Brand New Sin with Among Thieves, Postman Syndrome, and Carv
Rating: 4 Skulls
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Brand New Sin with Among Thieves, Postman Syndrome, and Carv
Rating: 4 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Solomon (6/6/02, Don Hill's, NYC):
Brand New Sin
photos by YlanaThursday night at Don Hills was no ordinary gig. This was more of an industry event. This event, a CD release party for Brand New Sin's self-titled debut, was hosted by Concrete Marketing, a legendary independent music promotion company who handles acts such as Metallica, Motley Crue, Slayer and Judas Priest. Concrete is not exclusively associated with metal (Garth Brooks graces their roster), but if you check out their clientele list, you know these guys are certainly friendly towards all things hard and heavy. Whiskey kings Cutty Sark provided free drinks, as well as a few lovely hostesses. Free copies of Revolver magazine were strewn about, and various rock icons showed up to see the bands, including a few dudes from Dope and ex-Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick (!). Yeah, it had "schmooze" written all over it, but that's alright, because this was a big night for new label Now or Never Records, based in Jersey City, and a few of their up-and-coming artists, Brand New Sin and Postman Syndrome.
CarvFirst up was Carv, a group of New England guys who are only a few years out of high school and have already opened up for the likes of POD, Biohazard and Disturbed. For such a young band, they came off as very professional: someone was handing out their samplers out front and they even had their own backdrop, even if they were only the opening act. Never having heard them before, I wasn't completely sold on Carv's Metallica/melodic-industrial mix, including the songs "Gemini," "Fetish" and "No Exit," but their presentation was good and I enjoyed watching keyboardist Ben Schulkin (the groups's resident long-hair) bang his head and practically turn his board upside-down. Given the industry presence at this show, I'm sure we'll be hearing more from Carv.
Among ThievesNow, I know Brand New Sin was the headliner for tonight, but the best surprise of the evening came from New Jersey's Postman Syndrome. This was another unknown for me, so I came to the plate with a clean slate on this one. PS started out their set with a young cutie doing some sort of Indian/Middle Eastern dance routine that, as far as I could tell, had nothing to do with anything the band was doing. Was this just a cheap stunt to drawn attention away from a poor act? Hell, no. These guys are true musicians, playing something you might wanna call "progressive hardcore." The aggro-vocals and heavy parts are all there, but what catches the ear (and the eye) are the intricate arrangements played by no less than three guitarists (?!). Postman Syndrome produce some truly original tunes at a time when extreme music is dominated by replicants of either Korn or At The Gates. It's a treat to go to show and walk away with something new and cool that you didn't expect hearing. Fans of Pain of Salvation and Opeth should perk up upon hearing the debut of this fine act on their Now or Never debut, due out later this fall.
Postman SyndromeThe third act, Among Thieves, played a set of decent hard alternative/metal, including "Seize the Day" and "Consequence," before Brand New Sin came out with their own brand of Down/COC-inspired metalcore. Now, I'm not sure why a rather blunt instrument like Brand New Sin would need three guitars, but there they all were, sweating and pounding out the tracks from the new self-titled album that had been released just two days earlier, including "My World," "Sad Wings" (first live performance) and "Did You?" Frontman Joe Altier was entertaining and gracious, thanking the crowd for coming out and going through a whole list of individual thank-you's. Postman and BNS made this evening, if you ask me, and they are definitely worth checking out on the road when they pull through your 'burg.
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