep Purple and Whitesnake.
I believe that going forward I will return to this album much more often than the recent Whitesnake releases. A tremendous classic hard rock record.
HIGHLY Recommended
1 Thunder And Lightning
2 House On Fire
3 Sin
4 Light It Up
5 Walking On Water
6 Burning Skies
7 Hit The Ground Running
8 Baby You’ve Changed
9 Out Of The Shadows
Adrian Vandenberg – guitars, bass, vocals
Mats Leven – lead vocals
Koen Herfst – drums
Randy van der Elsen – bass
Pre order:
www.amazon.co.uk/Sin-Vandenberg/dp/B0C4VRCHLV
