War Master

Last updated

War Master
Warmstr.jpg
Studio album by
Released4 February 1991 [1]
RecordedSlaughterhouse Studios, September 1990
Genre Death metal
Length46:03
Label Earache, Combat
Producer Colin Richardson
Bolt Thrower chronology
Cenotaph
(1991)
War Master
(1991)
The Peel Sessions 1988–90
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Record-Journal C+ [3]

War Master is the third album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Slaughterhouse studios in September 1990 and produced by Bolt Thrower and Colin Richardson. It was released on Earache Records: Mosh 29 in 1991.

Contents

Whereas Realm of Chaos was dominated by grindcore based blasts and riffs, this album abandons most of the grindcore influences for a sound that is more strictly death metal. Moreover, there is more melody in the music and the guitar solos, although some chaotic solos remain. This is also the final Bolt Thrower album to feature the blast beat style of drumming (which can be heard on four songs – "Unleashed (Upon Mankind)", "What Dwells Within", "War Master", and "Afterlife"), before it was abandoned and subsequently never used thereafter in the Bolt Thrower discography.

"Cenotaph" is a thematic continuation of the song "World Eater" from the previous record. The closing riff from "World Eater" is the same as the opening riff from "Cenotaph" and also used in "Embers" from The IVth Crusade, "Powder Burns" from Mercenary and "The Killchain" from Those Once Loyal.

The album was extensively sampled on Dutch breakcore producer Bong-Ra's album Full Metal Racket, with allusions also including song titles such as "Bloody Cenotaph" and "Jo Bench". [4]

Track listing

All songs written by Bolt Thrower.

No.TitleLength
1."Intro... Unleashed (Upon Mankind)"6:13
2."What Dwells Within"4:18
3."The Shreds of Sanity"3:26
4."Profane Creation"5:32
5."Destructive Infinity" (CD bonus track)4:14
6."Final Revelation"3:55
7."Cenotaph"4:03
8."War Master"4:17
9."Rebirth of Humanity"4:01
10."Afterlife"5:59
Total length:46:03

Personnel

Bolt Thrower
Production

Related Research Articles

Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. Grindcore is considered a more noise-filled style of hardcore punk while using hardcore's trademark characteristics such as heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls, shouts and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups like Napalm Death are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolt Thrower</span> English death metal band

Bolt Thrower was a British death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling bands on that label. Their last label was Metal Blade Records. The band had a succession of members, and had toured Europe, the United States, and Australia. Over the course of their 30-year career, Bolt Thrower released eight studio albums, three EPs, one live album, three compilation albums and two demos. Their albums have sold over 100,000 copies in the United States as of 2005.

Extreme Noise Terror are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore, and for recording a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band started as crust punks and helped characterise the early, archetypal grindcore sound with highly political lyrics, fast guitars and tempos, and often very short songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pungent Stench</span> Austrian death metal band

Pungent Stench is a death metal band from Vienna, Austria, formed in 1988. Their last known lineup consists of Martin Schirenc (vocals/guitar), Danny Vacuum (vocals/bass), and Mike G. Mayhem (drums). Pungent Stench achieved early on prominence in the death metal scene due to their unique style of extreme metal and their controversial lyrical content, a seamless blend of gore, paraphilia and black comedy. They dissolved in 1995, re-formed in 1999, then split up again 2007 after recording a final studio album, eventually released in 2018, and re-formed again in 2013 as “The Church Of Pungent Stench” and renamed themselves again as “Schirenc Plays Pungent Stench” in 2014”

<i>In Battle There Is No Law!</i> 1988 studio album by Bolt Thrower

In Battle There Is No Law! is the debut album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Loco studios by Andrew Fryer, and mixed at Clockwork by Alan Scott. It was released on Vinyl Solution as Sol 11 on 20 June 1988, and re-released on Vinyl Solution as Sol 11 in 1992, with a different album sleeve. The album was again re-released in 2005 with the old album sleeve restored. The sound of the album dominantly featured characteristics of grindcore, with lyrics socio-politically charged as the members had roots in hardcore punk, and created a sound that was heavily influenced by their roots.

<i>Realm of Chaos</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Bolt Thrower

Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness is the second studio album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower, released on 28 October 1989. It was recorded at Loco Studios in April 1989 and engineered by Tim Lewis. It was mixed at Slaughterhouse Studios in July 1989 and engineered by Colin Richardson. It is produced by Bolt Thrower and Digby Pearson. The cover artwork was produced by Games Workshop. The whole album is closely tied to Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 game background and Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness was the title of a gaming book by Games Workshop released in 1988.

<i>The Peel Sessions 1988–90</i> 1991 compilation album by Bolt Thrower

The Peel Sessions 1988–90 is a Bolt Thrower album consisting of three Peel Sessions. It is released on Strange Fruit: DEI 8118–2 in 1991 and recorded live in the studio. It is produced by Dale Griffin.

<i>The IVth Crusade</i> 1992 studio album by Bolt Thrower

The IVth Crusade is the fourth studio album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Sawmill Studios in August 1992 and produced by Bolt Thrower and Colin Richardson. The album was engineered by John Cornfield and mixed at Fon studios. It was also engineered by Alan Fisch and Steve Harris. It was released through Earache Records as Mosh 70 in 1992. The album title comes from the Fourth Crusade and the capturing of Constantinople. The cover artwork is a painting from Eugène Delacroix, showing "The Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople".

<i>...For Victory</i> 1994 studio album by Bolt Thrower

...For Victory is the fifth album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Sawmill studios in 1994, produced by Colin Richardson and Bolt Thrower. A limited edition contains a live CD titled Live War.

<i>Mercenary</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Bolt Thrower

Mercenary is the sixth album by the British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Chapel Studios, Lincoln, England, December 1997 to January 1998. The album was produced by Bolt Thrower and Ewan Davis. It was released on Metal Blade Records in 1998.

<i>Honour – Valour – Pride</i> 2001 studio album by Bolt Thrower

Honour – Valour – Pride is the seventh album by the British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded and mixed at Sable Rose Studios in Coventry, June to September 2001. It was produced by the band and Andy Faulkner, and was released on Metal Blade Records in 2001. Honour – Valour – Pride is the only full length Bolt Thrower album not featuring Karl Willetts and the first with Martin Kearns on drums.

<i>Who Dares Wins</i> (album) 1998 compilation album by Bolt Thrower

Who Dares Wins is a compilation of various rare Bolt Thrower tracks from EPs and other sources: Tracks 1–4 are from the Cenotaph EP, tracks 5–8 are from the Spearhead EP and the tracks 9 and 10 are from the same session as "...For Victory", previously released on "Rareache" and the Japanese version of ...For Victory. It is released on Earache Records, Mosh 208 on 14 September 1998. The cover art is also taken from the Spearhead EP.

<i>Cenotaph</i> (EP) 1991 EP by Bolt Thrower

Cenotaph is an EP by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. Tracks 1 and 2 were recorded at Slaughterhouse studios in September 1990, track 3 was recorded at Slaugherhouse studios in July 1989. All three were produced by Colin Richardson and Bolt Thrower. Track 4 was recorded live at Kilburn National on 16 November 1989. It is a rough audience recording, "[...] that we feel captures the atmosphere of the Grindcrusher Tour". It was released on Earache: Mosh 33 in 1990 and has been deleted.

<i>Spearhead</i> (album) 1993 EP by Bolt Thrower

Spearhead is an EP by the British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Sawmill Studios, produced by Colin Richardson and Bolt Thrower, engineered by John Cornfield, mixed at Fon Studios in September 1992, engineered by Alan Fisch and Steve Harris. It was released on Earache Records: Mosh 73 in February 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Repulsion (band)</span> American grindcore band

Repulsion is an American grindcore band from Flint, Michigan, founded in 1984.

<i>Those Once Loyal</i> 2005 album by Bolt Thrower

Those Once Loyal is the eighth and final studio album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower, released on 11 November 2005 by Metal Blade Records. Recorded with producer Andy Faulkner at Sable Rose Studios in Coventry, England, it was the first Bolt Thrower album since Mercenary (1998) to feature vocalist Karl Willetts, who rejoined the band in November 2004.

Brutality is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida. The group was signed to Nuclear Blast Records in the 1990s.

<i>Scrolls of the Megilloth</i> 1992 studio album by Mortification

Scrolls of the Megilloth is the second studio album by Australian Christian extreme metal band Mortification. It was released on 28 August 1992. The band's most famous release, this album is full-on death metal, with the thrash metal roots barely showing, and possibly their most extreme album to date. According to AllMusic, the album "garnered the band some attention from the heavy metal underground" and contains "some of the most frightening vocals ever recorded." In 2010, HM Magazine ranked Scrolls of the Megilloth number 17 on the Top 100 Christian Metal Albums of All Time list with Van Pelt stating that "Though the band has been living it down ever since, this album raised the standard of Christian grindcore to almost unattainable levels."

<i>Krallice</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Krallice

Krallice is the first album by the New York–based black metal band Krallice. It was released on compact disc in 2008 by the Canada-based Profound Lore Records, and on vinyl in 2009 by the American-based Gilead Media.

<i>Rise to Power</i> (Monstrosity album) 2003 studio album by Monstrosity

Rise to Power is the fourth studio album by the American death metal band Monstrosity. The album was recorded at Audio Hammer studios in Sanford, Florida, with the engineer Jason Suecof and was released on September 23, 2003, by Conquest Music.

References

  1. https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Bolt_Thrower/War_Master/417525
  2. AllMusic review
  3. Atkinson, Peter (28 June 1991). "Off the Record". Record-Journal . p. 29.
  4. "Bong-Ra – Full Metal Racket (2007, CD) – Discogs".