Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	10.07.2007

With these "Getting Into" articles I will present a fair, full description of a band's discography of studio albums with a clear rating out of five, as a way of aiding people that want to get into such bands but do not know where to start, as usually reviews have different authors and are written at different points in time - so this is a clear guide of how to get into the band in question.

Sinner
Heavy metal
Germany

Sinner have been going a long time now and have in most recent years drawn more attention as Matt Sinner's second role as bass player in Primal Fear. The band started back in 1980 though and have released a number of classic albums in the vein of great, 80's heavy metal in the true spirit of rock 'n' roll. Sinner are a must for all people who enjoy good classic hard rock and heavy metal - catchy choruses, the odd thundering speed metal number and a good heartfelt ballad. The band have never had such success regarding record sales as their heavy metal peers, but the heart has always been in the music and more often than not the band have delivered real good quality albums.

Wild 'N' Evil (1982) and Fast Decision (1983) I will deal with these two together because most places list these two as actual full-length studio releases when in actual fact they are more like demos, but with the length of normal albums. As far as I believe these two were never officially released like the albums that emerged after these. The quality of music on these two albums is not particularly good as you can imagine, this is only beginning of the Sinner and these early recordings are nothing to go by when comparing with the albums that would follow.

Danger Zone (1984) The first official Sinner album and it kicks off with the classic title track "Danger Zone", but unfortunately the rest of the album does not live up to the great, catchy start. "Fast, Hard And Loud" and "Rattlesnake" along with all the tracks on the album show a vast improvement from the works of the previous two years, but still this album lies in the shadow of what was to come.

Touch Of Sin (1985) Here we have it probably hands down the best Sinner album released so far, although it hasn't been unchallenged at all. This album is full of true 80's heavy metal/hard rock classics - "Born To Rock" that is even now on the odd occasion played by Primal Fear live, the catchy "Bad Girl" and "Masquerade", speed metal monster, and absolute gem "Too Late To Runaway", and the very popular ballad that would be re-used multiple times "Knife In My Heart". This is an essential 80's heavy metal album that has such a good feeling about it.

Comin' Out Fighting (1986) It was certainly a very tough task to live up to the previous album, but the band had a good go at it. The album sits pretty much in the same vein but unfortunately just is not quite so brilliantly catchy or appealing, but still is of good quality. The album does still have it's fair share of classics though - "Hypnotized" "Faster Than Light" "Lost In A Minute" and also the great "Germany Rocks", which all contribute to making this an album that is very much worth owning.

Dangerous Charm (1987) Once again we have here a true 80's masterpiece of heavy metal. The album brimming to its surface with classics, this album also needs to find its way into your metal collection. "Concrete Jungle" is quite possibly my favourite Sinner track of all time, it will stick in your head for months, also the ballad "Knife In My Heart" makes its return. Title track "Dangerous Charm", and the lovely "Everybody Needs Somebody" and "Back In My Arms" make up this album's classics. This is the main contender for "Touch Of Sin" and should not be overlooked at all.

No More Alibis (1992) A long gap of five years later and Sinner show no signs of rust at all, but unfortunately this is the last of the truly classic Sinner albums. "When A Heart Breaks" will have you singing along in dramatic fashion and of course the album has its great ballads "Where Where You", the wonderful "Don't Wanna Lose You" and "I'm Not Over You Yet". This is still very much in the 80's style even though the 90's was in full swing at this time. This is however the last album in this kind of style, from past this album the band changes a little.

Respect (1994) The second album of the 90's, but this is the first album to move away from the classic 80's hard rock/metal sound and towards more of the modern sound of the time. Judas Priest's "Painkiller" had raised the bar for heavy metal that bit higher and the band needed to move on. "Respect" moves on in the way that the guitars, the vocals, everything seems much crisper and meaner. Lyrics also tackle issues more up to date for example the whole race thing with the title track. A re-recorded version of "Knife In My Heart" is also included, but this track can never go down badly. The album is on the whole still very good though - the 80's sound is still there, Sinner are band very much gloriously stuck in the 80's, but this album does make an attempt to move away slightly. Still one of the band's better albums and so recommended.

Bottom Line (1995) The album is heavier even still than "Respect" and moves more in the direction they were heading with that album. The album starts off with such a catchy song "The Biggest Lie" but although the rest of the album is of good quality, it does not quite match up to "Respect" or the albums previous to that. The album has its moments, for example the opening track and the catchy "Rage Of A Hurricane". If you got on well with the previous albums then the chances are you will get on well with this album as well.

Judgement Day (1997) This album carried on the trend of the last two albums direction - this is the first truly modern album the band recorded, the production is clear, the guitars are very heavy and modern sounding and quite a large chunk of that 80's feel that made Sinner so great was lost. A promo video was made for the rather average "Used To The Truth" which combined with the move in direction was the beginning of a campaign to generate more fans for the band. The most important thing is missing with this album though, that being interesting tracks that don't all have the same tone. Overall a very average album.

The Nature Of Evil (1998) This album had by far the most advertising on the internet than any Sinner album previously and is probably the most successful Sinner album in that way that it is more known as being a modern classic. This album sounds very modern and much like a more traditional version of Primal Fear that had come into existence at this time. This album is everything that "Judgement Day" should have been, it has interesting, diverse tracks that are great and memorable. "A Question Of Honour" has even been re-recorded and placed on the 2005 Primal Fear album. Ralf Scheepers also makes a guest appearance here on the fast paced, highly enjoyable, power metal-ish "Trust No One". This album is essential for fans of modern, true heavy metal.

The End Of Sanctuary (2000) All of a sudden it feels like "Comin' Out Fighting" again having to follow such a great, and this time popular release. The dawning of the new century brings a new slab of heavy metal though, and the band produce a really good follow up album. "Signed, Sealed And Delivered" and "Blood Relations" especially are two of the catchiest Sinner songs ever, and title track "The End Of Sanctuary" is also another great highlight of the album. The album is as diverse as the band's last effort but is maybe not quite so fresh for its time. Still, a very good quality slab of heavy metal that will most definitely please if you liked "The Nature Of Evil".

There Will Be Execution (2003) After 19 years and the band change the logo that first appeared on 1984's "Danger Zone" (but don't worry, it is back in 2007) and the band clearly want to get their head firmly out of the sea of other heavy metal bands. This album is pretty much of the same standard as the last effort but sounds a little more fresh. "Requiem For A Sinner" for example is a great up tempo, faster track with great guitar, and "God Raises The Dead" is also in a way a half-ballad sort of, but is more catchy at the same time as well. Overall this is a great album like the past two, so again if the modern Sinner does it for you then this album most certainly will.

Mask Of Sanity (2007) Old logo brought back and we have the latest instalment of the Sinner story. On first listen this album seems like just another Sinner album - but on closer inspection this album in places actually includes elements of those classic 80's albums, most notably "Can't Stand The Heat" and other tracks also seem much more up to date and fresh to listen to, such as "Thunder Roar" and the Primal Fear sounding "Under The Gun". The spirit of good, strong hard rock and heavy metal is still here as always and shows the Sinner is still going strong drawing on towards 30 years of history.

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Overview

There are clearly two main sides to Sinner - the 1984 to 1994 classic 80's sound of metal, and then from 1997 to today we have a more refined, modern sound of heavy metal. Sinner have released two compilation albums reflecting these sides perfectly, the first "Germany Rocks - The Best Of Sinner" covers the 1984 to 1994 albums and was the album that introduced me to these seemingly undiscovered gems of albums. The second is suitable called "The Second Decade" and covers 1994 to the 1998 album just before it was released and shows off the first couple of albums of the modern Sinner. One live album "In The Line Of Fire - Live In Europe" covers up to the 1995 album and could also be a good way to introduce yourselves to the earlier Sinner, but the live environment does not capture the same retro studio feeling you get from the albums. In the end the message is quite simple; if you love German metal, if you love traditional and 80's sounding heavy metal, then Sinner are calling for you to listen and fall in love with them.

Written by Barry Anderson