BAD SISTER – Because Rust Never Sleeps

A certain fact from the German Bad Sister new release: They were able to maintain the undying touch and art of the mid to late 80s within their music.
The overall dedication of keeping the past alive is something to be amazed at. This AOR / Hard Rock act which is majorly influenced by classic 80s acts such as Vixen , Heart , 1^St Avenue and many other soft Hard Rock / AOR artists is showing off with how an 80s composition should sound like.

However, after releasing their debut classic, Heartbreaker , back in 1989 and another good album two years after, Out Of The Business , the curtain fell on top of the six piece band and they fell silent until their released their 2002 live album. This year, after 18 years without any new material , Bad Sister attempts to make a sound comeback , and in a big time fashion with a new record , under Distinct Music, Because Rust Never Sleeps.

In a general view, this new release is a nice 80s inspired catchy machine. Nevertheless, after trying out this one, some doubts arise. The one important thing worth mentioning is the fact that there are more than two songs that are more than just inspired and influenced by other artists. Two examples trickle up as red markers: “Surrender” and “Talk To You Later”. The first one’s main riff, and chorus riff, is more than identical to Rainbow’s 70’s classic hit, “Since You’ve Been Gone”. The second’s intro, which was also re-used as the song progresses, is a different scale replica of Bon Jovi’s intro to the band’s greatest hit from their self-titled debut, “Runaway”. These two are the most noticeable ones on the album.

It is well known that almost everything that influences and inspires an artist comes from the subconscious, seems like a copy of something else. Nevertheless, an artist knows when his written tune is indistinguishable to another’s creation. There are many similarities between artists in music, especially between young and old acts, however Bad Sister are professionals and they are full of experience on writing material. The foremost point in writing material is to avoid producing it as obviously similar to another composition.

With all those similarities, Bad Sister was able to make a very nice album with catchy tunes. Songs such as “Zone Zero,” “Heat Of The Night,” “Through The Night” and “Hard Time Shuffles” are kick-ass melodic Hard Rockers. Alongside the rockers, there are the two nice ballads, “Carry On” and “Don’t Love Me Again”, which are full of 80s emotional AOR touches. Between the hard and soft tunes, you will note the mix of AOR / Hard Rock in full throttle. The best track of the album, a classic Heart like drama, “Take Me As I Am”.

Bad Sister, with all the downs of the album, has the greatest tools in order to maintain a true 80s AOR spirit. The keyboard players of the group, Kai Beyer and Werner Kaul are paying tribute to the glory days of the genre with captivating atmospheric and dreamy tunes made in heaven. Other sources of power are the guitar and vocals made by Sven Lange and the diva Suzie Lohmar. Sven is behind some great solos and cool riffs. Suzie sounds like the young version of Vince Neil of Motley Crue with her childish sexy voice. This woman rocked in the past and she rocks even harder today.

As it is turning out, Bad Sister will never rust and they will keep on bringing back classic’s past. Hopefully their next set of new material will be with more touches and creativity of their own and with less dependency on past acts. With all their experience, they can influence others and no matter how banal AOR sounds, it cannot be considered a dying art and it should be kept alive for years to come. Comeback bands like Bad Sister are important for the future of AOR in the second millennia.