Due to record company politics and the unavailability of said tracks/albums, Primal Fear bassist and old pal Mat Sinner had his band re-record 11 locked-in-the-vaults classics (off the four Sinner albums released by Noise, in ’84-97), as well as a trio of new songs, although ‘Don’t Believe A Word’ is a Thin Lizzy cover, Sinner (the man) a longtime Phil Lynott fan. Like his mentor, here, he’s also the lead vocalist. In addition to the band, which notably includes Voodoo Circle/Primal Fear guitarist Alex Beyrodt and Metal Hammer scribe-turned-guitarist Christof Leim, there’s guest appearances by vocalist David Readman (Pink Cream 69/Voodoo Circle) and former PF guitarist Tom Naumann (who was in the band throughout the Nineties), amongst others.

Due to my frequent trips overseas, I’ve been accused of being the North American ambassador of Deutsche metal. Perhaps, but guess what? 25-30 year old German hard rock sounds surprisingly fresh (or maybe the genre hasn’t progressed much, which might account for their “careers” as opposed to countless fly-by-nights who have come & gone since. Are you listening labels?). Everything’s built around a catchy chorus and guitar work: check out ‘Bad Girl’, as but one infectious example. After one play through, can basically sing along to repeated plays. The bassist sings these 2+ decades’ old, emotional tales of unrequited love as convincingly as a fledgling / unproven rocker, without any trace of an accent. The simple, repetitive ‘Shout’ is about as close as they get to full blown metal, the vocals adopting a more aggressive, slightly gruff approach. Might have been something of a declaration, back in the days of the Cold War, but don’t think anyone in 2013 needs a title like ‘Germany Rocks’. Today, the sentiment is a foregone conclusion, but it’s a welcome historical inclusion here! ‘Danger Zone’ makes me want to open a beer, sing, headbang (synchronized motions?) to a band locked into that Teutonic groove! Of the unreleased material, ‘Blood On The Sand’ seems lyrically inspired by recent current events, with multiple backing voices, while compilation concluding ‘Heart Of The City’ is a double bass driven number. Drink deep from this vintage brew!