Thrash dragged below closer to the dark – 70%
Annable Courts, November 29th, 2021
In the early ether of death metal’s inception back during the mid 80’s, there were very few that were actually relevant in a significant way. Many are mentioned, but very few were really directly responsible for what would become one of the main branches of the metal genre. Of course this doesn’t sound like a precursor to later death metal. It sounds like a precursor to early death metal, so lining up Master’s eponymous sound here with Nile wouldn’t lead up to much of an experiment. This sounds something like an early US version of old Sepultura with more emphasis on bleakness but just as rhythmically focused and punk-inspired. There’s surely inspiration here for first wave death metal bands like Obituary, heard primarily on that chugga-chugga constant rapid guitar action and the slower contemptuous grooves. Also, the band title “Master”. The most metal thing ever, isn’t it ?
Interestingly, Master were a socio-politically conscious band, as seen in song titles like ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ or ‘Unknown Soldier’. It’s fairly interesting as the very early precursors of extreme metal nearly all displayed an obsession with the more extreme subject matters of death, the occult, or horror themes among other subjects of that nature. There’s a sort of grindcore side to the band here, more obvious in the lyrics but also present in the music in the form of very, very high strung bursts of punkish aggression and uptempo angst, in the instrumental and vocals alike.
Speaking of the vocals, they seem more interested in being intelligible and articulate, although still distorted to be sure; rather than focus on the obscene element of seminal underground music, where vocalists would often thrive on either guttural or shrieky terror behind the mic. The prominent bass adds that extra layer of dark heaviness, but the music never quite turns pitch black as it could seem it means to initially. It’s so focused on speed and aggression it seems to settle for a constant level of pounding linearity. Of course, there were virtually no bands exploring the deep ends of metal back then, but it feels almost a shame this album wouldn’t delve that extra layer deeper below given how strongly established it is as an early extreme metal ensemble.
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