Master, The Human Machine

I’d never heard Master‘s brand of death metal, that is, until receiving a promo of their latest effort, The Human Machine. I should be flogged for such an atrocity. If the band’s earlier stuff sounds any where as vicious and bludgeoning as the ten tracks on this album I need to start buying up their back catalog.

Massive riffs combine with barbaric, assailing drums and gruff, pissed off vocals to deliver up-tempo, thrashing death metal that has a bit of an infectious old school vibe. There’s plenty of mayhem thrown about in each song, but there’s also moments of melody, as sadistic as it may be, that’s got a catchy groove. Toss in a very social aspect to the lyrics, a fiercely raw production and you’ve got more than just mindless brutal metal — you’ve got one of the nastiest releases this year.

The Human Machine
The title track starts off with a sick riff and pummeling drums before allowing the snearing vocals to come in a short while later. For as aggressive and violent as this song sounds, there’s still a bit of a melody attached to the vocal patterns and guitar work. Don’t get me wrong, this is still the aural equivalent of a back alley bludgeoning.

It’s What Your Country Can Do for You
Coming in at just over six minutes in length and featuring a disturbingly maniacal spoken delivery/diatribe on the state of the nation, as well as, your role within it’s ever reaching tentacles, “It’s What Your Country Can Do for You” is a beast of a song. Right from the get go the drums start pounding with a bestial effort and never let up off the accelerator. The lead at 1:38 is not to be missed.

Twisted Truth
“Twisted Truth” keeps the blood flowing with a catchy rhythm and infectious riff as the band settles into a chugging pace. The vocals are a bit darker and presented with a slower delivery for the most part, but do liven up for a few passages here and there that add a nice dynamic to the song, especially when considering the layered growls. There’s another slick, albeit short lived lead around the two minute mark.

True Color
I love the opening bit of guitars that start this next song off as raucous drum work comes in quickly — it’s dark and evil for sure. Man, whoever is on drums must really despise his equipment — he’s on a mission to beat his kit into the ground. More layered vocals add more depth to this song as the band tears along at a brisk pace. I’m digging the album so far. I was initially worried about the length of some of the songs, but they fly by like nothing.

Suppress Free Thinking
Hell yeah! There’s some creative song structure and delivery going on with “Suppress Free Thinking.” From massive, moshtastic riffs to animalistic drum work, the song has just about everything you could want in vile, aggressive death metal. The lead around 3:20 starts off in the distance but quickly moves to the forefront of the song. That was pretty slick.

A Replica of Invention
“A Replica of Invention” is a bruising monster of a song that starts off slow and plodding, but quickly explodes into a frenzied attack of rapid drumming and a great vocal delivery that seems to go one without a breathe forever. I’ll be playing this song repeatedly in the near future. That, I can guarantee.

Faceless Victims Expelled
Now, here we go. There’s a bit more of a thrash vibe to the pummeling metal assault the band shoves down your throat with this next song. It’s violent, malevolent and down right fun as hell to listen to loud — real loud. While each song on the album carries a similar vibe and overall sound, each one is awesome in their own right. Whether it’s the vocal patterns or the manic drums there’s just something about the songs that keep them from getting stagnate.

Worship the Sun
Man, these dudes certainly know how to open up a song. Another catchy riff and barbaric drumming gets “Worship the Sun” off to a bad ass start. The guys eventually settle into a churning rhythm of destruction as they make their way through 4:05 of death metal. The lead around 2:10 has a bit more of a technical vibe to it than the previous bursts of shredding on the album, but that’s cool with me. It still tears through the speakers.

The Lack of Space
“The Lack of Space” is an interesting track that’s got a bit of a toned down feel to it. The overall pace is a little slower than most of the material on the album and the guitars have taken on a bit of a sludgy, swampy vibe which I totally dig. The song is a nice change of pace, yet still pretty damned nasty.

Impale to Kill
“Impale to Kill” continues the sludgier tone to the guitars nicely from the previous track with a slower, head banging groove. The pace eventually picks up to a mid-tempo chug as the vocals come in raw and vicious. It’s not the best track on the album, but it’s slightly slower pace and presentation serve as a smooth end to a pretty damned outstanding album.

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Additional Notes:
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