You put some dashes of early classic Deep Purple era keyboarding; then, add some 1980s Kiss guitars, a very melodic voice and voilà, here you got Sainted Sinners with “High on Fire.” Giving it some thoughts, it kind of reminds me of Grim Reaper. Album first blood “Crown Of Thorns” reveals that the guitars and the keyboards are the things that give the band its musical identity, and, if I say have a say, the most interesting part of their music that stands out of the crowd. A very hard thing regarding Glam Metal and Hard Rock, if you ask me.
The moody beginning of “Crown Of Thorns” is broken by the flamming guitars which take the fan right to the 1980s NWOBHM mixed with some Prog Rock. Its epic grand keyboards and a cinematic speech startles the fan for while. I cannot help it but remember Demon’s classic “Night of the Demon,” a band that seems to have inspired Sainted Sinners – sometimes I guess only I understand the comparisons I make. C’est la vie. However, against all odds, I believe the spirit is right there, some flamming heavy guitars with very melodic vocals that temper the heavyness. By the way, this technique was worn out by many bands in the past, Skid Row, for instance whose instrumentals were heavy enough, but vocals tempered them. But the keyboards win the game for me. I love when they do the honors of the guitars. The following song “Out Of The Blue“ is totally Poison except for the keyboards. Here the guitars are, let’s say, more tamed than in the previous track. The blend is much more of a Glam Metal band than the previous NWOBHM mix. The gluey chorus do not tell otherwise. Interestingly, “Night After Night” takes another different path adding some pianos to the dough giving a more Rock soul. Then comes “Sunshine” with its dancing guitars inspired on Jimi Hendrix or, more notably, Lenny Kravitz’ “Are You Gonna Go My Way.“ A there goes “High on Fire” with something different or not.
“High on Fire” is a very particular album in its own way relying in its mix of 1980s Kiss guitars and early classic Deep Purple era keyboarding as “World’s On Fire” tells the fan. a great album for the fans of Hard Rock with something else.
P.S.: What a great album cover.
Sainted Sinners “High on Fire” will be released on November 21st via ROAR.
Track Listing:
1. Crown Of Thorns
2. Out Of The Blue
3. Night After Night
4. Sunshine
5. Empty Days Of Wonder
6. World’s On Fire
7. Down In A Hole
8. Hide In The Dark
9. Sweet Sweet Addiction
10. Lost In A Storm
11. Who Are You (The Who cover)
Watch “Out Of The Blue” official music video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!