After the winning formula applied to the cracking double shot of 'Judgement Day' and 'Nature of Evil', 'Sinner' surprisingly take a slight departure with 'The End of Sanctuary'. This time around opting for a somewhat straight-forward yet accessible sound, regrettably this is at the cost of those nasty mid-tempo neck-wrenchers which have previously proved so effective. Line-up changes see fret master 'Tom Naumann' sitting this one out, his replacement being former 'Primal Fear' man 'Henry Wolter', while drummer 'Uli Kursh' covers for 'Fritz Randow'.

The straight-forward rocker 'Signed Sealed & Delivered' sets the album off on a good footing, with it's brisk energetic approach, this is further complimented by a punchy gang chanted chorus and a sharp guitar solo. Next up is the 'Gamma Ray' reminiscent 'Blood Relations', a pretty energetic number, that despite a good solid driving rhythm and deft fret work, comes across awkwardly, with the lyrics failing to compliment the music. The tempo falls for the fairly low key title track, a relatively bland cut by 'Sinner' standards, which overall is slightly more commercial sounding than you would expect, 'Frank Rössler' tries his best to lift the song with some solid keyboard work, while the moody intro is nicely executed, but all told disappointing for a title track. Returning to the quality and standard of the previous two outings in the nasty grooving 'Pain in Your Neck', a rhythm driven plodder which highlights a big hard-hitting chorus and 'Mat Sinner' singing in his most effective style. The tempo is picked up for the brisk paced 'Edge of the Blade' a lively pulsating cut which is lifted by a sharp chorus and even sharper fret work, while the 'Thin Lizzy' influenced 'The Prophecy' works surprisingly well and highlights more sharp hooks and solos. Taking a slight departure is 'Destiny' which proceeds with a symphonic intro, that whilst a tad drawn-out is interesting to say the least, sadly when the track eventually gets going it's a pretty bland and unremarkable affair- credit though for trying something a bit different. The pace is lifted for the short snappy 'Congress of Deceit' which has potential but ultimately just falls short of the mark, while the same can also be said for the more commercial and at times sloppy 'Heavy Duty'. A darker more subdued approach is taken for 'Night of the Wolf', a song which is in dire need of about three minutes shaving of it's running time and even overlooking the sound chorus and solid work from 'Frank Rössler' it's still pretty poor. Thankfully the album picks up towards the end with two excellent cuts, the first is the lively 'Broken World' which opens as a typically solid 'Sinner' track, but is turned on it's head halfway through thanks to some brilliant Neo-classical fret work, which cleverly and effectively changes the direction of the song. It is the last track 'Hand of the Saint' though that is the true highlight of the album, a sublime nasty ripper, that while retaining the classic 'Sinner' sounds, occasionally borders on 'Primal Fear' territory thanks to some sublime guitar work- great stuff!

There's an uneven mix here, some tracks are definitely off the mark, but that said there are still enough prime cuts to keep the interest of 'Sinner' fans.