Master : "Saints Dispelled"

 

Paul Speckmann is back with his 14th album as Master. At 60 years old he shows little sign of slowing down. Is it more deliberate than their 1990 album? Yes, but the songwriting is more polished. There is much less evidence of the Venom influence that marks the first album. Staying on brand the rapid-fire attack is very straightforward with no surprises waiting around the corner from the establishing riff that often drives the song. Their attack has always felt similar to a band like Rigor Mortis, where they clearly emerged from the thrash scene but were steering themselves into less charted waters alongside bands like Possessed who led the early days of death metal. 

There are some rock n roll vibes to how "Saints Dispelled" unloads the guitar solos, and the double bass comes and goes, but by and large, it storms along a similar path as the first two songs. The most death metal riffs so far can be found on "Minds Under Pressure".  Speckmann's vocals carry enough rasp to convince younger listeners without a frame of reference for where music was at when this band came on the scene. The chanted chorus is hooky and makes it one of the album's most effective songs. "Find Your Life" works for what it is, but is much less impressive than the previous song. 

The drums lead into "Maimed and Diseased" in a more Motorhead manner. The vocals are much Venom-like on this one calling back to their first album. Though to their credit it does evolve into something that has a more modern hammering to it. The first glimpse of melodic embellishment and a wide dynamic range of songs appears in"The Wiseman" though the bulk of this is relegated to the song's intro.  There is a fun syncopated groove that crops up in a few places. The album closes with the forward charge of "The Wizard of Evil". It feels like fast Celtic Frost to my ears. There is a clever ending, but nothing groundbreaking. There are also two bonus tracks that do not expand much from what they have already established here. I will give this album an 8.5, fans of this era of death metal or this band will appreciate this album and find it a worthy addition to their collection,  not sure this is going to opening any new doors or broaden their fan base, but proves they are still relevant in 2024. 

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the Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2016

There seemed to be more death metal coming out than anything though black metal was hot on it's heels. I need my death metal to be dark and hateful, this was a dark and hateful year so here are some of the albums that provided the best sound track to that. If you want to hear some of these guys then look to the review links posted along this countdown of 2016's top death metal albums. 10- Death Cult- "Beasts of Faith" The debut from the Swiss band, comes with a strong sense of influence from early death metal in the raw pummeling they dish out. The vocals are manically croaked rather than just growled. This places a sometimes emotionally charged aspect to them. It's dark and for death metal of this kind a reasonable sense of songwriting and dynamics. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/deathcult-beasts-of-faith_16.html 9-Wayfarer -"Old Souls" his band from Colorado creates some dark brooding metal makes you forget they are from the States. Primarily they strike me as being a blackened death metal band with the vocals leaning them more in the death metal direction. When the pace picks up a little toward the end the shadowy feeling reinforces the looming black metal influence, but over all there is just a great mood and atmosphere coating this death metal which gives your ears the impression of black metal. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/wayfarer-old-souls.html

8-Krypts-"Remnants of Expansion" en at it's most cheese filled Finnish metal has a knack for darkness. There is not any cheese to be found on  the new one from this band from Finland. They dig up  all of the elements I need from death metal and puts them together in one nasty package. I like the painful ache of their throb that almost borders on doom. When they speed up into the faster double bass sections it makes more sense as we have been shown the contrast of what this sounds like when it is not coming at us with this speed to we can full appreciate the shift. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/krypts-remnants-of-expansion.html

7-Master- "An Epiphany of Hate" In need of some old school classic 90's sounding death metal, I jumped at the chance to give this album a shot , even though back in their hey day, I never really listened to these guys. The first thought that hit me is they sound like a faster version of Obituary. This is in part due to the gnarly but decipherable growl of bassist and sole founding member Paul Speckmann. Speckmann comes from a time when no matter how heavy you are trying to be at the end of the day it becomes all about songs . This is the case even when his growl takes on a more garbled sound that is an dynamic effect in and of itself. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/01/master-epiphany-of-hate.html

6-Be'Lakor- "Vessels" Right from the onset of the Australian death metal band's fourth album it is clear something is different here. All too often the term melodic death metal means something is going to go very wrong and we are going to be more concerned with clean singing and shredding than kicking your ass. I would not say this band is really concerned with kicking ass. They have the synths and the clean guitar tones. Which in and of themselves if placed in the right hands can be valuable tools to create metal with. The vocals are a low growl that has been dipped in effects, which is fine by me it gives it a little bit of a Morbid Angel edge. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/belakor-vessels.html

5-Asphyx- "Incoming Death" This Dutch death metal band released their first full length in 1991 and have been storming the gates with their very manic take on the genre ever since. Their lead growler did some time in Pestilence, which gives them an edge over being just another death metal band from the 90s. There is more of dry snarling rasp to his weathered voice.  He is also the sole long standing member of the band. These guys are upholding a legacy of a band that hailed from  an era where writing songs came before just being heavy. This album shows great maturation as a band due to it's restraint. When it comes to death metal this might not not always be dark enough for me, but for straight up no frills death metal from the 90s then this is your jam. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/asphyx-incoming-death.html

4-Ketzer- "Starless" This German band's third full length is well thought out from every angle. Well produced with out being gaudy. The vocals are the most black metal element to the  album, which is otherwise melodic death metal at it's heart. It is really on a song by song basis as to what shade of darkness these guys are bringing. The first song is oddly upbeat from the onset and they waste no time to defy what is expected from any genre. This is followed by "When Milk Runs Dry' that finds the band coming closer to a more Blackened Death Metal sound , but their is something about these riffs  carry a majestic air that death metal doesn't encompass. On "Godface" The punk influence on thrash can also be felt here, making this almost feel more like black n roll. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/02/black-metal-history-month-ketzer.html

3-Withered- "Grief Relic"

 Speaking of black metal, these guys used to think of themselves as black metal and got on black metal torus , but they are really death metal.They embrace this on their first album for Seasons of Mist.their return after a six year hiatus roars up from the depths with a cavernous blasting. Very dense and heavy, the intensity it hits you with from the onset begs a question we ask most bands that are this heavy after the opening song plows us over ...O.k what else can you do? Write Songs? Yes they can and do with a sense of darkness and sonic heft to them.

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1-Lesbian- "Hallucinogenesis"

 Former members of the Accused formed this band back in 2007. Perhaps back then they might have been doom, but now they are proggy death metal. The vocals are varied and a good blend of sung vocals and growls. The opener has almost a black metal like throb to it. I like the fact that these guys are really dark. In some ways it makes me think of what might have happened if Acid Bath collided with Cynic. There are space like keyboard sounds zooming out of the corners of the song not inhabited by guitar solos.s I really like the weird myriad of genres that combine in the most twisted way possible. Sure it's proggy , but never awkward and puts being mean and heavy before showing off their chops. chops.http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/lesbian-hallucinogenesis.html

Master : "An Epiphany of Hate"

In need of some old school classic 90's sounding death metal, I jumped at the chance to give this album a shot , even though back in their hey day, I never really listened to these guys. The first thought that hit me is they sound like a faster version of Obituary. This is in part due to the gnarly but decipherable growl of bassist and sole founding member Paul Speckmann. Speckmann comes from a time when no matter how heavy you are trying to be at the end of the day it becomes all about songs . This is the case even when his growl takes on a more garbled sound that is an dynamic effect in and of itself on "Fiction Soon Becomes Reality" . It doesn't have a big chorus and the punk roots of this kind of music are evident in the drumming. The snare sound on this album could have been lifted from any of the early death metal albums that came out of Tampa in the late 80s. The echoes of thrash, death metals closest cousin can be found in "Face Your Fear". Though the song itself is not as engaging as the first two.

"Just Be Your Self" brings the bands Slayer influence to the surface. This is over course early Slayer they pull from, even pre- "Reign in Blood". "Just Take My Right Arm" dives back into more straight ahead classic sounding death metal. This album is not going head to head with "Altars of Madness" or even "Heartwork" as it begins to lose it's moment at the midway point. Slayer's influence on death metal as a whole is felt once again on the title track. Today's crop of death metal bands could learn from this band that your vocals do not always have to have the same cookie monster growl to them that every other death metal band has. "It's Clearly Eden" doesn't break any new ground for these guys , but isn't half bad either. The lyrics are pretty relevant. They get a little darker on " the People of the Damned" which are what they children of the damned become when they grow up. The pace picks up for this one and when they start adding up the bpms , it blurs together.

There is a catchier mosh groove to "Senses All Will Be Controlled". It maintains it brisk stampede,  but doesn't expand upon it.They scrape up a thicker grime covered groove on "Red Alert". This might not be the most dynamic death metal album of the year, but these guys certainly have engraved their own thing over the years despite sometimes having their influences on their sleeves , compared to the bulk of death metal coming out, the unique vocal delivery, socially conscious lyrics and the torch burning from the era that came from burns bright enough for me to round this up to an 8.