Touch of Sin

Take a look at those song titles, will ya? You can probably imagine what those songs sound like already and, if you're even more versed in 80's metal, you'll have a very good idea which ones are worth keeping. What's perhaps surprising, then, is that even some of the weaker tracks here aren't exactly lacking in good parts - it's just that they might have something that renders them less-than-appealing (goofy choruses, some flat riffing, risible choices when it comes to execution). I suppose it's noteworthy that despite having a much more radio-friendly sound than any other band on Noise Records at this time, Sinner ended up being a lesser known name. I guess, the accusation that would ring truest of them is that they're a fun, if somewhat uninspiring act.


Still, that's not to say that you're not going to have some fun here - it's like going to a party, drinking some beers, but going home at midnight because you've got work in the morning: enjoyable but missing something extra. Touch of Sin is definitely worth hearing if you're into this whole 80's metal thing proper - there's a nice mix of Saxon and Thin Lizzy that probably filled something of a gap in the market at this point (Saxon had already entered their shite period and Thin Lizzy were a few years dead). Mat Sinner's vocals are basically a collection of cliches with some garbled English ("take it cool"? Time to study those phrasal verbs again, Mat), and yet, they're really enjoyable and have a good deal of charisma. Certainly, he seems like the most technically competent vocalist of the non-Scorps-level Germans.

Honestly, this album is probably a better representation of what just-above-bog-standard metal sounded like in '85. Probably nowadays people tend to overlook just how long the hard rocking variety of metal lived on into the 80s and focus on the fact that '85 gave us albums from ground-breaking and distinctive acts like Destruction, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Fates Warning, Exodus and what have you. Pick out a random album from '85, however, and it'll probably sound closer to these Germans and Dumpy's Rusty Nuts than it will Energetic Dissembly.


That said, I'm a pretty big proponent of some generic bands and this certainly gets my head nodding at times. Let's take 'Shout!' for example - it's got a bit of Van Halen, some Priest, a nice galloping riff and an anthemic chorus that could have been written by anyone from Accept to Loudness to the Scorpions to Pokolgep (alright, so they'd have to write it in Hungarian, but the point still stands). Elsewhere, 'Emerald' - again, no prizes for originality - could have come from Thin Lizzy's Thunder & Lightning had they decided to go a little more Celtic on that album. It's certainly not original, but it definitely gets a nod of approval from me. 'Masquerade', too, seems like some weird foreshadowing of how Running Wild would marry some Lizzy melodies with Priest aggression and strike gold. 'Out of Control' has that mid-paced stomp complete with "we've heard Defenders of the Faith and we think this more goofy synthetic sound is the future of metal" synths, that I'm a sucker for.

'He don't want our music - he wants our souls'? so, while Motley Crue were shouting at the devil, you were getting rejected by him? I guess Sinner always had a weird relationship with the devil. On the previous album he was depicted as rockin' out and wearing leather. Satan's a super sweet bro from way back.


That said, there's definitely a reason or several that Touch of Sin didn't send Sinner into the upper echelons of B-league German metal. Firstly, the opener - while not terrible - lacks the momentum and might to be a real anthem. It's like they went for 'Balls to the Wall' and ended up with something closer to 'Rock the Nations'. It needs a bit more grit and lot more force. Similarly, 'Bad Girl' - whilst nowhere near as awful as its title might suggest - does ride a goofy, sub-DLR chorus. It's clear that between this album and Danger Zone, Mat Sinner decided to rip off David Lee Roth and the results are about as appealing as his weedy Halford impression that occasionally rears its head.

Overall, I can't say this is really essential for anyone, but it's always quite fun when it's on. The highs are definite 80's fun and the lows are harmless, so, if you really needed another B-league German HM band (who doesn't?), you could do a lot worse (like Tyran' Pace, fuck them).

This album is to the previous 'Danger Zone' much like Mötley Crüe's 'Theatre of Pain' is to 'Shout at the Devil', in that it is of a similar style, but has a more laid-back and commercial feel, in a bad way. It's neither as heavy, nor as metal and the songwriting has taken a turn for the just plain worse. Granted, it's nowhere nearly as disappointing as 'Theatre', given that 'Shout' is an undisputed and timeless classic whereas 'Danger Zone' checks in with a mere "solid" status, but the similarity in the overall quality decreasing due to a (highly probable) compromise of integrity is definitely there.

The songs on here just don't kill the way they did on the previous album. The intensely screaming/screamingly intense heavy fucking metal delivery of the year before has transformed into somewhat of a more poppy buttrock one, and that goes for the songwriting too in several places. It's a bit like the two songs "Midnight Mover" and "Screaming For a Love-Bite" found on the Accept album from the same year ('Metal Heart', 1985), with their Def Leppard-esque multi-layered-and-harmonized vocal choruses and Van Halen-esque poppy riffs and licks, but with the one exception that those two songs are pure classics and just fucking kick ass, and really no song on here even comes close to that level of quality. For the record, I'm just as much a fan of 80's buttrock as one of old-school heavy metal; it's just that Sinner doesn't sound nearly as comfortable straying into poppier territories as when done by Accept (probably the biggest influence on this band as one can expect; same country, same era and on this album even one of the guitarists is the same - not Wolf Hoffmann of course, but Hermann Frank, who played alongside him on 1982's 'Restless & Wild' and 1984's 'Balls to the Wall'). For one, Accept sure do it with a lot more energy, which is always a good thing with this type of music.

Well now, even with a slightly corrupted spirit, there is still plenty of no-frills heavy metal power to gain here (it's 1985 dammit, kinda hard to go that much wrong), but as previously indicated, missing from here is that one totally killer, addictive cut that can make an entire album more memorable as whole. On 'Danger Zone' you had the opening title track serving just as that, but in case you're wondering, the opener on this album, "Born to Rock", certainly is NOT the answer to that. It's not even what you could consider a highlight, it just kinda plods along really. As for the best song, "Shout!" (as in "Shout at the Devil", really, the chorus is very similar) would be a good candidate, boasting a swift and energetic opening riff straight out of the Randy Rhoads school of kicking ass. Other above average cuts include a couple of solid crunch-groovers in "Out of Control" and "Hand of Fate", the energetic yet atmospheric and quite melodic "Emerald" and the all-out speed metal assault of "Too Late to Runaway" that would make UltraBoris ejaculate himself silly (maybe it already has, considering he liked the previous album so much - but if so, where's his review of this I wonder?). Plenty of solidity here, yes, but again, no real ungodly Metal Health (a.k.a. "Bang Your Head" by Quiet Riot, who are generally shit but certainly have a few classic songs under their belt) or Rock You to Motherfucking Hell (Grim Reaper) type of numbers to be found anywhere.

In conclusion, nothing spectacular to see here folks, but I suppose if you really loved 'Danger Zone', there should be well enough here to keep you happy. However, let all you haters of Los Angeles Music be aware of stuff like the try-too-hard, balladic fluff of "The Storm Broke Loose" or the cheesy chorus of "Bad Girl" before purchase. Do take note of the cover art, it is actually to a degree indicative of the music on here.