Today’s featured album was the perfect palette cleanser after getting my ass handed to me yesterday by Undergang. Sainted Sinners is a German hard rock supergroup. Formed in 2016, they’ve been on my radar in the form of sporadic appearances on daily Spotify mixes. I’m also aware that they were once fronted by former Accept singer David Reece, who I defended earlier this year. That changed this year when Reece decided to fully focus his time and energy on his solo career. His replacement is long time Tygers of Pan Tang frontman, Jacopo Meille.
Sainted Sinners’ third album, Unlocked & Reloaded, is a clinic on how to make a Zeppelin flavored hard rock album without sounding like a cheap imitation. Say what you will about “The Hammer of the Gods”, but that track was purposely written as a homage to the band. The rest of the album sounds like something that would’ve been praised in the pages of Kerrang! circa 1981.
The songs that aren’t cut from the Zeppelin cloth show distinct similarities to the Deep Purple family tree. “Same Ol’ Song” is a hard and heavy high energy opener that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Joe Lynn Turner era Rainbow album. Other songs with this early 80s style include the upbeat “Call it Love” and my choice cut, the AOR anthem “Early Light of Day”. Meanwhile, “Standing on Top” and “40 Years” are heavy bluesy rockers which bear resemblance to another post-Purple outfit, Whitesnake. Can somebody call Steve Wilkos? There’s gotta be some Blackmore DNA in this band!
As previously mentioned, “The Hammer of the Gods” is the band’s tribute to Led Zeppelin. As such, the remainder of the album is heavy in the Zeppelin vein. “Free to Be” is a simple hard rocker, while another one of my favorite songs, “I Can’t Wait”, channels Zep’s dreamy, acoustic side. It all climaxes with the proggy, “Farewell to Kings”. While I appreciate the attempt at a long epic, I think the short sharp shock of “Wall of Sound” would’ve been a more effective closer.
As far as old school hard rock goes, Unlocked & Reloaded is one of the more enjoyable albums I’ve heard in the home stretch of this year. It doesn’t matter if you’re a saint or sinner. If you’ve got a hunger for gutsy guitars and mega melodies, Sainted Sinners is serving a feast for your ears.
7 out of 10
Label: El Puerto Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Rainbow, Whitesnake, Led Zeppelin