DAMAGE DONE

These new days seem to be a perfect moment for old Prog bands to come back to play and record. In the last decade tons of bands returned to the music business. They are aware that we have a high time for Prog Rock in general and today it is an ever growing genre within the audience. This week I have reviewed two bands in this position and that's exactly where the American band New Sun stands.

I wasn't aware of New Sun but they are an American band founded in 1993 and they had 3 albums released between 1995 and 2001. Soon after that, the band went on a hiatus that would last for 11 years. Damage Done (2012) is the result of this 11 years without releasing an album and gathering experience. The only big change in the band's line up is their new vocalist Chris Elio. The band is completed by Chris Trujillo (drums), Christopher Scott Cooper (guitars and keyboards) and Alex Kley (bass).

The best thing on Damage Done (2012) is that you cannot precisely spot where the band is going. They play an extended mix of Prog that is mainly based on melody with a bit of heaviness here and there. The band has many heavy guitar moments in Damage Done (2012), like in the opening 'Shard In The Sand' or 'Miscreants', but most of the time the melody is the main goal. Listen 'She Moved Me' and understand what I'm talking about. One perfect example of how broad their influence can be on this album is the track 'Dreams'. The inclusion of horns was completely unexpected and works wonderfully!

The best track on the album though, is the last one, 'Chasm City'. On this track we have different vocals, possibly by the guitar player Christopher Scott Cooper (couldn't spot exactly who, both Chris Trujilo and Christopher are marked with vocals on the booklet), that interchange with Chris Elio vocals. I would love to listen more of his vocals on the album.

New Sun unfortunately doesn't have a great production on Damage Done (2012). I have this impression that the guitar sound is repetitive on most of the tracks, even if it was a conscientious decision to forge the band's sound, for me it looks a little boring. Other thing is Chris Elio, his vocals lack a bit of charisma and sometimes his voice can sound a bit over the top.

But you cannot say that New Sun is not a hard-working band, they are indeed. Damage Done (2012) took 3 years to be completed and has many good ideas and moments and I can see the band doing much better in the next album. And one more thing, they did the perfect thing when they decided to record a 45 minutes long album, this is a smart move nowadays. So you can sit down and actually listen what's going on. Worthy to give it a try.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)