Sinner
A woman seen with parts of her head and her right eye covered by an arm. A tattoo with flames can be seen going up towards the wrist. The albums title, "SINNER" is etched on the near the knuckles on the hand.
Studio album by
Drowning Pool
ReleasedJune 5, 2001
RecordedJanuary–April 2001
StudioOcean Studios (Burbank, California)
GenreNu metal[1]
LabelWind-up
ProducerJay Baumgardner
Drowning Pool chronology
Pieces of Nothing
(2000) 		Sinner
(2001) 		Desensitized
(2004)
Singles from Sinner
  1. "Bodies"
    Released: May 14, 2001
  2. "Tear Away"
    Released: April 30, 2002
  3. "Sinner"
    Released: August 13, 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
Q[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

Sinner is the debut studio album by the American rock band Drowning Pool, released on June 5, 2001, by Wind-up Records. It is considered to be the band's most popular album, being certified platinum in the same year that it was released. This was due at least in part to "Bodies" which remains the band's most well-known song. This is the only studio album by the band to feature original lead singer Dave Williams. While touring in support of Sinner, he died on August 14, 2002, from cardiomyopathy. The album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart. Drowning Pool released a reissue of the album called the "Unlucky 13th Anniversary Edition" in 2014.[6] The album was put at no. 25 on Metal Descent's list "The 25 Best Alternative Metal Albums".[7] Their songs "Mute", "Told You So", and "Reminded" were featured on Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge.

Writing and recording

Dave Williams explained how the album got its name in an MTV interview:

"I got that [Sinner tattoo] tattooed before we named the record. We were working on the song 'Sinner,' and our A&R guy said, 'That would be a good name for the record.' We all just looked at each other and said, 'Wow, OK.' It was just a natural progression that became the whole theme of the record. There are a lot of religious issues on the record and a lot of relationship issues. It just seemed like it would fit."

Williams also remarked on the track order: "We wanted to start with 'Sinner' and end with 'Sermon'. We covered all the bases on religion and bad relationships."

On "Sermon", Mike Luce stated:

"We're fans of the 80s and back in the day there used to be that whole undertone .... oh, if you play that song backwards, you'll hear this message! So I guess I could tell you what it says. It really doesn't say anything. It recites a lyric from the same song, from 'Sermon.' We just play it backwards at the end of the song. It's just a homage. A tribute back to the old school. [...] It was completely done on a whim and we took a line that Davie (Williams) sang and just ran it in reverse at the tail end of the song. Just kind of a ... here you go. No hidden meaning; you don't have to play the song backwards to hear it. We'll just play it right out here for you."[8]

The Unlucky 13th Anniversary Edition of the album contains an unreleased demo called "Heroes Sleeping". CJ Pierce explained the meaning of the song:

"Those last couple of rehearsals, we worked up a new song [Heroes Sleeping]. And I didn't even remember finishing the song. We actually did the song all the way through. So it's totally a gem of a find. Definitely, it's an emotional song to hear. 'Heroes Sleeping,' it's about other musicians who had passed away before us. That was Dave's [angle] on the lyrical content. Then literally just a few weeks later, he passed away. The song's kind of about him now. So I'm glad we can share that with our fans."[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Drowning Pool

No.TitleLength
1."Sinner"2:27
2."Bodies"3:21
3."Tear Away"4:14
4."All Over Me"3:13
5."Reminded"3:24
6."Pity"2:52
7."Mute"3:19
8."I Am"3:49
9."Follow"3:20
10."Told You So"3:05
11."Sermon"4:19
Total length:37:30
Unlucky 13th anniversary deluxe edition bonus disc (all tracks are demos)
No.TitleLength
1."Sermon"7:14
2."You Made Me"4:02
3."Care Not"8:33
4."Mask"6:08
5."Soul"6:15
6."Break You"2:49
7."Less Than Zero"4:33
8."Follow"3:35
9."Told You So"4:07
10."I Am"4:01
11."Tear Away"4:32
12."Bodies"3:46
13."Heroes Sleeping"4:50
Total length:1:04:26

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]

Chart positions

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "The 50 best nu metal albums of all time". April 2022.
  2. ^ Morris, Kurt. "Sinner - Drowning Pool | AllMusic". Allmusic. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  3. ^ Sinclair, Tom (July 27, 2001). "Drowning Pool: Sinner Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 606. p. 70. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  4. ^ "Sinner". Q. February 2002. p. 106. 4 stars out of 5 - "...The point where old and nu-metal meet. The impeccable riffs and uncompromising rhythms are perfectly balanced by Dave Williams' fashionably angst-full lyrics...
  5. ^ Abowitz, Richard (June 25, 2001). "Drowning Pool: Sinner : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 26, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  6. ^ "New LP by Drowning Pool: 13th Anniversary Reissue of "Sinner" On The Bicycle Music Company/Concord". Jam Magazine. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015.
  7. ^ "The 25 Best Alternative Metal Albums". Metal Descent.
  8. ^ Bolton, R. Scott. "Rough Edge: Drowning Pool's Dream Becomes a Nightmare". roughedge.com.
  9. ^ "Drowning Pool Enjoy a New High Tide in Their Career". Folio Weekly.
  10. ^ Sinner (liner notes). Drowning Pool. Wind-up. 2001. EK 91552.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 87.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Albums: Septemeber 20, 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 2, 2004. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  13. ^ "Charts.nz – Drowning Pool – Sinner". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  15. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  16. ^ "Drowning Pool Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  17. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  18. ^ "British album certifications – Drowning Pool – Sinner". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  19. ^ "American album certifications – Drowning Pool – Sinner". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
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