Brand New History - Dark Publications

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Similar Items:

•	The Devil You Know
•	Affliction
•	Ignite
•	Music for the Massive
•	Hallucinating

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Brand New History is a multidimensional outing that melds modern, classic, and alternative rock elements into a 12-song tour de force that at times is reminiscent of INXS, BTO, Nine Inch Nails, and the Cult (NIN's Chris Vrenna and the Cult's Billy Duffy guest here). Though Brand New History's musical salutes are palpable, Trevor Hurst delivers his vocals with a distinctive, soulful panache and there's a cohesiveness and originality to the band's soaring compositions, most notably the bold midtempo rocker "Make It Right." The vibrant, danceable "Flamethrower" contrasts nicely with the darkly aggressive "Trash" and, while the spooky syncopation of "By the Riverside" and lilting, Sugar Ray-ish "May I Go" are far from original, there's no denying their power. Programming, percussion, and the production savvy of Bob Rock (Metallica, the Cult) and John Travis (Kid Rock) add to the appeal of this excellent chapter in Econoline Crush's history book. --Katherine Turman

Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Not the Devil.... but not bad May 18, 2001
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

As a promising band beset by frequent lineup changes and inopportune periods of inactivity, Econoline Crush has still managed to produce two full length albums that have unfortunately been relatively ignored by critics and much of the record buying public. With Brand New History, frontman Trevor Hurst leads the Crush through a dozen tracks that swerve between the dark, churning electronica-infused metal that has served them well in their previous work, delivering a wealth of melodic and brooding hooks that set them apart from their contemporaries. The brand new history that the title suggests may well lie in the increasingly impressive songwriting savvy that has grown exponentially from the Vancouver group's debut album Affliction, and which made their second disc, The Devil You Know one of the most tragically underheard alternative rock albums of the last ten years. With production on two tracks by Bob Rock (Bon Jovi, the Cult) and an impressively bittersweet power pop kiss (the final track "Tomorrow Starts Today") providing a parting kick in the shins, Brand New History does not quite equal the excellence of it's predecessor, but there is a dark groove at work throughout that is unique in the current climate of hyper-charged nu metal. Like Stabbing Westward, God Lives Underwater, Gravity Kills and Orgy before them, Econoline Crush offers up a grinding, pulsating gothic stew of electronic thump and metallic whomp, held together by one of the more interesting rock vocalists to emerge in recent years. An impressive effort from a band that deserves to be heard.

4 out of 5 stars

Contains a less aggressive sound than "The Devil You Know" August 15, 2001
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Econoline Crush is one of the few rock/alternative bands I keep up with. In the past they have delivered a unique and refreshing sound, such as the fast and aggressive style with slightly distorted lyrics found on their previous release, "The Devil You Know". Unfortunately, part of that style has been lost on "Brand New History". The overall tone of this album is much more laid back and slower than before, and that will no doubt be a disappointment to some. Once you get past that however, you'll find that there are some fairly enjoyable tracks on "Brand New History". Songs like "Flamethrower", "You Don't Know What It's Like", and "Tomorrow Starts Today" all live up to the quality one would expect from Econoline Crush, and will easily become stuck in your head long after you listen to them. I still believe "The Devil You Know" is by far their best album, but "Brand New History" is certainly worth attention.

4 out of 5 stars

4 Stars, Just Barely May 17, 2001
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Brand New History is a significant alteration in EC's sound. It appears to be the result of marketing reasons, Robbie leaving the band, and pampering in Los Angeles. Case in point: A song that previously would have been about "Digging The Heroin" is instead about "Digging The Heroine" (the Hollywood actress variety). At least there could have been a double meaning about an actress girlfriend with a drug problem, but alas, we are not that lucky. The producers verge on incompetence at times with some extremely generic sampling and goofy B-movie-like "directing" of Hurst's vocals. The chorus writing also tends to get rather generic. While it doesn't get into some of the numbing quality of harder, earlier album tracks and is somewhat more listenable all the way through, it also doesn't reach the peaks of artistry and emotion of either Affliction or The Devil You Know. The mastering, which unfortunately is not in HDCD as TDYK was, and mixing are also slightly off. Still, it's a whole lot better than most of the music out there.

5 out of 5 stars

New Ec Album May 18, 2001
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Well Econoline Crush's new album has finally been released in the US, i've been waiting for this album a while now, after how great "The devil you know" and "Affliction" were. The album is good its just different somewhat from the previous 2. A lot of the vocals differ a lot from TDYK in a lot of the songs, but dont get me wrong its still a great album. Some of my fav songs are Flamethrower, Digging the Heroin, You dont know what its like, my salvation, and here and there. For anyone who has never heard Econoline Crush before i would suggest listening to "The Devil you Know" first and seeing if you like that, so you can fully appreciate "Brand New History" but Ec is definatly a fantastic band who has done another incredible job on this album.

5 out of 5 stars

Their Best Album Yet June 6, 2001
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Rarely do I find a band that not only writes good songs, and has a good ear for music, but also performs with exceptional musical talent. Econoline Crush is one of these rarities that I had the good fortune of discovering a few years ago. I became a big fan of theirs from their 2nd album, The Devil You Know, and later bought their debut album, Affliction. Some would say that their sound has softened over the years, but to me it seems that they have becomed more and more seasoned. Affliction has a much heavier and more dissonant sound overall than The Devil You Know and Brand New History, but instead of softening, their music has seemed to have matured and become more sophisticated. They rely more on their musical composition skills now than they did with Affliction. Whether it is their beautiful chord progressions or interesting rhythms that make these songs compostionally as good as they are, or the instrumental excellence shown by every member of the band that makes the performances absolutely incredible, as a band, they are stronger than ever now because both the composition of the songs is excellent--far more sophisticated than those from Affliction-- and their performances are better than ever now, too. The first time I ever listened to this CD I was amazed at the consistant quality of their songs, and all I was thinking was, "This is awesome!" I was so excited for it is such a rare occurance that I have such luck in finding really good music. If you're trying to decide whether or not to buy this album, buy it. It is well worth whatever you pay for it. My personal favorites from this album are Flamethrower and Digging the Heroine, although I love nearly all the others. This is their best album yet, and quite possibly, the best album I own.

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