Biography
Formed in Prague back in 1983, Master's Hammer counts among the earliest black metal outfits to surface in what later became the Czech Republic. During the initial stretch of their existence the group toiled in near-total isolation on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain, steadily assembling demo recordings whose gradual circulation among dedicated tape traders carried the band's name westward. Those same clandestine networks and smuggled recordings supplied the musicians with much of their formative listening, encompassing the raw assault of English pioneers Venom, the dramatic flourishes of Danish provocateurs Mercyful Fate, the unorthodox approach of Swiss outliers Hellhammer, and additional touchstones. Once Czechoslovakia severed its Communist ties and Soviet oversight in 1989, the band had already crystallized its identity; two years afterward the debut full-length Ritual arrived, presenting a fiercely up-to-date strain of black metal whose ferocious attack was balanced by meticulous song construction and prominent keyboard textures reminiscent of the emerging Norwegian contingent spearheaded by Mayhem, Emperor, and Darkthrone. The lineup responsible for that album consisted of vocalist/guitarist Franta Storm, keyboardist Vlasta Voral, guitarist Tomás "Necrocock" Kohout, bassist Tomás "Monster" Vendl, drummer Mirek Valenta, and percussionist Honza "Silenthell" Pøibyl. An abundance of unreleased material prompted a swift follow-up, and The Jilemnice Occultist surfaced via France's Osmose Productions in 1992, although reports persist that the record was actually tracked before the debut. Most of the membership departed soon afterward, leaving Storm and Voral to navigate several inactive years before issuing the 1995 farewell effort Slagry, whose progressive leanings and assortment of obscure cover versions bore scant relation to metal or to the group's earlier work and thereby marked the project's conclusion. Tomás "Monster" Vendl died on July 26, 2024 at the age of 52.
Albums
