Master's Hammer
Ritual
[Osmose]


Many people think the "new breath" given to Black Metal around 1990/91 was only due to Scandinavian bands (BEHERIT, MAYHEM, DARKTHRONE...), but we should not forget there were also some fucking good bands in Eastern Europe at the time. You need examples ? TORMENTOR from Hungary, INCARNATOR from Poland,and ROOT and MASTER'S HAMMER from Czec Republic. "Ritual" was the first LP recorded by MASTER'S HAMMER after 3 demos that had been available in the underground since 1987 (!), it presents a great mid-tempo atmospheric Black Metal with a use of keyboards that will remind you of TORMENTOR's "Anno domini", for sure... Yes, this is "old-fashioned" Black Metal, the kind of music that terrified everybody at the end of the '80s. Even if the voice is not as aggressive as most of those you can hear nowadays, they're not the kind of vocals glam rock bands worshipped at the time ! MASTER'S HAMMER managed to create really dark atmospheres with its primitive riffs and rythms, what we can now see as a model for many bands of the actual Eastern European scene (INFERNO, MANIAC BUTCHER etc.). Listening to this album will make you remember the old days of your preferred style from "extreme" metal music, and such tracks as "Ritual" or "Genoive" are simply matsrpieces of black metal, with a very dark feeling inside. Essential for those who want to know the history of Black Metal

8 /10


© 2003 lord pesten