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Mindless Sinner > Turn On the Power > Reviews
Mindless Sinner - Turn On the Power

A real gem - 86%

Superreallycool, October 9th, 2014
Written based on this version: 1986, 12" vinyl, Fingerprint Records

When I think of traditional metal, this is what I think. Why? Because that is what this is. I can't hear anything here other than metal. This album is pure unadulterated fun metal. This is the only album Mindless Sinner released (the band changed names and made some albums later in their career), but it's all that is needed.

When I picked up the album, I had a pretty clear idea in my mind of what I thought I was picking up, and I was 100% right. Sing out-loud choruses? Check. Standard heavy metal riffs? Check. Simplistic yet awesome solos? You bet. From the opening track, you know what you're going to get form Mindless Sinner. Heck, the chorus of "We Go Together" can pretty much describe their career, but it's a formula that is well executed.

If you are looking for lyrics on the level of Bob Dylan, you will be disappointed with this album. Like virtually all other traditional metal bands, the lyrics here are dumb fun, the Billy Madison of music. They usually aren't too bad, but there are some really odd moments. The line "Do you gonna realize?" springs to mind. It comes from, if memory serves, the song "Tears of Pain". Some are worse than others, but if you're looking for an album on the intellectual side of heavy metal, go somewhere else, Mindless Sinner were mindless lyricists.

As with most bands from the traditional metal scene, the music is the highlight and focus of these songs. The riffs are strong and, with help from Christer Göransson's singing, give each of the songs a sense of energy and urgency. As strong as the riffs are, they aren't the focus. The riffs build/lead up to the chorus. That's what this band is, chorus oriented rock n roll. That's what all the songs on this album are, so if that isn't your kind of metal, this isn't he album for you.

By traditional heavy metal standards, this album has a good amount of variation. Songs such as "Tears of Pain", "Voice of the Doomed", and "Left Out on my Own". These are the songs that really break formula. "Voice of the Doomed" has a hammer-on riff, and has a lot darker feel to it than the albums other material, a good break from the norm. "Left Out on my Own" has a normal riff then sing-along chorus but is a lot more emotional than the other songs. Last up, "Tears of Pain" is a real ballad, it has a very nice sad atmosphere. Unfortunately for it, the bad lyrics kinda ruin all emotion that the music worked to create.

In 2001, the album was re-released on CD with 5 unreleased songs, to help promote their reunion. None of these songs are necessary, but they are all fairly good and worth listening to. Of the unreleased tracks, only "Time of Pleasure" feels like a song that wasn't worthy of being here. Songs like "Point Below Zero" on the other hand beat most of what was actually put on the album, and it's a wonder that they weren't put on, but now that they are released the fact that they once weren't a part of the album is somewhat a moot point.

In short, this is cheesy metal. Simple as that. There is nothing different here, nothing that will convene you to rethink your opinions on classic metal if you aren't currently a fan. But, if you already enjoy some good old fashion pop metal, this album does that sound better than most, and is worth picking up.

Turn On The Power - 78%

Nightcrawler, May 12th, 2007

Now here's a fun little gem of solid true heavy metal straight out of the 80s. Originally going under the name Purple Haze, then changing to Genocide (of course, inspired by the classic Priest track) and finally Mindless Sinner (though that changed to simply Mindless for a while in the late 80s). I have yet to been able to pick up this albums predecessor, the EP "Master of Evil" but I did find the High Vaultage reissue of this one with a bunch of very fun bonus tracks (though the rating of this album is only based on the original 9 tracks).

Basically, what we have here is pretty much what I expected when I picked the album up. Catchy singalong choruses, lots of fun gallopping riffs, nifty but not overly technical solos and plenty of fistbanging material. Opening track "We Go Together" I feel is probably the best song on here, with the instantly grabbing chorus - "WE GO TOGEEETHEEER! AND IT SHALL BE FOREEEVEEER!" - opening the song and then kicking right in with the simplistic, fast and powerful main riff. The following track "I'm Gonna (Have Some Fun)" is some great Accept-worship with dumb but very fun lyrics.
The lyrics in general are not exactly brilliant, but at least he can write proper English - however, the lyrics for the two tracks "Here She Comes Again" and "Tears of Pain" are written by a former bass player by the name of Anders Karlsson, and they are quite awkward on occassion. Though rather amusing when he gives us golden lines such as "Do you gonna realize?".
However, this doesn't matter - this album is rocking, and it is very fun, which to me is what this type of music is all about.

It's a rather varied album is well, although basically half of the album revolves around one gallopping riff or another in varying paces. We have the fast headbangers like "Here She Comes Again" and previously mentioned opening track "We Go Together", and also "Standing On The Stage", which is probably the heaviest song on the album. Then we have the powerful title track revolving around a simple bass line and a very interesting guitar riff over it, which after the second chorus escalates with some classical sounding guitarplaying into the climax of a great track.
There's the slower "Voice of the Doomed" with a hammeron/pulloff based riff and more of a dark mood than the rest of the album. And finally we have the two more emotional songs of the album. "Left Out On My Own" - again with the gallopping riffage - has a mood similar to Priest's "Out in the Cold" but is less of a ballad. Very catchy tune. And then ending the album we have the all-out ballad "Tears of Pain" which is very well-written with a powerful chorus and wouldn't sound entirely out of place somewhere in between "Screaming For Vengeance" and "Defenders of the Faith", although the poor lyrics somewhat ruin the sad atmosphere of the song.
All in all, we get a little bit of everything plus lots of heart and soul put into the music, easily making up for what talent is lacking in the lyrical department (we all know how the German thrashers wrote in their early days). The only song from the original album that doesn't really cut it would be "Live And Die" - not sure why, it just never did anything for me. A good, fast and catchy song, but it just seems a bit uninspired compared to, say, "Here She Comes Again".

As for the bonus tracks, they're definitely worth a listen. Five unreleases songs and five live performances from the temporary reunion in 2001. The best of the bonus tracks are definitely "Step Into The Fire" which has a bloody thrash break in the middle of everything, and also "Point Below Zero", which is one of their more unusual tracks. A nice, foreboding intro and a dramatic atmosphere, with a great chorus with some very cool vocal arrangements - and that spontaneous falsetto in the second verse is priceless.
"Rock and Roll Man" and "A Long Time Ago" are also a nice pair of tracks, only "Time of Pleasure" feels a bit like a throwaway track, and it's understandable why it didn't make it on the album.


To sum things up - here's a classic Heavy Metal album. If you like metal, you'll like it, if not you sure as hell won't. It's nothing groundbreaking and not exactly the best metal out there, but it's definitely worth checking out for an hour of good fun. Classic metal with a lethal eye for melody and an overabundance of gallopping riffs yet without sounding to "Maiden".
Highly recommended for fanatics of the old school!