MINDLESS SINNER
“Metal Merchants”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Mindless Sinner are a heavy metal band from Sweden forming during the early eighties as Purple Haze, changing their name to Genocide and then to Mindless Sinner, releasing the bands debut album ‘Turn On The Power’ in 1986. Breaking up a few years later, the band reformed in 2013, released their comeback album ‘The New Messiah’ in 2015, and made a blistering appearance at that years Keep It True XVIII festival in Germany – the bands performance recorded and released in 2018 by way of the live album ‘Keeping It True’. The band returned in 2020 with fourth album ‘Poltergeist’, and in 2024 Mindless Sinner are back with their barnstorming new album ‘Metal Merchants’.

Featuring an incredible thirteen songs across more than an hour’s run time, the band run the enitre length and breadth of metal territory to deliver infectious and head bang-able heavy metal – ‘Speed Demon’ launching the album in spectacular style! The power, purpose and intent here is incredible, Mindless Sinner pressing the pedal firmly to the metal to race off at a sensational traditional heavy metal pace, every head banger around the world furiously rocking their heads back and forth! A simply stunning start from the Swedish metallers, ‘Metal Merchants’ roars on with the title song, the band keeping the energy level phenomenally high. Fans of Accept, Judas Priest and Helloween are gonna go fucking nuts over this opening brace, Mindless Sinner delivering a double to take everyone’s breath away!

And the band carry on with breath taking assurance courtesy of ‘Carry On’, the speed of the album doubling as Mindless Sinner roar louder than ever – eclipsing everything heard so far! And I realise it’s only been two songs, but fuck me if the metal gets any better I’m gonna wet myself – the sound of galloping heavy metal one of the greatest sounds in music ever! Well maybe not ever, ’cause the voice of Doro Pesch is the greatest sound in music ever – the German singer widely regarded as the “queen of metal”, stole my heart in 1984 when I first heard ‘Metal Racer’ from (her first band) Warlock’s debut album ‘Burning The Witches’. But I digress, back to Mindless Sinner and their album ‘Metal Merchants’ – ‘Third Time’s A Charm’ taking over the baton and striding on with an air of anthemic metal descending upon the album. The band are stomping very heavily here, shuddering the ground with immense force to wobble walls and shake buildings, ‘Third Time’s A Charm’ a mid tempo thunderstorm of epic proportions.

The pace of the album since it began has been relentless, ‘Metal Merchants’ (the album) oozing a sky high intensity level, none more so than right now as ‘Hedonia’ makes an emphatic entrance, the punchy crunch on show likely to knock every listener flat on the their back! And to be honest, the band have been hitting hard with every song heard so far, jabs, uppercuts and haymakers landing with devastating accuracy, ‘Mountain Of Om’ taking a more mellow path as it strolls into view with a tension fuelled first fifty seconds – and then crikey o’ mighty! The instantly recognisable sound of the legendary NWOBHM rises high in the air just like a plume of billowing smoke, taking control of the airways and holding everyone’s attention tightly, very tightly! The old school heavy metal sound is a fucking glorious one, it’s a sound I’ve been listening to for over forty years, beginning at the turn of the eighties with the likes of Angel Witch, Iron Maiden and Venom – and it’s a sound that I love just as much now, if not more than I did back then! So let’s go crazy as Mindless Sinner thunder on with the immensely infectious ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ – and that’s not to say that every other song heard up to this point hasn’t been infectious, it’s just that ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ is more infectious than every other song heard up to this point!

‘Metal Merchants’ (the album) has been terrific, Mindless Sinner delivering an Album Of The Year performance as ‘Believe In Me’ continues the bands all conquering, all consuming blend of heavy come power come traditional metal, every listener, fan and follower smiling from ear to ear with one of the broadest grins ever! And with good reason too, for the heavy metal on show right now is nearing perfection, and I know I’ve mentioned this in reviews I’ve written over the last couple of years, but it seems like the “old guard” are producing some of the finest heavy metal around today, eclipsing everything the newer and younger bands have produced! These pretenders to the throne are just gonna have to wait a little bit longer to claim the heavy metal crown, ‘Monsters’ sending my adrenaline levels spiralling through the fucking roof! And did I just say ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ was the most infectious song heard so far? Yea, well scrub that – it’s now ‘Monsters’, and with a sing a long chorus straight off the top shelf, Mindless Sinner are on to a winner with this one, every listener, fan, follower, metaller, mosher, and head banger around the world singing along! Fucking amazing stuff from the Swedish “old boys” – ‘Storm Of Steel’ marching across metal territory like it owns the place! The majestic swagger here is immense, ‘Storm Of Steel’ the most anthemic, rabble rousing call to arms song on the album, Mindless Sinner striding tall and very proud, until an emphatic change of gear sees, or rather hears ‘Storm Of Steel’ race off at pace!

The final three songs on ‘Metal Merchants’ (the album) are classed as bonuses, but for me are just a continuation of the unadulterated and unabashed heavy metal on offer, ‘My Hometown’ featuring the iconic NWOBHM gallop made famous by legendary pioneering metal band Iron Maiden. Mindless Sinner are not relenting on intensity either, keeping the level just as high as the Karlatornet skyscraper (in Gothenburg, Sweden). And intensity isn’t the only album long sky high level – energy, power and pizzazz have remained right up there too, ‘The Chosen One’ maintaining the gallop from the previous song but with increased purpose and intent! And even though the final song is just around the corner, there’s no stopping the band, the Swedish metallers fire not going out as the album reaches the hour mark – the albums thirteenth song ‘A Madman Is Crying’ making it an incredible final “triple gallop”, the three bonus songs strongly featuring the classic old school sound. Definitely one of the best non-stop foot to the floor albums of the year, and one I’d recommend for fans of eighties, traditional heavy metal.

Overall, an immensely infectious and head bang-able heavy metal album, ‘Metal Merchants’ features pace, power and purpose in abundance.

TRACKLIST

Speed Demon
Metal Merchants
Carry On
Third Time’s A Charm
Hedonia
Mountain Of Om
Let’s Go Crazy
Believe In Me
Monsters
Storm Of Steel
My Hometown (bonus)
The Chosen One (bonus)
A Madman Is Crying (bonus)

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