Album Review: Master - Saints Dispelled
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Master. Possibly one of death metal’s greatest incarnations, Master formed all the way back in 1983 out of Chicago, United States initially, eventually moving to the Czech Republic, with sporadic formations and breakups, releasing Demos in 1985, before reforming again in 1989, whereupon the band released their iconic self-titled debut a year later. Since then Master, helmed by the immovable Paul Speckmann, having fronted bands the likes of Death Strike, Krabathor, Abomination etc, have only gone from strength to strength and now, moving into 2024, Master prepare to unleash their fifteenth album upon the masses. The longest gap between albums in their career, Master could be confused for sitting on their laurels but that couldn’t be further from the truth; the band are easily amongst the hardest working and non-stops bands I’ve ever seen. A band over four decades into their career from their 1983 inception and recently signed on to Hammerheart Records, Master return with Saints Dispelled for a cosy January 19th release date.
It may have been a number of years since Master released a full length work, yet going into their first track would have you thinking we last saw them only last week. Right from the get go the band launch us right into the mix of their legendary carnage as a slew of riffs and volume assail us side to side. The band’s songwriting has often been categorised as grounded but straightforward; there isn’t anything overtly superfluous occurring as they play, it’s old fashioned riffs, death metal galore that made, and continues to make, Master the revered name they are. There frankly aren’t many death metal acts like Master these days that are so unapologetically themselves and give their audience precisely what they’re looking for. I know I can go into any Master album and have a good time and, once more, Saints Dispelled is no exception.
Yet, it must be stated just how strong the bass is within Master’s songwriting this time round. Paul Speckmann, perhaps one of extreme metal’s hardest working, yet continuously underrated, stalwarts shines throughout this work as his bass guitar seems to have been injected with an additional dosage of ferocity. It hasn’t been mixed in to the point where the basslines are noticeably audible at every given moment, but the bass absolutely surrounds this record and props the rest of the instrumentation up tenfold as it’s sonorous tone cleaned the record into a fist, a fist that punches you from start to finish. The bass within the mix is also quite prominent; though the riffs and vocals move through to the forefront with ease, the record’s bass sees the songwriting draped in a confident clench that emboldens the band’s performance.
Master never disappoint in providing riffs that are simultaneously ripping yet possess a clearly defined structure, and Saints Dispelled continues that idea. It’s a showcase of how well put together their records are that I went into this work knowing full well what I would be getting and that I would have a great time in doing so, and still coming out of it thoroughly satisfied. Master are old school as they come in death metal and so their approach to songwriting permeates that notion as the band keep things nicely grounded; their ethos is evidently one of simplicity, but that doesn’t mean you can easily get away with writing subpar quality as Master have only continued to excel at crafting music that’s straight to the point and doesn’t waste our time in establishing more nuanced structures or riffs that might move out of the box we know Master are firmly at home in. The guitar work, riffs and the soloing on show is fast but, owing to how it’s structured, we maintain our attention to it with great ease as we understand the band aren’t throwing any additional elements our way that would otherwise hunger our ability to experience their primary sound.
It’s worth remembering that Speckmann has been in the death metal game for a long, long time. Considering Saints Disepelled comes out in early 2024, over forty years after Master originally formed, it’s amazing how Speckmann’s vocals have managed to survive throughout every release this band, including every other band he’s helmed, and collaborations, have done and yet venturing into 2024 his vocal performance not only persists but seemingly improves in its quality. His gravelly, coarse vocals have been a strongly identifiable aspect of the band for decades but, even in his sixties, Speckmann’s growl feels so strong perhaps because it doesn’t take much to project it. When you listen to him perform, his voice doesn’t feel to be changing all that much nor is he putting too much additional energy into it; it’s a rather natural extreme metal vocal performance that excellently ties into the band’s philosophy of straightforward heavy metal. Granted I may not always decipher every word he’s saying, but I just love the aesthetic his vocals provide.
In conclusion, I simply loved this album. Master have always been very close to my metal heart and experiencing their first album since 2018 was a joy. Listening to Saints Dispelled really brought home just how convoluted and technical a lot of metal has become, even when the style isn’t isn’t gearing towards a technical edge. Master are living embodiments that keeping things straightforward and without needless complication can be just what your sound needs; this was a fifty minute record that at no point waned nor fell stale nor had me wishing for it to end. If anything I wanted this record to keep going on; it could have gone for a full eighty minutes and I don’t believe I’d have minded. It reminds me of the thrash and death metal I got into when first experiencing this style of music, it was crushing and heavy but it always knew where it was headed and didn’t try throwing me through any loopholes of expectation. But it’s also a remarkably light affair too; I never felt the struggle to support this album as it played, and I feel like whether annoyed, overjoyed, sad, troubled or content I could pop this album on and relieve the same feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment as I did the first time round. It’s a record for all times of the day and requires absolutely zero preparation to dive in. Saints Dispelled is easily the band’s strongest release amidst a catalogue of strong releases. A sublime chef’s kiss of a record from the Motörhead of Death Metal.
