Interview with Frank Rossler

Sinner: Metal's Safe Sanctuary
by Martin Popoff

If we are somewhere within the third wave of German power metal, then Sinner belongs emphatically inside the second, Mat Sinner and his recirculating band of groove-ground metalheads joining the exalted ranks of Rage, Coroner, Sodom, Destruction, Grave Digger, and Running Wild as bands who have soldiered long deep and hard into metal's true and raging heart.

Now back with with their thirteenth album The End Of Sanctuary, Sinner find themselves bemused at the power metal community that has built up around them, Sinner sounding perhaps the purest of the old guard jostling amidst the hotshot upstarts. Keyboardist Frank Roessler relates the fact that it's all part of an unswerving mission. What is old is new again. "Well I think with the direction that metal went in the beginning of the ‘90s, when grunge and alternative came out, I think the main thing was that we didn't follow this trend. We stuck with what we have always done. We still play songs off the albums we did in the ‘80s, and some of those are still our biggest hits."

Adding snap to the step is the acquisition of Helloween drummer Uli Kusch (still very much a part of Helloween), who replaces Fritz Randow, now a card-carrying member of Saxon. Which, given the musical chairs phenom that is power metal, doesn't mean Fritz is gone forever. "Well, Uli is also going to play live with us as long as time permits," indicates Frank. "His main band is of course Helloween. But for years, we've had to coordinate all our different bands. Everybody in Sinner has different bands, like Primal Fear, where Mat plays, or Alex Beyrodt, his stuff he is doing with D.C. Cooper. So we are very used to coordinating several activities. If Uli can't play with us live we always have replacements, like Klaus Sperling from Primal Fear and we are still in good contact with Fritz..."

And speaking of Primal Fear, work on their third begins in July (kinda goofy, but for the first part of this phone interview, I thought I had Mat on the line, hence the Primal Fear questions, which Frank was surprisingly useful in answering!). They are going to start recording their new album in July, over four separate sessions, and I think the release is scheduled for September or October. I think it's going to be very surprising, even tougher than the first two albums. I think you'll be surprised. Some song titles are 'Dying Star', 'Eye Of The Eagle', 'Angel In Black' and 'Iron Hand In A Velvet Glove'."

Frank (not Mat!) continues. "It will be recorded between tours. In three weeks Sinner are going to start playing support for Dio in Germany, and we're also playing some festivals here in Europe, with some headlining activities later this year, but there is nothing confirmed at the moment. In terms of sideprojects, well (laughs), I'm involved in every sideproject of the other members. There's plans for a Thin Lizzy tribute album. Primal Fear is going to contribute to that as well as Sinner. Then we did an Accept tribute album, where we did 'Balls To The Wall' and Primal Fear did 'Breaker'. For the moment it's still a secret what Thin Lizzy songs Sinner And Primal Fear are going to do."

Until both (either/or, all of the above!) hit your town, you can spend your time headbanging to the band's traditional, well-executed and metal-proud new album, a record bolstered by the band's signature two guitar attack, featuring Alex and new guy Henny Wolter, ex-of-Thunderhead, comprising a team that Frank considers particularly exciting. "Alex's style is more into Whitesnake and melodic things and he also provided the basic idea for 'Destiny' (ed. an awesome, hooky, orchestrated seven minute departure), and Henny is a guy that has his guitar more down at his knees (laughs) and plays more of the riff rock stuff like for example 'Signed Sealed & Delivered' or 'Pain In Your Neck'. I think they work very well together. The guitar work on this album is awesome."

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