'X-Sinner' from Northern Territory /Australië came together in Orange County, during the mid-eighties. Releasing its full length debut Get It in 1989, X-Sinner combines elements of melodic metal with AC/DC influenced hard rock. Soon they will release their next album 'Covered In Blood', before that we talk with the Greg, Rex & Rob.

(TMR) Hello to you from The Metal Resource Holland, how are things going there in Australië ?

(X) Hello Mate! Things are just great!

(TMR) For the people who never heard of 'X-SINNER'' can you Introduce yourself and the band please ! (name and instrument)

(X) I am Greg Bishop the guitar player. This is Rex Scott the lead singer< "Hello". And Rob Kniep on bass. "Hi there!" Mike Buckner is on drums.

(TMR) Can you tell us something about the origin of  'X-SINNER'' ?

(X) Greg: The band was formed in the late eighties in Orange County California which is just south of Los Angeles and Hollywood. We all lived there except for Rex who lived in the upper midwest region of the States. We put out our first nationally released album in 1989 called "Get It". A&M Records of L.A. picked it up and co-distributed it worldwide with  the concentration of distribution in the States. The numbers released in Europe were much smaller than over in the States.

(TMR) Is this your first band, what other bands have you guys been in. ?  (for everyone personal)

(X) Rex: This was not the first band for any of us. We had all made the rounds playing in other bands. I was in a band that was popular back in the midwest called ROX and one called Zion. Greg:Yes, we all had played in a few bands before X-Sinner.

(TMR) Does the name 'X-SINNER''  means something, or is it just a name ? Is there a story behind that name ?

(X) Greg:The name was going to be originally "Sinner" but the label at the time pushed the X part as did others and we eventually went with X-Sinner. We look at ourselves as extreme sinners thusly the "X" for extreme and we look at ourselves as ex-sinners trying to be good boys now. It is a struggle and we thought it fit our lyrics which deal with life and death, love and hate, the battle of good versus evil. We sing about that stuff so the name stuck and we went with it. Rex: Yeah, it has a double meaning which is cool. Rob: I feel more like a sinner today! (laughs)

(TMR) How do you think about the fact that they compared  the sound of 'X-Sinner' with the sound of 'AC/DC' ?

(X) Rex: Who is "they"? (laughs)...Greg: We take it as a compliment. They are one of the greatest rock bands in the world. We write music according to our influences and AC/DC was obviously a big one. Also older Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, Priest.

(TMR) Who writes the music/lyrics in 'X-SINNER'' ? .. how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?

(X) Rex: Greg has been primarily the main music writer of the band and I am the lyric writer however on the new album World Covered In Blood I wrote over half of the music and all of the lyrics. Greg: Rex wrote music in his previous bands but once he joined us in 1992 I had been the only music writer. He didn't get much of a chance to exercise his music writing ability in this band until now.

(TMR) How do you describe the music of  'X-SINNER'' ?

(X) Greg: Powerful and uplifting. Rex: We try to have a positive effect on the listener lyrically. We sing about struggling in life and also the good times. We sing about Satan fighting with God and God kicking his arse also.

(TMR) How does 'X-SINNER''  stands in life till events in the world, religion and politics and in which proportion stands that till your music and lyrics ? 

(X) Rob: We live in troubled times and don't always agree with the politics of the States. We are all from there and some of us still reside there but that doesn't mean we like what's going on there all the time or that we agree with it.

(TMR) For a lot of bands the lyrics are just a accidental circumstance, but for some bands they use them to communicate ! ..can you tell us how that is for  'X-SINNER'' ?

(X) Rex: We definitely like to say something more than" rock and roll all night and party everyday" all the time. That type of lyric has it's place but we like to take it a little deeper and provoke some thinking with our listeners. I like U2's lyrics. I'd like to write like that but with our heavy metal hard rock style behind the lyrics. I think we achieve that sometimes but we are still learning our craft too.

(TMR) What is the message you want to bring with 'X-SINNER'' ?

(X) Rob: That you can still rock hard and sing about kicking Satan's ass with  the power of God on your side. Evil is a loosing cause and being good can be cool too. We've read the Book and we already know what the ending is and it is Satan going down hard. Kicked in the teeth.

(TMR) Is there a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of  'X-SINNER'' ? (for everyone personal)

(X) Greg: Playing some of the huge festivals in the States on our first tour. Getting Rex into the band. Rex: Getting into the band after my audition (laughs). Rob: Being able to be part of the band after I quit after the recording of the second album Peace Treaty. I was stressed out and left but I came back later to open arms. Also performing the famous Cornerstone Festival in the States last year was cool after not being there since 1989.

(TMR) And the worst thing (for everyone personal) where ?

(X) Greg: The first tour for the "Get It" album. We had a motor home and a trailer that was from hell. We kept having flat tires on the trailer all the time in the middle of nowhere. Rex: I really cannot recall a bad time with this band! I know that may sound weird but it's true. I love this band. I always had even before I was in it. They had another singer for the very first album that was fired and I got the gig. I felt honored to be part of it. I guess our trying to get out of our contract with the first label Pakaderm was a bit of a nightmare. They stole a few years out of our careers while we waited to be released by them. Rob: Yeah, Pakaderm sucked.

(TMR) Name some of your favorite bands to play with live (past and future) and tell us why ?

(X) Greg: We've played with Metal Church. That was cool. Rex: Playing with Bloodgood was great. Rob: Didn't we play with Van Halen? (laughs)

(TMR) Tell us about the new upcoming 'X-Sinner' album 'world covered in blood' please ? (the recording proces/the songs)

(X) Rex: We spent two years recording it. We tried to make it the most live sounding album we've ever made. We wanted it raw and powerful and I think we acheived it. Getting a live sounding recording in a studio is much harder than one would think and getting a quality live recording from a show has it's limitations. We wanted a studio album that had a very live quality to it. Every band thinks their latest album is their best but we really do think that. People that have had the chance to hear it agree that this is our best recording to date. It has eleven songs and rocks hard.

(TMR) What more can we expect in the future from  'X-SINNER'' ? (European tour maybe ?)

(X) Greg: We want to come over to Europe in a very bad way. We are just now getting radio airplay and internet radio airplay in the U.K. , Germany and France and Holland. We need to be invited and hope that happens soon.

(TMR)  Guys thanx for your time and the interview !! we wish 'X-SINNER''
all the best !!......is there anything you wanna say at last ?? (any final statement ?)

(X) Greg, Rex & Rob: Thanks to The Metal Resource for taking the time to talk to us and thanks to all who listen to our music and enjoy it!