MINDLESS SINNER - Master of Evil CD HRR 1064CD, slipcase Christer Göransson - vocals Magnus Danneblad - lead guitar Jerker Edman - lead guitar AndersKarlsson - bass Tommy Johansson - drums 01 Broken Freedom 02 Key of Fortune 03 Master of Evil 04 Screaming for Mercy 05 Mindless Sinner (Demo 1983) 06 Higher and Higher (Demo 1983) 07 We All Go Back (Demo 1983) 08 Heavy Metal Will Never Die (Demo 1983) 09 City Games (Demo 1983) 10 Broken Freedom (Live Nagoya, Japan 2024) 11 Key of Fortune (Live Nagoya, Japan 2024) 12 Master of Evil (Live Nagoya, Japan 2024) 13 Screaming for Mercy (Live Nagoya, Japan 2024) AVAILABLE

All tracks mastered by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in November 2025. The ultimate reissue of this Swedish metal classic! Purple Haze started out in Linköping in 1981. When singer Christer Göransson joined them towards the end of the year, they soon changed their moniker to Genocide (after the Judas Priest song of the same name) and supported local metal heroes Axewitch. A final name change was to follow: In August 1983, the band, now called Mindless Sinner, recorded a four-track demo entitled »Master Of Evil«, consisting of the title track, “Broken Freedom”, “Key Of Fortune” and “Screaming For Mercy”. This attracted Swedish label Fingerprint Records, and they in turn released the NWOBHM-inspired material as a mini-album with an awful cover and getting the band’s name wrong (spelling it Mindless Sinners). By then, the line-up of the band was Anders Karlsson (bass), Magnus Danneblad (guitar), Jerker Edman (guitar), Tommy Johansson (drums) and vocalist Christer Göransson. »Master Of Evil« originally saw the light of day on Fingerprint in January 1984. Christer Göransson takes us back to the early days of Mindless Sinner saying: “We wanted to record an album, but we couldn’t afford the studio cost. We were lucky to win a music contest, and the price money paid for the studio. I remember walking into the studio, and we thought it was like a spaceship in there, with all the buttons and flashing lights everywhere. We recorded the four songs that would become »Master Of Evil«. We then gave the tape to the Axewitch guys, and they played it to their record label at the time Fingerprint/Web Records and they liked it so much that they signed us as well.” So far so good. The downside though was that Fingerprint messed up the pressing big time. They did not consult the band about the (awful) cover drawing and even managed to get the band name wrong (calling them Mindless Sinners). Even today, the singer shivers: “The label just wanted to put out the record to make a quick buck. They showed a total lack of interest. We hated the cover at first, we thought it looked awful. We had another drawing for the cover initially. It was a praying priest on his knees in a pentagram and the devil stood behind him with a swinging axe ready to cut his head. But the record label thought that people would be offended by that album cover, so they scraped that idea. Maybe it was for the better (laughs). Anyway, today we think that the »Master Of Evil« cover looks pretty cool in its ugliness.” On the back cover photo of »Master Of Evil«, Christer Göransson is wearing a big Christian cross around his neck but this was not due to his religious beliefs. He laughs: “I guess I saw Ozzy with a cross, so I wanted one myself.” According to the singer, »Master Of Evil« got mostly positive reactions at the time of release, although feedback from outside Sweden was minimal. Over the years, the music of Mindless Sinner has often been compared to the Tygers Of Pan Tang from England but Christer Göransson doesn’t see too many similarities: “We really love Tygers Of Pan Tang but I don’t think they were a big influence. It was more Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio etcetera. That kinda stuff.” In addition to the four tracks of the original edition of »Master Of Evil«, the current High Roller Records pressing also contains the five songs of the band’s first demo tape from early 1983 (including “Mindless Sinner”, “Higher And Higher”, “We All Go Back”, “Heavy Metal Will Never Die” and “City Games”). MATTHIAS MADER