Sainted Sinners is a new band that is fronted by singer David Reece (ex-Accept), and he is joined by guitarist Frank Pané, keyboard player Ferdy Doernbeg (Axel Rudi Pell) and Purpendicular’s rhythm section of Malte Frederik Burkert (bass) and drummer Berci Hirleman. So, the guys have all been around, and they all have plenty of love for the likes of the love for rock legends, such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Whitesnake, UFO, Black Sabbath and Van Halen. I personally don’t think that it is a coincidence that Whitesnake released an album called ‘Saints & Sinners’, and in “Maybe She’s Got Balls” we hear about “sweet satisfaction”. So, no guessing who they want to be like then.
The sound is very like late Seventies/early Eighties Whitesnake, back when they were a proper band and before they went all American on us and forgot their roots. There is a blues base to much of what Sainted Sinners are doing, and although they can all blast away when they want to (and Frank can certainly shred), this is all about creating a feel, and Ferdy is definitely doing his best to play a Hammond in the way that the much-missed Jon Lord used to. It is a fun album, and there are some strong points in it, especially for those who grew up with the original sound as I did. This is about going back to the past and having some fun, there is even some Mick Moody style slide guitar, and while Frank is on his own that doesn’t stop him from double tracking so that he can be Bernie Marsden as well. While not totally indispensable, this is still something that makes me smile, and isn’t that what we want from music at times?
