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 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 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The album debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 chart. Drowning Pool released a reissue of the album called the "Unlucky 13th Anniversary Edition" in 2014. The album was put at No. 25 on Metal Descents list of "The 25 Best Alternative Metal Albums".
Writing and recording
Dave Williams explained how the album got its name in an MTV interview:
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:
The Unlucky 13th Anniversary Edition of the album contains an unreleased demo called "Heroes Sleeping". CJ Pierce explained the meaning of the song:
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes.
Drowning Pool
- Dave Williams – vocals
- C. J. Pierce – guitars
- Stevie Benton – bass
- Mike Luce – drums
Production
- Jay Baumgardner – production, mixing at NRG Recording Studios, North Hollywood, California
- James Murray – engineering
- J.D. Andrew – assistant engineering
- Tom Baker – mastering at Precision Mastering, Hollywood, California
- Stig – guitar tech
- Ross – drum tech at Drum Doctors
Artwork
- Ed Sherman – album artwork
- Glen DiCrocco – photography
- Chapman Baehler – band photo
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for Sinner
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2001–2002)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 73
|-
!scope="row"| Canadian Albums (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"| 53
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for Sinner
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2001)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
| 102
|}