MASTER - The Human Machine CD (SLIPCASE)

Death/Thrash Metal classic re-issued!

It’s sort of hard to believe that Master has been around for almost 40 years now. We remember seeing these guys at nearly every club in the world back in the days, and front-man Paul Speckmann and crew never disappointed. The discography is an impressive collective of honest, brutal Death Metal that is straight from the book of said genre. From 1990 up to 2018 Master has produced solid to great releases, and they have never gone away and have become more brutal with age.

“The Human Machine” from 2010 is a mild kick in the chest void of subtlety or reserve. It’s well-produced, fast-paced Death Metal that has a technical side emanating from it, quite polished one might add. Maturity through Death Metal often means a band either waters down its style and subject matter in accordance to some imaginary borders or they manage to progress from the roots and grow from within. Master has managed to grow without letting up. In fact, Master’s “The Human Machine” could stand up well against death album from 2010 or so, it’s both viable and stirs the senses.

The songs are typically Master: free-thought-promoting, sensible dirges, and violent reactions to all things inane or unjust. In the long lineage that is Master’s discography, the ever constant theme is subjugation, be it internal, mental or governmental. Speckmann’s vocals are so reminiscent to Tom G. Warrior from Celtic Frost it is haunting. His influences show throughout the album, as does the proficiency of the band he has assembled with Alex Nejezchleba on guitars and Zdenek Pradlovsky drumming. The trio is amazingly talented and produces through a mere trio what some bands can not accomplish with five members.

From start to finish, “The Human Machine” is a Death Metal lesson. This is the way Death Metal should be presented: fast, thought-provoking and legible. Another fine release from a vastly underrated band is ready for ingestion.