Sinful - Gonna Raise Hell (1985)

The cover alone deserves a five start rating! This relatively obscure EP is a barn stormer of a record, a full throttle burning metal mini masterpiece. Fair tos ay that the vocals get a bit lost in the mix, but in general it's a straight up metal stomper, full of cliche but full of fiery heart too. Imagine a metallic mix of early Crue, Twisted Sister, W.A.S.P., Krokus, and even a bit of Journey on the melodic 'Teenage Overdose' with its catchy poppy riff courtesy of Jimmy Ambrose. Vocalist Dana Albert has melodic pipes, which at times seem a little fragile, and while the sound doesn't always live up to the dramatic cover, there is still a wholesome style of metal to grab on to. For instance, thee swirling guitars and effects on 'Midnite Sun' give the record a '70s style prog feel mixed with a bit of early Priest. Albert's vocals soar high on this rocker, qwhilst Rick Shafer's drums come to the fore on the thrashier 'Wasted Youth.' It's easy to see how metal fans could get lost in a record like this, because despite being a basic yet ballsy outing, once you've become bewitched by the cover, there's no escaping, and that's what old school metal is about. Sinful have a certain charm, so I give them a thumbs up for that. 7/10