Reno Meier

Sin Starlett

Metal music has been inspirational not only because of its effect as a type of music that can be robust, of course heavy, but it is also a life savoir. Yes, it was proven by many people telling that it made something in them that kept them sane, alive, motivated. The values of Heavy Metal can be interpreted by many, but they all cross the freedom of choice. There are those, including at present, that feel that the old way is slipping away, it has been slowly shadowed by something else, more marketable and trendier. The Swiss Sin Starlett come against that is currently rad and cool, taking that past into the future, and their new album "Solid Source Of Steel" says just that. Steinmetal had a good talk with the band's Reno Meier about the core of Metal, and how does it feel over the album

By Lior "Steinmetal" Stein

• March 22, 2022

Sin Starlett's Reno Meier: "The unshakeable

Hello Reno, it is good to have you for this interview for Metal Temple online Magazine, how have you been doing sir?

Hey Lior! Thank you for the interest in our band! I am doing very well these days...our new Album was finally released on February 22th, and we are very excited to finally present our new long player to the public, after working on it for a long time. Also, it seems the pandemic situation will again allow Metal gigs in the near future, so we can soon play concerts again & celebrate Heavy Metal the way it's meant to be!

No doubt that we are in a course of history that is quite eventive, whether the pandemic that struck us two years ago, and now the war in Ukraine. Each of these is a tragedy. In a way as it seems, this war has the potential to reshape a lot of things that we captured as normal. What is your take on that?

Yes, a lot of things are going on, and it seems we are slipping from one crisis to another. It seems this is the modern normality we have to get used to. Unbelievable things are happening, things we never thought that they were possible… All these events are undermining our sense of basic trust, our positivity & our belief. In these times it is even more important to have something to hold on, something to give us strength in these tough times.

But to be more concrete in terms of the war in Ukraine: I think this is something that started to emerge a long time ago. This conflict is existing for a few years now, and nobody can say that was happening now is totally surprising...

Over the course of the pandemic, there were plenty of occasions where it was impossible to head out there, perform live, support one's material and so on. How would you say that the pandemic affected the integrity of Sin Starlett? Were there thoughts about taking a long hiatus, or even letting the wagon go?

It has not affected our integrity, but of course clouded our motivation for a certain time. There were times when no one knew when Live Gigs will be possible again, so without having this perspective it was hard to stay focused and keep on having a weekly rehearsal with a clear goal.

On the other side, our Video for "Solid Source Of Steel" was only possible because of the pandemic situation that provided us a lot of free time to work on this project. Under normal circumstances this would not have been possible.

So (as everyone), we tried to make the best out of it & focus on other aspects of the band while concerts were prohibited. And the pandemic also helped us to focus 100% on the record of our new album, without being distracted by any concerts or other events.

Gladly, you guys never let go and remained. Furthermore, you worked on your next in line album, the successor of "Digital Overload", which was six years ago. About that gap between the records, was there any particular reason? Maybe you found it important to have yourselves at the live front more?

We always have a 4 – 5 years gap between our albums, but this time we had to deal also with a line-up change (our guitarist Jan left the band), which was the main reason for the delay. After recruiting our new Axe- Swingin'- Madman "Jack Tytan" it was important to grow as a unit & to get some live experience with the new line up.

Covid related delays in the pressing plant did the rest. The album-recordings were finished at the beginning of 2021, but it took almost one year to find a suitable label and to produce the physical album.

Recently you set out your fourth album, "Solid Source Of Steel", and through a new label, after being part of the late label, the French Emanes Metal Records. True to fact that it was a while since you released a new album, how were the reactions by your fanbase, and perhaps new potential listeners?

The reactions are very positive until now, our old fanbase seems to like to slightly adjusted direction & we definitely reached some new listeners with our new album. From the response we received so far, I would say that this long player received more attention than any of the previous releases. Which is great, considering the many releases these days.

Have you already started to support the new record? Perhaps several local shows to make this one an event to remember?

Until now we did not find a suitable location for a proper release party, because all venues are fully booked because of postponed shows!! But we did a pre-listening party on our rehearsal room, inviting a selected circle of people & honouring the new album while drinking cold beer and eating hot dogs with pickles.

Also there was some kind of a release event at Switzerland's finest records store "Outsider Shop" in Olten, where our records was sold for the first time and we signed some records. There are a few gigs planned now, where we will for sure play some new material. A classic "Release Show" will probably be done later on when it's easier to find a suitable location…we will see!!

The title of "Solid Source Of Steel", as your music, is head on, simply an honest way of showing that how you treat steel, meaning the old school flame, is within you. Is that a sort of a motivational title, a kind of an embrace to those who cling to old school Metal?

Besides the undeniable fact that the album title sounded super cool, it describes the Source that we take our inspiration from, and can of course also be transmitted to the output of the band itself. It's the source that we draw our life energy from, our confidence, our trust. This can be something different for every person, but for me it is inevitably connected with Music that motivates me and helps me up when life's a bitch (again).

Other than being an old school Metal preaching machine, how do you find "Solid Source Of Steel" as a moral base, something for the listener to address and grasp? Perhaps something that you wished to convey to whoever listens to the songs?

That's one tricky question… The unshakeable, irrevocable foundation of Heavy Metal is the aspect of the music that is giving us strength and trust, and in some sense also a moral base, as you said.
In a world where nothing is safe anymore, old standards seem to erode (referring back to your 2^nd question), good old fashioned Heavy Music is something to hold on to, an anchor that gives firm footing and provides necessary support in these turbulent times.

It was hard for me to ignore the immense joint meeting of British and German Metal, other there in the battleground, having a go at each other's throats. You have the melodic twin magic of the British, yet the sheer force of the Teutonic end. Nonetheless, the crisp of Hard Rock is also there, raising its head from time to time. In your view, what makes "Solid Source Of Steel" as a new stage for Sin Starlett musically?

It's funny that numerous listeners seem to detect an influence of "German Metal" in our music. The truth is, we hardly never listen to German Metal at all (Scorpions would be the commendable exception). I always felt that German Metal was kind of "stiff" and uninspired compared to their British idols.Of course, we do not despise a good Accept banger from time to time, but compared to Priest, Saxon and several classic rock fairytales it had a minor impact to our compositions.

To be more specific on new album, I think it shows a new variety of the band's sound: From stomping, hard- rocking midtempo- hymns to faster, fist-swinging epic Heavy Metal Anthems. Compared to the previous albums, the songs more melody- weighted, packed to the max with catchy vocal lines and numerous twin guitars!

As an old school driven band, there is the mention of being the ones that carry no trends, share no gimmicks. Now, since the Metal scene has been under a variety of changes over the years, with fans demanding technical playing, what makes your simplicity ample? In your opinion, what are the advantages that are still relevant even nowadays?

The "no trends, no gimmicks" battle cry originated from the fact that many new traditional metal bands seemed to need an optical gimmick to gain the attention from the listeners. I totally understand that, because old school Metal is full of gimmicks and optical gadgets, remembering all the mascots and the on stage effects of the old guard. But the trend of wearing hoods on stage, celebrating concerts as religious rituals while igniting hundreds of candles on stage…is not our cup of tea. We wanted to set a counterweight to that trend.

Maybe our colourful cover artwork implies something different, but we prefer more like a working class attitude, the smell of beer and sweat, a "down- to- earth" mentality. The music should come at first place, and then everything else. If the compositions are good, you don't need gimmicks – let the steel do the job!

As you mentioned, recently you recruited a new guitar player to your ranks, your partner in crime for the twin guitar duels, Jack Tytan. Since he entered the quite bigger shoes of Jan Horat, which I believe was in the band from its inception, how do you find Tytan's chemistry with the band? How do you find his guitar playing skills, whether as a musician or writer, on "Solid Source Of Steel"?

Yes, Jan Horat was a co-founder of the band, and his rhythm-driven guitar playing shaped the sound of Sin Starlett in an essential way. However, Jack brings in something different, more melodic & refined, which led the new arrangements to a slightly different, more melodious path. Somehow it resulted in songs that are closer to our Debut "Call to the Punisher" and its successor "Throat Attack". But Jack's technical skills allowed us to do things we never did before, and give the guitars a greater forum to develop.

Also, we felt like "exceeding the limits" in terms of twin guitars and solo duels, so his technical capability definitely added a new touch to our sound. Also we found out that he seems to have an entourage of different women, containing graphic designers, actresses and social media experts, which helped a lot doing the preparations for our new album!

With you being with the band ever since day one, you have been doing quite a lot over the years, and I guess you also matured as both a musician and songwriter, with time flying by. Nevertheless, we learn new things on a daily basis. Therefore, I ask, what did "Solid Source Of Steel" teach you as it was shaping up?

Well, it clearly taught me that you should never ever update any electronic devices during the recording process!! That was for sure one thing…but luckily we fixed that issue & not too many parts were lost…haha

I also learned that nothing compares to a good old fashioned hand-made sound effect, just as we recorded it for our opener and title song "Solid Source Of Steel", our singer smashed a steel pole to a metal railing, and we recorded that a few times. It sounded exactly like we wanted it to, and we were surprised that we are able to record such effects on our own under the most primitive conditions.

You have to straighten this out for me, but the sound on this record is virtually early 80s Accept or Victory, simply outstanding, and it sounds genuine, meaning nothing digital. What can you tell about the sound engineering for this album? Who engineered the release and what is your standpoint on how Sin Starlett sounds?

At this time, I would love to tell you that we recorded everything on the most expensive analogue vintage equipment, followed by an ancient tube amplifier mastering…but that would be a lie.

We recorded everything digitally in our rehearsal room, supervised by our good friend & audio engineer "Davide "16Bit" Misteretta". We showed him some examples of records we like, and he helped us to achieve the result we were looking for. The most important thing for us was always not to edit or modify any of the audio tracks, which I think is one of the biggest mistakes of many modern productions. When you start to eradicate small mistakes (that in most cases the listener wouldn't notice), you are destroying the dynamic and peculiarity of the songs.

So basically, we just added some effects such as delays and reverb, but left the rest as natural as possible. It's a bit less polished than our last record, closer to our live sound. I really dig the drum sound!! It sounds big and heroic, without being too compressed or overproduced. Personally, I must say that I like productions with small flaws, things that make a record sound unique. For example, "Into Glory Ride", where the drum is actually too loud and you can't hear the guitar. But this makes it special and memorable!!

Listening to "Streetlight Domino", at first at least, was a rather closer to home experience, great old school hard knocker. However, its bridging section, I was never prepared for, quite atmospheric indeed, and enjoyable. I guess that it was bound, even for an old schooler, to come up with a few different elements?

Great that you really listened to the songs carefully!! Yes, the acoustic bridge is something you wouldn't expect in such a song, and it also has a bit of a modern approach compared to the rest of the arrangement. I must say that the basic framework of the song was written by our previous guitarist Jan Horat, who had a fable for such acoustic intermezzos. It eases up the compositions and builds up a certain tension before the distorted guitars rush in again. We like playing with such elements, but it always has to fit the song and should not be an end in itself, just to desperately show how versatile one can play.

I don't really know how you did it, but "Struck Down", which sends a listener to a little more than a seven-minute session, just flew by very fast. It is an uplifting song, in contrast to its title, it shares the classic early to mid-80s richness. Even without being highly hooked, it crushes. How do you find this track and its impact on the album?

Thank you!! I was surprised how good the track ended up, and how well it was received in the reviews and by our fanbase. While recording it, I was not sure if it was too Arena Rock orientated, not fitting the rest of the material. But it ended up as the opener for the B-side, and it's definitely one of the most outstanding tracks of the platter. Even in its simplicity, it's never dull or cheesy, it's an uplifting track with a pumping
groove and many details to discover. I'm looking forward to play this song live and to see how the audience will react to it.

Since everything is opening up, at least in Western Europe, what are you expected to be performing in order to properly support the album? Any festivals targeted for the Summer?

We have some gigs coming up in our hometown, one of them is taking place on a ship on lake Lucerne. I'm curious how this will end - probably all of us puking into lake after a few hours. As already mentioned, our release show is postponed for now and will hopefully happen later this year. No festival gigs planned until now, but we hope that this summer will offer us some opportunities! In any case, we are ready to hit the stages again and proclaim the metal doctrine!!

Reno, it was a pleasure sir, thank you for the time for this interview. I was glad to listen to "Solid Source Of Steel", certainly a nostalgic experience. All the best

I must thank you!! Great interview, interesting questions - you are a cool guy, thanks. Stay Heavy & keep on praising' the steel !! heavy regards, Reno