SINNER LIVE IN GERMANY
concert review from Firegoat.com
After Dream Evil "left the building", one man found himself alone on stage. He was very busy with setting his drum kit. I'm talking about Sinner's drummer Fritz Randow (also with Saxon). So here they are. Sinner. Legends on the German metal scene. A band with very long tradition (like The Scorpions). We were entering a gig that we were dying for since I began to identify myself with heavy metal music. I saw Dream Evil for the first time and I was about to see Sinner for the first time. Feelings were completely different. I was really on fire. And my friends also. Sinner is one of those bands that can be put among real endemic species, relics that survived all, good and bad, since the beginning of the heavy metal scene. Dressed in a very common wear (tightened old jeans) they fired with "When Silence Falls" from their 1995's Bottom Line album. Let us take a look at the line-up. The guitar twin had changed during three-year period. Beyrodt out, Naumann in. Naumann as a Primal Fear founding member rejoined Primal Fear also. Nevertheless that Primal Fear and Sinner are playing ping-pong with their guitarists (I mean constant changes in line-ups between both bands), Henny Wolter (ex-Primal Fear) and Tom Naumann didn't get an opportunity to play together in a band until now. And I was astonished by how fantastically they were tuned in on stage. Sinner guys must know Zeppelinhalle very well. Why am I guessing that? Because of the sound! The sound was really phenomenal. All guitar twin harmonies, all solo breaks of both axeman sounded clear, riffing was balanced with Mat's (pushed in front) vocals. So everything was set for the band to fire the stage. Both guitarists were equipped with Les Paul Gibsons, Mat was holding his ESP bass and they were just ripping the air. Leaded by Mat's venomous singing the Sinner was really devastating the hall. Henny went wild. And after third piece "Born To Rock" the audience was screaming: "Sinner, Sinner!" The band bursted out three quick strikers from There Will be Execution album: "Higher Level Of Violence", "Requiem For A Sinner" and "Finalizer". It was more than obvious that the band really enjoyed being on stage again after such a long time. And if your time is limited on 40 minutes, the best thing to do is just to play on a pure pleasure card. The last song confirmed that. A great cover song from Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell". But here comes a rhetorical question. Why did they add an Idol's classic on the set list? O.K. First reason is very simple. They love that song. And the other? Mat's first band is Primal Fear. And Primal Fear are really shaking the metal universe right now. Sinner have therefore become more or less Mat's side project. And I think that the band didn't have enough time to refresh their knowledge with some quick exercises for performance of phenomenal songs, as for example "Nature Of Evil" or "Question Of Honour". Set list consisted of songs that boys have in their veins. Beside that Fritz Randow was touring with Saxon in previous month. To avoid the troubles on stage, some real smart professional strokes (adapted set list) were taken by the experienced bandleader and Sinner offered a real phenomenal first class show, done with no mistakes. A pure manifestation of traditional heavy metal at it’s best. Every single inch of our journey through the rain and snow was worth it. In my opinion Sinner were the highlight of that evening. They should be headliners. But they were just happy with their position. The crowd showed signs of real satisfaction. And I hope that Sinner opened eyes to some metalheads who are convinced that everything begins with mid-nineties heavy metal revival. We got convincible and aggressive storming by this legendary band right in our faces. They never changed much, they stick to the point. Their own unique "sinnerized" point. My deepest respect! Thank you, guys.
