Master

Since the early 1990s the Chicago death metal outfit Master has functioned as the main creative outlet for vocalist and bassist Paul Speckmann, although his earliest documented appearance came in 1982 as a brief participant in the local power metal act War Cry, which contributed a track to Metal Blade’s Metal Massacre IV compilation. Speckmann and his drumming partner Bill Schmidt soon parted ways with their colleagues after clashing over musical direction—the pair favored a more aggressive style while the remaining members preferred a lighter approach—yet assembling the new group proved difficult as the duo auditioned roughly twenty-five guitarists without success. During this interval Speckmann joined the side project Death Strike while Schmidt played in a band called Mayhem unrelated to the Norwegian black metal ensemble, so the collaboration only resumed in 1985 once guitarist Chris Mittelbrun came aboard and Master was formally established. Using an inheritance from his father, Speckmann financed studio time for a full-length demo that circulated widely through the tape-trading network of the international metal underground. Record labels, however, showed little interest in the band’s ferocious thrash approach, and Master rejected the sole offer that arrived from Combat, leaving the trio to wait another five years until the self-titled debut finally appeared in 1990. By that point Speckmann had already explored other outlets such as Funeral Bitch and Abomination, and the original lineup was dissolving, yet enthusiastic listener response to the group’s intense death/thrash sound prompted him to recruit guitarist Paul Masvidal, later known for his work with Death and Cynic, along with drummer Aaron Nickeas for the 1991 follow-up On the 7th Day God Created...Master. Speckmann’s tendency to juggle multiple projects—he also completed two Abomination albums around the same time—combined with frequent relocations first to Phoenix and then to Los Angeles, resulted in later releases such as Collection of Souls in 1993 and Faith is in Season in 1998 emerging at irregular intervals with shifting personnel and inconsistent focus. In 1999, after helping record an album for Martyr and receiving an invitation to join the Czech death metal band Krabathor, Speckmann relocated to the Czech Republic, where he has periodically revived Master for sporadic releases including Let’s Start a War in 2002, The Spirit of the West in 2004, Four More Years of Terror in 2005, and Slaves to Society in 2007. The long-unheard 1985 recordings finally surfaced in 2003 as the Unreleased 1985 Album.