Before the announcement of his reunion with his original band WARRANT, lead vocalist Jani Lane had been working on a side project called SAINTS OF THE UNDERGROUND (or S.O.T.U. for short) and their debut release entitled “LOVE THE SIN, HATE THE SINNER” hit record stores just a short time ago. This “super-group” was originally founded in 2006 by RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer and Alice Cooper guitarist Keri Kelli who soon recruited Lane and with the final addition of RATT bassist Robbie Crane, the S.O.T.U. were born. Now the problem I have with “super-groups” is that they rarely live up to the potential of the musicians involved. I mean, it is what it is… a “side” project after all with very little hope of anything else such as a tour or anything going beyond the release of a CD. So it just seems that they’re more done for fun than anything else or an outlet to explore a different style of music than the musicians involved may be use to. While that may be true in most cases, I am happy to say that it is NOT with S.O.T.U.. These guys are just a great, great band and “LOVE THE SIN, HATE THE SINNER” has easily earned itself a spot in my top ten of the year for 2008!

I have been a long time Jani Lane fan myself but it just seemed his creativity really peaked with WARRANT’s “DOG EAT DOG.” Ever since then, despite putting out some descent material on his solo release, his career has just seemed to be heading downhill between the drug abuse, alcoholism, weight gain, etc. But here we are in 2008 and Jani Lane has finally come full circle and “LOVE THE SAINT, HATE THE SINNER” is easily his best overall work since “DOG EAT DOG”… and not to mention a shining moment for Kelli, Blotzer and Crane as well.

The album itself is a melodic-rock gem combining all the elements of a late 80’s hard rock/ heavy metal band with a touch of classic blues. Compiling two cover songs with eight originals… some of which have been kicked around for years by some of the band member’s other projects, “ LOVE THE SAINT, HATE THE SINNER” really delivers. Fans of WARRANT, GREAT WHITE, POISON or any late 80’s hard rock, AOR or pop-metal band will absolutely eat this up!

Kicking off the disc is the bluesy/ melodic rocker “Dead Man Shoes”…an original from a past project of Blotzer’s called TWENTY4SEVEN. With the exception of a few lyric changes, the song stays pretty true to the original only this time with Lane injecting his own unique style. The same holds true for another TWENTY4SEVEN track called “Good Times” which comes along a little later on the release.

“Tomorrow Never Comes” is a very cool song and one of my favorites. It’s an edgier, melodic rock track combining a good, solid rhythm with a tasteful bridge and flavorful chorus. Then comes “All In How You Wear It” which is a bit harder and aggressive but still maintains that powerful-bluesy hook.

“Exit” is a bit more modern sounding. With its nice acoustic-driven melody building into a strong, melodic chorus, it almost reminds me of what Waymon Boone use to pull off in his band SPLENDER.

Next is the first of the two covers I mentioned… S.O.T.U.’s version of the Tom Petty favorite “American Girl.” While you kinda miss those raspy vocals of Petty, combining Blotzer’s steady beat with Kelli’s searing guitar, S.O.T.U. create a version that is uniquely their own and truly pays tribute to the original. Now speaking of covers, the second comes a couple of songs down the road in a sweet rendition of the ROLLING STONES’ “Moonlight Mile”… a sentimental acoustic-heavy ballad featuring some very nice piano accents.

Other songs of note include the harsher “Signs of Life” and my absolute favorite track on the release entitled “Bruised.” This track is just superb in its arrangement and really captures that late 80’s/ early 90’s metal vibe to a “T.” Then finally wrapping this up is a song that’s been kicked around in the WARRANT library for years. A song called “Jimmy” that although has never been recorded, some of you WARRANT die-hards may remember it being played live from time to time.

“LOVE THE SIN, HATE THE SINNER” is just an awesome, awesome CD. One of the things I love about it is simply the flow… every song just seems to fit perfectly and compliments the others… a sign of a truly great release. This is a MUST HAVE for all you late-80’s melodic rockers and metal-heads out there! The only thing that really bothers me is, as with most “super-groups,” beyond this you’ll probably never get to hear these songs again which is a real tragedy because this is a great band who should be out there touring their asses off!