Master
Saints Dispelled
Hammerheart Records
Released: 1/19/24
Version Reviewed: Digital Promo
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1 – Destruction in June
2 – Walk in the Footsteps of Doom
3 – Saints Dispelled
4 – Minds Under Pressure
5 – Find Your Life
6 – Marred and Diseased
7 – The Wiseman
8 – Wizard of Evil
9 – Nomads (CD Bonus track)
10 – Alienation of Insanity (CD Bonus track)
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When it comes to old-school, Master are as true to the title as it gets. Founded in 1983, the band, helmed by the well-known Paul Speckmann, has produced fifteen albums over the span of four decades. Speckmann, who is now 60, is still producing hard-charging, thunderous death metal. On Saints Dispelled, released through Hammerheart Records, there is proof that less is more. The Speckmann-fronted trio keep it straight to the point with nothing but crushing riffs, pounding drums, and blistering leads.
The album opener, ‘Destruction in June,’ is pure fury, a proper starting point. A vicious riff of surgical single-note tremolo meets rapid fire double bass, cyclically repeating, while Speckmann belts out a death growl over top the chaos. The song kicks into a thrashier groove and a ripping solo takes lead of the song for over a minute. Between the main riff, which is constant tension and release over and over, and the furious stampede of drumming, this is a track that is sure to peak the listener’s attention.
‘Walk In the Footsteps of Doom’ and the title track, ‘Saints Dispelled,’ are both thrashing death metal that’s by the book; solid primary riffs, ripping solos, drums that vary from storming double-bass to thrash style bass drum triplet abuse, and Speckmann’s gruff vocals.
‘Minds Under Pressure’ is the most hook-heavy song on “Saint Dispelled” thanks to its repeating chorus, which just begs for crowd interaction. Speckmann may no longer reside in Chicago, but this tracks screams Chicago death metal from its core, with head banging groove intersecting with crushing heaviness.
‘Find Your Life’ sees a primary riff of palm-muted chugging fifth chords trading off with a flurry of rapid descending hammer-ons before transitioning into a melodic single note riff. Much like all the previous tracks, there are more blistering solos ready to uncover and double-bass transitions between the verses that counteract the modern groove with old-school power.
‘Marred and Diseased’ is a rhythm-based monstrosity sure to whip a room into a frenzy. ‘The Wiseman’ opens with a beautiful clean riff with Middle Eastern-sounding accenting that gets some contrast from a distorted guitar doubling the riff. The peace of the intro is incinerated by a flurry of bass drum pummeling while the intro riff is sped up immensely to serve as the main propulsion for the track.
Saints Dispelled also comes with two bonus tracks for the CD version, ‘Nomads,’ which is another jab of thrash Death Metal and the eight minute long ‘Alienation of Insanity,’ laden with groove and more razor-sharp soloing.
Even at album number fifteen, Master still have a lot to offer and Saints Dispelled stands as a rock-solid piece of thrashing death metal. Paul Speckmann and his team put together an album packed full of riffs that’s to the point, precise, and has no smoke and mirrors whatsoever. Proof that not every riff in the rehearsal room needs to hit the album, the stripped-down three-piece approach means a lot of groove and a lot of doomier death metal passages, and the soloing throughout the album is well constructed and fluid. Master keep it true and deliver another solid record.
Label: Hammerheart Records
Band: Master
This review was originally written for Voices from the Darkside.
-AJK
apanthropy 
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