(self financed) Total Time: 54:26
With just 2 albums “Ritual” & “The Jilemnice Occultist” MASTER’S HAMMER wrote history back in the early 90’s with those two masterpieces of Occult Art!!!It’s not an everyday band, these guys have been together since 1983 its 26 years here people!!!The released another album in 1995 under the name “Slagry” but unfortunately this wasn’t good enough to earn people’s attention and after that time everyone thought they were spit-up as a project…But one day somewhere in December I went to my local disk store and found out that a self released album was already out!!!”Mantras” has come to conquer the Czech throne in experimentalism & spiritism!!!!
From the first time I saw this weirdo cover on the album, I said ok this is the time for the occult history to continue..I am precautious with new come backs from old bands as most of them want to just earn money and record something stupid to sell..But in our case, MASTER’S HAMMER break this rule as they have wrote another jewel again!!!The old-school alien like sound is still here and the vocals are almost the same after a decade!!! This is as near perfect a work of art as I can think of, and there isn't a single thing I would have had MASTER’S HAMMER do differently in its construction. It is a grand statement, a giant of metal pride coupled with the negative ethos of black metal and forged into something unique, heavy and ingenious. People that like to hear something completely new and the usual new releases that some bands use to do every year, “Mantras” is here to make your ears travel to a strange and never explored land..There are many elements in the mix that make this release so special. Their vocalist and primary songwriter Franta Storm has a particularly odd style. His vocals are almost like wheezing rasps rather than screams, yells or grunts. Adding to the strangeness is that all the lyrics are in Czech and mostly audible (some people dig that foreign touch, makes them feel cultured or something like that). The drums are fairly straightforward, mainly using simple mid-paced blasts during the thrashing parts, but also using a strange sound seen in later folk-related and "epic" black metal. Another interesting percussive element is a thudding tom that sounds like some kind of war drum. This band seems like an alien opera where tradition, occultism, uniqueness and Black Metal forge together under one mark and “Mantras” is here to prove that some people out there still care about their old fans…
Overall, this is released surprised me more than anything for 2009, it’s not the biggest highlight of the year, but it was a strong comeback that shocked everyone who saw this canvas cover (which is very simple and so cool the same time), the last time they were going out to buy some music..And in my opinion, the ones that knew what majesty MASTER’S HAMMER has offered so far, bought it with no thoughts of rejection..I think the same happened to me and for you out there that haven’t heard the news already, the Czechs ARE BACK AGAIN!!!!
