Master
Chicago-based death metal band Master has been the primary musical vehicle for journeyman vocalist and bassist Paul Speckmann since the start of the 1990s, but his first known sighting dates back to 1982, as a short-term member of local power metal hopefuls, War Cry, who appeared on Metal Blade's Metal Massacre IV compilation. Speckmann and his rhythm partner, drummer Bill Schmidt, soon fell out with their band mates over creative differences (the duo wanted to play more extreme heavy metal, the others wanted to wimp out), but their new band took some time taking shape while they auditioned as many as 25 guitarists, without finding their man. In the meantime, Speckmann became involved in another side project called Death Strike and Schmidt with a band called Mayhem (no relation to the Norwegian black metal clan), and so it wasn't until 1985 that their collaboration was revived with the recruitment of guitarist Chris Mittelbrun -- thus was born Master. Taking money he had recently inherited from his father, Speckmann paid for some studio time to record an album-length demo, and this quickly spread Master's name through the heavy metal underground, thanks to the worldwide tape trading network that bound fans together at the time. But record companies seemingly weren't ready for the band's savage brand of thrash yet (and Master didn't care for the only deal offered by Combat), so the trio would continue to struggle for another five years before securing a deal for the eponymous Master album's release in 1990. By then, Speckmann had become temporarily distracted with other bands like Funeral Bitch and Abomination, and the original trio were splitting up, but positive fan reaction to Master's exciting death/thrash direction urged Speckmann to draft new guitarist Paul Masvidal (later of Death, Cynic, etc.) and drummer Aaron Nickeas for 1991's sophomore On the 7th Day God Created...Master. But the restless Speckmann seemed incapable of focusing on any one band (he had also recorded two Abomination albums during this same period), and subsequently continued to dabble in innumerable side projects while moving around the country (first to Phoenix, then L.A.), meaning that subsequent Master albums like Collection of Souls (1993) and Faith is in Season (1998) were both sporadic, unfocused, and recorded by ever-changing lineups. Then, in 1999, Speckmann decided to relocate to the Czech Republic, after assisting with the recording of a Martyr album and being invited to join local death metal group Krabathor full time. Since then, Speckmann has continued to resurrect the Master name when the mood strikes him, releasing albums such as 2002's Let's Start a War, 2004's The Spirit of the West, 2005's Four More Years of Terror, and 2007's Slaves to Society. The group's long lost 1985 album was also finally made public in 2003 under the imaginative title of Unreleased 1985 Album.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo
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Saints Dispelled
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 19 Jan 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master
Metal - Released by 2017 Hammerheart Records on 10 Oct 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
On the Seventh Day God Created... Master (Remastered 2022)
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 15 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Faith Is in Season (15th Anniversary Edition)
Metal - Released by Horror Pain Gore Death Productions on 7 Apr 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
On the Seventh Day God Created... Master
Metal - Released by 2017 Hammerheart Records on 22 Oct 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vindictive Miscreant
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 14 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master (Remastered 2022)
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 15 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An Epiphany of Hate
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 23 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Witch Hunt
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 23 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Collection of Souls (Remaster 2022)
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 6 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Minds Under Pressure
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 15 Dec 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let's Start a War (Remastered 2022)
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 10 Jun 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Spirit of the West (Remastered 2022)
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 10 Jun 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Human Machine
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Four More Years of Terror (Remaster 2022)
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 8 Jul 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walk in the Footsteps of Doom
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 17 Nov 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The New Elite
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 5 Aug 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Can't Be a Liar
Alternative & Indie - Released by MüzikOnair on 7 Feb 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Slaves to Society (Remaster 2022)
Metal - Released by Hammerheart Records on 8 Jul 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Faith Is In Season
Metal - Released by Crash Music on 7 Apr 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo