A German heavy metal outfit led by vocalist and bassist
Mat Sinner, who has remained the group's sole constant member over the years,
Sinner emerged in the early '80s with a raw, neck-snapping blend of speed and power metal that echoed the early kinetic attack of fellow countrymen
Accept and
Scorpions. The group adopted a more melodic style of power metal as the years progressed, and since their debut, have amassed a huge catalog of material, with highlights arriving via
Danger Zone (1984),
Bottom Line (1995),
There Will Be Execution (2003), and
Santa Muerte (2019).
The band was formed in Stuttgart, Germany in 1980, and released their first album, Wild 'n' Evil, in 1982. Their sophomore effort, 1983's Fast Decision, was their first album to be released in the United States; it was followed a year later by
Danger Zone which, along with Fast Decision, is widely considered their best work. 1985's Touch of Sin included guitar work from
Herman Frank of
Accept, though he would be out of the band by the time they released
Comin' Out Fighting in 1986. 1987's Dangerous Charm failed to give the band a major commercial breakthrough, and in 1988
Sinner called it quits.
Sinner, vocalist
Ralf Scheepers, and guitarist
Tom Naumann next formed a band called
Primal Fear, who were active on the European metal scene. But by 1992,
Sinner had revived his old band with the album No More Alibis. Throughout the '90s and well into the 21st century,
Mat Sinner juggled
Sinner along with his other projects (including
Primal Fear, Level 10, Rock Meets Classic,
Voodoo Circle, and his own
Mat Sinner Band), with
Sinner as the sole constant member of the group. Despite his busy schedule,
Mat brought out ten well-received
Sinner studio albums between 1993 and 2013. After a four-year layoff from recording,
Sinner returned to active duty with 2017's
Tequila Suicide and 2019's
Santa Muerte. ~ Steve Huey & Mark Deming