Interview date: 20.06.2008
The interview with Sinner came about completely spontaneously, at Morarock festival. It was the third day of the festival. The main headliners of the show were Primal Fear. RockLine did an interview with Primal Fear bassist Mat Sinner, as agreed with the band’s management. But Mat Sinner got so talkative that, in between the questions about Primal Fear, the conversation inadvertently veered off to Sinner many times, so for the sake of clarity it made sense to split the whole chat with the metal guru into two separate interviews (you can read the Primal Fear interview HERE). Mat founded Sinner almost 20 years before Primal Fear. Whenever Mat Sinner isn’t busy with the far more lucrative Primal Fear, Sinner are his first priority and his passion. They’re still considered one of the oldest German heavy metal or hard rock (whichever you prefer) bands that are still active. Mat Sinner, who is the vocalist and bassist of Sinner and, alongside Ralf Scheepers, one of the main pillars of Primal Fear, is also known as a producer and manager of other heavy metal bands.
RockLine: What’s going on with Sinner right now?
Mat: We’re limited on time. Right now everybody expects Sinner to go out on a world tour. Sinner has always been my band, ever since I started doing music. It’s a band I really enjoy. But because I’m short on time, the band isn’t constantly active. There’s no way I’m ever going to call it quits with Sinner, because the band means a lot to me. What I do with Sinner is fun for me, a pleasure, kind of an extra outlet.
RockLine: There’s a new Sinner record on the horizon.
Mat: Markus, a former colleague from Nuclear Blast Records who’s now working at AFM Records in Hamburg, offered us a deal to record a new Sinner album. We went into talks. Given the good mood in the band after we wrapped up our last tour, we said: “Alright, let’s sign the deal!” We signed for the next four studio albums. The process of writing the new songs was wonderful. Markus and I wrote one song together, I’m also on great terms with Igor (Igor Gianola, ed.), the guitarist of U.D.O., and we worked together on writing songs too, and then there’s our guitarist Henni Wolter, and I think the new Sinner album is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. To me it’s a very intense, crazy rock album.
RockLine: Your Sinner albums differ a lot from one another.
Mat: Sinner is a huge personal release for me. This is where I have my absolute peace and can create whatever I want. There are no obstacles. And the albums often differ because of your state of mind at the time. If you’re angry, you’ll record angrier or darker music. If you’re in a good mood while writing, your music is more positive too. The new Sinner is a damn hot and wicked rock n’ roll album. When I listen to the new material, I picture two guitarists kneeling on the floor with their Gibson guitars, dragging the devil himself out of them. We made that authentic, dirty rock n’ roll album. It was a ton of fun to record. We didn’t use keyboards at all this time.
RockLine: No effects, no loops and so on…
Mat: Everything is “handmade”. We even used real tambourines and cowbells. The whole sound is completely authentic and natural. In the studio we only used old instruments. We played very old Gibson Les Paul guitars. I played a very old Thunderbird Gibson bass, plugged into a very old Marshall amp. We went back to pure tradition.
RockLine: Would you single out any new song on the album?
Mat: Yes. There’s one with a really interesting hook, an idea that popped into my head completely spontaneously one morning, and I needed just 10 minutes to write it and finish it. That’s going to be our first “single” from the new record.
RockLine: When did the recording wrap up?
Mat: This April. Henni Wolter and I handled the production, and the engineer was Dennis Ward from Pink Cream 69. He’s also worked with our Magnus Karlsson on a few projects. Ward turned out to be a great choice for Sinner. If only because he’s an American and a straightforward guy who doesn’t complicate anything. Last week we also mixed the material together with Achim Köller. The album is ready for release.
RockLine: Sorry, maybe it’s just me, but your vocals sometimes can’t help reminding me of the late Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy.
Mat: Well, that’s not surprising. I’m a huge fan of that band myself, and on our upcoming new album there’s even one song written on purpose to sound like Thin Lizzy.
RockLine: Your Sinner albums are really hard to find in stores.
Mat: Well, we’ve just agreed with AFM Records on releasing a live album from 1986, recorded with our Comin Out Fightin’ lineup. So it’s a very old recording, kind of a rarity.
RockLine: When will we get to see you play live?
Mat: The idea is to head out on a joint tour with a former Manowar member. Guitarist Ross the Boss has just finished his solo album for AFM, and we’re in talks with him and the label about a joint tour. I’ve also taken over the management duties for Ross. The plan is to hit the road for about four weeks this October.
RockLine: What kind of material are you planning to play live on this tour?
Mat: We’ll have the new album on this tour. My principle is that if you’ve got a new album out, you play it. And this new album is really important for Sinner, it’s a kind of turning-point album, a bridge between the old and the new Sinner. This album will appeal to every generation of Sinner fans.
RockLine: How did the last tour with Vengeance go, last May in 2007 if I’m not mistaken?
Mat: The tour was good. It could’ve been better, but my personal opinion is that it was really important for us guys in Sinner to play together again, it bonded us. The last Sinner show before that was, if memory serves, in 2003 at Wacken. As far as organization goes, the Vengeance tour could’ve been better organized, but that didn’t bother us. As long as the band works as one, there are no problems or obstacles at all.
RockLine: So you haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be on stage?
Mat: It was insane when I think back on that tour, especially when I remember playing the older Sinner songs. That’s when you realize your songs never left you. When we played Knife In My Heart or Born To Rock, I didn’t even think about which chord to hit. There was no need. It was all inside me. The songs were just there, in me, in us. They never left. We also watched the reactions from the crowd. People know our old material, and they liked it. But the whole point is that we showed up on stages again after four years. You know, that’s really important. You have to know, to figure out how the band works and functions on stage before you head back into the studio. Studio work is much easier and more effective if you’ve got a fresh tour behind you. You can go into the studio with a fantastic lineup, but if you haven’t tested it on stage first, the results aren’t as good. Especially in terms of authenticity.
Photo Gallery
