THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(11-TRACKS)
1-BLACK IN RED
2-WHAT ROCK IS FOR
3-HOLY GHOST AND FIRE
4-WOLRD COVERED IN BLOOD
5-STORM IN THE HORIZON
6-READY TO GO
7-FORGIVE THEM
8-WANNA BE SET FREE
9-GOT SOMETHING TO SAY
10-WHO'S YOUR FREIND
11-THAT AIN'T ME
X-SINNER-LOUD & PROUD-2007
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(14-TRACKS)
1-EYES OF FIRE
2-A CUT ABOUT
3-NO WAY BACK
4-MEDICINE
5-NO WHERE TO RUN
6-TURN IT UP
7-GOT TO LET GO
8-X-SINNER
9-LAST CALL(Instrumental)
10-REAP WHAT YOU SOW
11-SHAME
12-LAST CALL
13-PROPHET AND THE COWBOY
14-GOING AROUND THE CIRCLES
X-SINNER-FIRE IT UP-2006
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-FIRE IT UP(Demo)
2-I TAKE POWER
3-GOTTA LET GO
4-ROLLING THUNDER
5-GETCH YA
6-DON'T GO
7-PEER PREASURE
8-WE NEED LOVE
9-ALL I NEED
10-YOU GOT ME
CREDITS:Line Up:
Rex Scott – Vocals
Greg Bishop –Guitars
Rob Kniep – Bass
Mike Buckner –Drums
X-SINNER-X-SINNER PRESENT
THE ANGRY EINSTEINS:CRACKED-2003
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(11-TRACKS)
1-ALWAYS BE THERE
2-SILVER LINING
3-DOWN FOR YOU
4-YOU FROM THE STAR
5-THE LETTER(Pardon Me)
6-FUN,FUN,FUN,
7-LOOK IN THE MIRROR
8-IN YOUR EYES
9-HEARTS THAT NEVER BEAT
10-PROPHET AND THE COWBOY
11-GOING AROUND THE CIRCLES
CREDITS:
Greg Bishop -Guitars
Rex Scott -Vocals, Drums
Rob Kniep -Bass.
X-SINNER-LOUD & PROUD-2001
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(12-TRACKS)
1-NO WAY BACK
2-EYES OF FIRE
3-A CUT ABOVE
4-MEDICINE
5-NOWHERE TO RUN
6-TURN IT UP
7-GOT TO LET GO
8-X-SINNER
9-LAST CALL(Instrumental)
10-REAP WHAT YOU SOW
11-SHAME
12-LAST CALL
CREDITS:
Greg Bishop -Guitars
Dave Robbins -Vocals On Tracks 1-5
Paul -Vocals On Tracks 6-8
Rex Scott -Vocals On Tracks 9-12
Ed -Bass On Tracks 1-3
Rob Kniep -Bass On Tracks 4-12
Jim Ortega- Drums On Tracks 1-5
Mike Buckner -Drums On Tracks 6-12
X-SINNER-PEACE TREATY-1991
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-PEER PREASURE
2-ROLLING THUNDER
3-WE NEED LOVE
4-GETCH YA
5-HOLD ON
6-I TAKE POWER
7-GOTT LET GO
8-YOU GOT ME
9-ALL I NEED
10-DON'T GO
CREDITS:
Rex Scott -Lead And Backing Vocals
Mike Buckner -Drums
Greg Bishop -Guitar,Bass
Additional Musicchians As Guests:
John Elefante -Backing Vocals,Percussion
Jamie Rowe- Backing Vocals
X-SINNER-GE
T IT-1989
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-
2-STEPPING ON TOES
3-HEART OF FIRE
4-NO WAY IN
5-BET IT
6-ACCOUNTABLE
7-WALKING EVIL
8-LIFT HIM UP
9-KICK'EM OUT
10-LIVING ON THE EDGE
CREDITS:
David Robbins- Lead Vocals
Greg Bishop -Guitar
Rob Kniep -Bass
Michael Buckner -Drums
Additional Musichians AS Guests:
David Raven – Drums
John Elefante -Backing Vocals, Keyboards
Dino Elefante- Backing Vocals.
AN INTERVIEW TAKEN FOR METAL FOR JESUS.
To start with would you like to tell us about who you are and how it all began with the band:
X-Sinner was started by Greg Bishop in the mid 1980's. X-Sinner was started because we wanted to rock just as good as the secular bands of the time period but glory to God at the same time.
I've always been curious about your name, how come you choosed X-Sinner as your band name?
We just thought that the name X-Sinner was a cool name. We wanted a name that represented God but also sounded cool.
What happened to your old singer David Robbins? Do have any contact or know what he is doing now?
David was fired from the band due to personality conflicts. I don't know where he is now but if you happen to find out I would love to talk to him.
Tell me some of the best memories with the band:
There are a lot of good memories. I think that the Get It tour had the best memories for me. Meeting people, playing and having a great time.
Some of the worst memories:
Same as previous answer. Gigs cancelling, being hungry, broke and discriminated against by people assuming things about you.
After the Peace Treaty album there were many years when I didn't hear anything about the band. Did you totally disbanded or what happened?
We were always together but the music scene was changing and no one wanted to hear our style of music anymore, they wanted Nirvana. For a short while I played with Paul, the original singer for the band Guardian.
Recently you released the Loud and Proud cd and now you seem to be back again in full force. Tell me about it: .
We have always wanted to continue playing but since we all have families we needed to continue to hold on to our jobs, which kept us from touring. Now Greg is living in Australia, Rex lives in California and I live in Las Vegas. We are writing new songs and mailing them to each other where we will each finish recording our own parts. If we have the opportunity to get a good tour going we will arrange to take off work and tour because we all miss playing live.
How did your new release Loud & Proud came about :
We had songs that never made it to a third X-Sinner album that we wanted to release. We also had pre-production versions of several well known X-Sinner songs that we thought people would enjoy to listen to.
Do you have any new material on the way? YES.
You spoke about that you are writing new material. In what direction will you go musically compared to your previous albums? Will it be more like the sound on Get It or Peace Treaty or a combination or?
We were not happy with the production of Peace Treaty. It was way too soft sounding. The songs that are written now are a mixture of Get It and Peace Treaty.
Your first album Get It is by many, me included considered as a metal classic. Do you have any plans to rerelease it?
I love the Get It album! We don't control if it get's rereleased so I can not answer that question.
What do you see as your mission, what do you want to accomplish with X-Sinner?
We want to provide great music with a message that God would approve of, meaning that weather we are talking about God in our songs or something else we need to make sure that the message we get across is the same sort of message that Jesus would have said if he were right next to us. We believe that our mission in life is to evangelize and teach the people just as Jesus has done. This is everyone's mission no matter what sort of talent they do or do not have.
How have nonchristians reacted to your christian message?
The don't seem to mind the lyrics. I think that they are mostly listening to the music.
Many people don't believe in God because they can't see Him. What would you like to say to them?
It's all about faith. If I am right and I live a life that God would approve of then I get to go to heaven. If I am wrong about God then I sacrificed my life for nothing. On the other hand if God exist (which we believe that he does) then I don't even want to think about what would happen to me when I die if I'm not living as God intended me to do.
What's your future plans, any tours planned?
At this time there are no tours planned. I need to get back surgery due to injuries that I sustained in a car accident. We would need a few months to put a tour together since we are now living in different areas.
Do you have anything you would like to say to our readers.
Thanks so much for being our fans and listening to our music. We hope to see you all soon.
Thanks for the interview Rob. I'm really excited to see you back again, you have been greatly missed! I wish you good luck in the future. May God continue to bless and use X-Sinner in a mighty way.
X-Sinner are the band that everyone in the white metal world are talking about right now. This, their debut release is produced by John and Dino Elfante, two of the most successful Christian producers. One of the strange things about this band is that their song titles are more overtly Christian than the lyrical content. However, the band can clearly be seen to be Christian. X-Sinner make good use of humour which is a welcome change for white metal music, with lyrics like "Me and my lady, we see eye to eye, we are both five foot nine". The band also talk about catching a cold at work on the song "Medicine" which is probably the best song on the album. Musically X-Sinner are obviously influenced by AC/DC and at times Def Leppard. The album is blessed by excellent production with a good up front guitar sound and clear vocals. This has to be one of the best white metal albums for some time. It is good to hear good Christian rock 'n ' roll based metal. The only problem I have with the band is their name - far too cliched for me, and probably a lot of unsaved metal fans, to handle.And What About The Last Album Rocking since 1988, X-Sinner have managed to keep their place at the head of the Christian classic metal scene with their traditional AC/DC-style sound. This incredibly close similarity does, however, pay off here. X-Sinner keep their message strong but often with a nudge to the band who influenced them (the opening track "Back In Red" certainly says it all!). Despite such comedy overtones, elsewhere X-Sinner stay true to their faith and push a strong Christian message ("Wanna Be Set Free" and "Forgive Them" standing out lyrically). With good, tight musicianship, superb solos and hooks I was humming constantly to tracks such as "Holy Ghost & Fire". Overall, this is a strong album that lovers of old school metal will want to search out.
BIOGRAPHY:In 1992, the California-basedChristian rock outfit X-Sinner decided to call it quits after a short run of four years. Prior to leaving Pakaderm/A&M Records, the band members were in the process of recording rough demo songs that would have been featured on their third studio album. Longtime guitarist and founding member Greg Bishop made an effort to pull out all of the best pre-production demo tracks that X-Sinner recorded between 1988 and 1992 to be featured on their 2001 album Loud And Proud. Since its release, X-Sinner came back from the grave to re-record their second album re-titled Fire It Up, which received praises from several Christian/hard rock music fan sites. To get fans pumped for X-Sinner's next studio album of original material, the band decided to re-release Loud And Proud under Retroactive Records in 2007. These are perhaps some of the best recorded demo tracks I have heard from any band, but an entire album of demos, fourteen to be exact, is just too much. "Eyes Of Fire" opens up the album with a strong sense of hope that this will be a solid rock effort, but it is really not.Original vocalist Dave Robbins' voice has a very scratchy, raw sound, but it becomes very irritating as the song progresses. This irritation continues on throughout the first five tracks, which all of these five songs were recorded during the days of X-Sinner's Get It album. The tracks "Turn It Up," "Got To Let It Go," and "X-sinner" all made their way to the Peace Treaty and Fire It Up releases, but these demos are just not up to par with the real thing. Finally, we have four previously unreleased demo songs that have never seen the light of day until now. Just by itself, the instrumental version of "Last Call" sounds amazing and, once again, Greg Bishop is able to show off how much of an incredible guitar player he really is. "Reap What You Sow," "Shame," and "Last Call" all sound terrific, but purchasing a record just to hear four previously unreleased demo songs is ridiculous and the two bonus tracks can be heard on X-Sinner's The Angry Einsteins album released back in 2002. Loud And Proud could have ended really well with the final version of "Last Call." "Prophet And The Cowboy" and "Going Around In Circles" are great songs, but they just do not end the album on a high note.The scratchy lead vocals of Dave Robbins are striking in their resemblance to those of Brian Johnson (AC/DC) which, naturally, helps invite the bands comparison musically to AC/DC. I might describe the performance of lead guitarist Greg Bishop is hit and miss. On tracks such as “Medicine” and “Hearts On Fire” his playing can come across on the restrained side, but when allowed to cut loose on “No Way In” and “Walking Evil”, however, he proves a very fine musician. Bassist Rob Kniep and Drummer Michael Buckner form a solid rhythm section.Get It showcases a production job weighted down with so much gloss and polish it ends up robbing the band of much of its natural raw energy. The rhythm guitar, for example, could have been mixed with a bit more edge and distortion. The presence of the background vocals in question only serves to further water down the bands sound. It is worth pointing out that the albums low end was produced in a thick and heavy sounding manner. Fading in to a combination of keyboards and vocal harmonies, a choppy guitar riff aggressively drives "Medicine" forward until it culminates for a chorus with a good catchy hook. An instrumental passage limited to twenty seconds of restrained lead guitar is to be found wanting. The songs lyrics, at the same time, lack creativity."Steppin' On Toes" advances from the start at a groove flavored beat, a heavy duty bass line holding sway over the song until it reaches a chorus buttressed by a way too forward mix of vocal harmonies. Bishop contributes several seconds of directionless lead guitar work."Hearts On Fire" progresses at a steady upbeat tempo during its first verse until vocal harmonies accentuate the song previous to it attaining a good hard hitting chorus. I might describe Bishop's lead guitar work as pedestrian, while the same adjective can be applied to the songs lyrics,Commencing to a drum solo, "No Way In" moves through its first verse to a clean lead vocal performance from Robbins before he sings in his scratchy AC/DC style upon arriving at its energetic chorus. Bishop brings out the best in a very fine number with forty seconds of the albums best lead guitar work.
After the albums title track gets going to several seconds of driving rhythm guitar backed by a punchy bass line, it builds in momentum as the rhythm section moves to the forefront of the mix. "Get It" proceeds at a slower more-mid tempo pace during its verse only to pick up speed as a prominent mix of vocal harmonies takes it to a chorus I might describe as ordinary at best. The lyrics to "Get It" also fail to make the grade.The gritty hard rocker "Accountable" is vigorously carried from the start by a good driving guitar riff, the song falling flat on its face upon attaining a chorus conveyed in a repetitious manner by vocal harmonies. Bishop contributes forty seconds of very well done lead guitar work to a song with lyrics that, unfortunately, lack in depth.Just under a minute of driving rhythm guitar introduces "Walking Evil" before the song gains impetus and moves through its first verse to a terrific groove flavored riff. The bands vocal harmonies, on the other hand, are used to good effect in bringing out the best in one of the albums better choruses. Bishop tears it up during a minute long instrumental passage. This song kicks. "Walking Evil" exposes Satan and his lies and deceit:Opening to a quietly played guitar line, "Lift Him Up" picks up in pace as a profusion of polished vocal harmonies kick in at the end of its first verse and help lead the way to the grit-laden chorus that follows . Several seconds of uninspired lead guitar work proves a further detraction.The run-of-the-mill hard rocker "Kick 'Em Out" starts out hard and heavy, a crisp rhythm guitar pushing it forward in upbeat-fashion to a chorus that ends as vocal harmonies twice repeat its title. The lead guitar work gracing a thirty second instrumental passage fails to make the grade. The lyrics to "Kick 'Em Out" come across on the ambiguous side.X-Sinner saves its best for last with the brilliant melodic metal of "Livin' On The Edge". Carried through its entire duration by a clean sounding vocal performance from Robbins, the song begins to the sound of blowing wind before a quietly played guitar line holds sway over its verse portions. "Livin' On The Edge", however, abruptly picks up in pace upon reaching a chorus highlighted by just the right amount of catchy vocal harmonies. A rhythm guitar fading between the left and right channel opens an instrumental passage culminating with a nice melodic flavored guitar solo.Get It is a musically inconsistent album held back by the bands abuse of highly polished backing vocals, an average production job, ordinary sounding lead guitar work and poorly written lyrics. What is the solution here? Eliminate the vocal harmonies in question and turn the guitars up to ten and you would have a pretty good album! At the same time, give us ten songs the quality of "Medicine", "Walking Evil" and "Livin' On The Edge".In the end, however, the real issue revolves around whether or not X-Sinner would have ever gotten a record deal without the gimmicky AC/DC style lead vocals. In other words, it all boils down to a matter of style as opposed to substance, particularly in light of the fact a number of more talented and more deserving Christian metal bands of the era such as Soldier, Paradox, Apostle, Straightway, Taker, Paragon,Chosen Stranger,and others were passed over in favor of X-Sinner. Next(http://www.holymetalrob.com/)
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