Sinner - Mask Of Sanity

Published Jan. 12 2007

*=Staff's pick	The Other Side Diary Of Evil Badlands Black Thunder Roar The Sign Revenge* Under The Gun* Can't Stand The Heat No Return Last Man Standing* Baby Please Don't Go (bonus)

Genre	Melodic Metal	Mat Sinner	Vocals
Tracks	12	Tom Naumann	Guitar
Runningtime	50 Min.	Christof Leim	Guitar
Label	MTM	Mat Sinner	Bass
Release	19 Jan. 2007	Klaus Sperling	Drums
Country	Germany	Frank Roessler	Keyboard
Similar artists	Primal Fear, Axel Rudi Pell

If you are into metal there need to be some edge somewhere in the music, an angry voice, a hard riff, a heavy drum or a raw production. But Mask Of Sanity is all too harmless, almost adult oriented, rock. Mat Sinner has never been an impressive vocalist, but it works. The songs are okay but lack the right nerve. Most of it sounds like Primal Fear on sedative. When most other bands are moving to the heavier sound nowadays Mat Sinner and his fellows takes a step in the other direction compared to There Will Be Execution.

Don't misunderstand me here. Of course there are great melodic metal, AOR and even pop that is not edgy, aggressive or heavy at all. But then they have the songs with the chewing-gum choruses. Sinner has not managed to find the right hooks this time. It is an album that does not stir up any feelings at all. You can listen to it and even think that it is quite good as background music. But there is not that single song that will persuade you to go back to the record again, and again. It will work for a while and then fall into the deep black hole that is the forgotten pieces of a record collection.

Take Thunder Roar as example. It starts promising with some organ sounds and a relatively heavy riff. But the chorus shoots everything to dust with its lack of originality. The power ballad The Sign has a chorus that with some more modification could have been great. But it does not fit Sinner's voice at all. He sounds all to strain. Under The Gun could have been a filler on any Primal Fear album, but here it appears as one of the best tracks. Can't Stand The Heat on the other hand is something even Scorpions would dismiss as too soft and soulless. Last Man Standing saves some face in the final hour, with its more classic metal sound and - finally - a catchy chorus. As for the lyrics: "we're the last man standing, and we're not pretending, we're the last man standing…", well, let's say I'm not sitting and analysing the depth of its meaning right now. On top of all the band has made a cover on Thin Lizzy's Baby Please Don't Go. Thin Lizzy's old man's rock is indeed the perfect symbol of this dry album.

See also review of: One Bullet Left , Crash & Burn , There Will Be Execution

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
6	4	5	5	5

Summary
5 chalices of 10 - David