The story of one of the most talented and eclectic Hard/Rock and Metal guitarists, Adrian Vandenberg, it's a highly interesting one.
After starting his own band in the early 80's, called Vandenberg and releasing three albums between 1982 and 1985 that obtained very positive reviews from the European music press and their increasing number of fans worldwide, the Dutch guitarist then decided to disband his own band and to pursue a new guitarist role in the highly rated English Hard/Rock titans Whitesnake, after Whitesnake's frontman David Coverdale was very impressed by Vandenberg's ability and skills not only as a guitarist, but also as a songwriter.
Vandenberg was instrumental, in the success that Whitesnake obtained since their eponymous album Whitesnake (also known as 1987, especially in Europe) and up until 1990, when Whitesnake decided to call it a day. The Dutch guitarist then returned with Whitesnake back in 1994 for a Greatest Hits Tour project and collaborated with the band until the late 90's, when Vandenberg then decided to take some time off and dedicate it to painting, at least for the best part of it.
Evidently, though, Vandenberg's intention of revitalising his initial self-titled musical project, must have been playing quite a lot for a number of years, in the back of Adrian Vandenberg's mind. After resolving a legal battle with Vandenberg's original band members, the Dutch guitarist and songwriter returned to the Rock music scene in 2013, with a project called Vandenberg's Moonkings, which released three albums between 2014 ad 2018.
From that point on, Adrian Vandenberg thought that the times were right, for the Dutch artist, to return to the band's original name back in 2020, when, with a new line-up, his band reached an impressive height of popularity with an album called, aptly, 2020, which was highly received by the music press of half the world, thanks also to the buzz that one of the album's songs, Freight Train, created when the album was released.
Then, as it happened for millions of musicians around the world, Covid19 hit the ground hard too for Vandenberg, stopping the band to keep on flying as a collective on the back of the success that 2020 had reached for them. But the pandemic that brought the world to a complete stop-gap, didn't certainly stop Vandenberg to forge new musical alliances, to further reinforce the musical strength of his own band. After recruiting powerhouse vocalist Mats Levén, drummer Koen Herfst and bassist Randy Van der Elsen, the Dutch guitarist and songwriter started working relentlessly on the follow-up of the 2020 album, by writing 9 brand new songs that now finally see the light of the day, on the band's new album called Sin.
As soon as you place the CD into the hi-fi, the first thundering notes of the album's opener, called Thunder And Lightning, make a clear statement about what the listener is about to immerse, for the next 40-plus minutes of the album, in a full-throttle journey between late 70's and 80's Hard-Rock, plenty of Metal and, occasionally, even hints of 70's Psychedelia.
Clearly, Sin is a record that exudes the whole musical background and love for Rock music of such a talented, skilled and experienced guitarist, like Adrian Vandenberg clearly is. In his thunderous and highly explosive trademark guitar riffs, here and there, you can sense echoes of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, his beloved Whitesnake or even Metallica exuding from his tremendous work on guitar, especially on key songs of the album, like the aforementioned Thunder And Lightning, the anthemic album's hit single House On Fire, the album's title-track and the album closing number Out Of the Shadows, among others.
Enormous kudos to Vandenberg also for choosing such an extremely talented line-up, for this new reincarnation of the band. Mats Levén is highly impressive throughout the whole of the album, delivering high-octaned vocals with such strength and power, while the Rhythm Section of the band, completed by drummer Koen Herfst and bassist Randy Van Der Elsen is a complete triumph of dynamism and precision, providing to the sound of the band that extra element of musical electricity needed to perfect the terrific wall of sound created by Vandenberg and his band of brothers.
If you are a true lover of proper, perfectly sounding, cleverly written, sang and played hardcore Rock and Heavy Metal, Sin is the ultimate gift that you can possibly dream of getting for yourself or to a fellow Rock lover. Vandenberg's new album is the ultimate statement of a band that, despite its continous transformation (mainly in terms of line-ups), keeps on carrying, strongly, successively and cohesively, the Hard/Rock sonic torch with such vigor, total commitment and indisputable talent.
Sin is out now and can be purchased via Mascot Label Group / Provogue
