An album that will satisfy even the deepest thirst for keyboard and organ-infused Classic Rock.
With a name heavily referencing a classic Whitesnake album, Sainted Sinners make little bones about their influences and neither should they. For with the talent of one-time Accept and Bangalore Choir front-man David Reece and Axel Rudi Pell keyboard master Ferdy Doernberg in their ranks, no matter what style this band want to display, you know they can pull it off.
Co-written by Reece and guitarist/band founder Frank Pané, pre '1987' Whitesnake is the starting point for SS to explore a mainly seventies era Classic Rock sound. Everything from Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Rainbow and Deep Purple expertly squeezed into tracks such as 'This Love That I Have Found', 'Did You', 'Beauty In The Beast' and 'Maybe She's Got Balls' (which sounds more like a Bon Scott double entendre than a David Coverdale one). However, even with the singer and guitarist writing all the material, it's Doernberg who gets to stamp hardest, his Hammond solos a highlight of the early Purple romp of 'Knight Of The Long Knives', where he and Pané trade licks just like Lord and Blackmore did before them. That doesn't mean that the guitar plays second fiddle, Pané having the class and poise to know when to step forward with some searing fret-work and when to let his band mates shine. Something which is a rare skill in itself.
Completed by bassist Frederick Burkert and drummer Berci Hirleman (the rhythm section from tribute outfit Purpendicular), everything kicks, spins, shuffles and surges in all the right places. The ZZ Top Blues of 'In Need' an unexpected surprise, while 'Shine Diamond Girl' even shows off a lick that reminds of Poison's 'Nothin' But A Good Time', but with a welcome Blues Rock twist! Although, even when cranked right up, Burkert's bass work could do with being boosted in the mix, things often lacking the low end grunt needed to really get the floor shaking. That however is the only real complaint on an album that will satisfy even the deepest thirst for keyboard and organ-infused Classic Rock.
Pané and Reece have both already stated that this is just the start for Sainted Sinners. With their debut effort being as energetically exciting as it is, they've already hit the ground running.
Steven Reid
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