THE NEW BLACK – The New Black

Listening to The New Black, it’s hard to believe that they aren’t from the U.S. This is a Modern-Hard Rock band that’s been compared to Black Label Society, Load/Reload-era Metallica and other mainstream rockers. The way the group came together is somewhat interesting. Christof Leim, who is currently one half of Sinner’s guitar duo, hooked up with fellow guitarist Fabian Schwarz (ex-Paradox) at a festival. They happened to be drunk at the time, but ended up discussing their playing. From there, things snowballed and we now have TNB.

The group incorporates a little bit of a Southern influence into their sound in tracks like “Simplify”. There’s a bluesy feel there, as well. Markus Hammer, the lead vocalist, sounds particularly like James Hetfield on the opening track, “Everlasting”. Zakk Wylde would be flattered by the guitar stylings on tracks like “Ballad of Broken Angels”. Pantera fans might be able to get into this stuff, too.

In many ways, The New Black feels like an amalgamation of the aforementioned bands and any number of other radio mainstays. You wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear these guys on your local active rock station. For what it is, this is a well performed collection of songs. If you’re into this sound, you’ll get an entire 55 minutes of music to immerse yourself in.

No, these guys don’t sound at all like a German band, but they do a great job of amalgamating their influences. The comparisons to be made with a band like this one, which sounds like so many others, are inevitable. One could easily argue that they’ve heard all this before and, for the most part, they’d be right. The New Black also seems to limit its fan base to hard rockers. That isn’t to say there is a metallic tinge to The New Black, but it’s often overwhelmed by a modern sound. Overall, this a solid rock release, but it falls short of real originality.