Master is an American

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band led by

Paul Speckmann Paul Speckmann (born September 28, 1963) is an American bassist and singer from Chicago, Illinois. He currently lives in Uherské Hradiště, Czechia. Biography Speckmann formed his first band, Warcry, in 1982. He recorded the demo ''Trilogy ...

. Originally formed in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, the band later relocated to

Uherské Hradiště Uherské Hradiště (; german: Ungarisch Hradisch, hu, Magyarhradis) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. The agglomeration with the two neighbouring towns of Staré Město and Kunovice has over ...

, Czechia.

History

The group was originally formed by Speckmann in 1983 as Death Strike, after the demise of his earlier band, Warcry. In 1985, Speckmann renamed the band Master and obtained a record deal with

Combat Records Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1983 and based in New York City. The label specifically was for heavy metal and punk rock acts, Notable artist include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, OZ, Death, ...

. An album was recorded but was shelved due to issues with the label. The recording sessions for the album were released in 2003 by

Displeased Records Displeased Records was a Dutch independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterp ...

as ''Unreleased 1985 Album''. In 1990, the band signed with the German label

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label move ...

, which also had Speckmann's other group, Abomination, under contract. Master released their debut album, titled ''Master'', in 1990. It was recorded with Chris Mittelbrun on guitars and Bill Schmidt on drums. Nuclear Blast did not approve of the album, however, and it was later re-recorded with Aaron Nickeas on drums and Jim Martinelli on guitars and released as Speckmann Project in 1991. Master published ''On the Seventh Day God Created... Master'' in 1992, which featured

Paul Masvidal Paul Albert Masvidal (born January 20, 1971) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and a founding member of the progressive metal band Cynic. He has remained a continual member in Cynic for nearly three decades and has ...

on lead guitar. ''Collection of Souls'' was released in 1993, but Master did not re-sign with Nuclear Blast. The band went on hiatus, in search of a new record label. They released ''Faith Is in Season'' in 1998, through Pavement Music. Speckmann focused on several other projects, including the resurrected Abomination. In 1999, he joined Czech death metal band

Krabathor Krabathor, also spelled Krabator on their early demos, is a Czech death metal band from Uherské Hradiště, founded by vocalist and guitarist Petr "Christopher" Kryštof in 1984. The band also includes bassist/vocalist Bronislav "Bruno" Kovař� ...

and subsequently relocated to Czechia. Master released ''Let's Start a War'' in 2002 on System Shock and followed with ''Spirit of the West'' in 2004. They then signed with German label Twilight Vertrieb and issued ''Four More Years of Terror'' in 2005. Five albums have been released since: ''

Slaves to Society ''Slaves to Society'' is the ninth studio album by American-Czech death metal band Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles *Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlighten ...

'' (2007), ''

The Human Machine ''The Human Machine'' is the ninth studio album by American-Czech death metal band Master. It was released on 26 April 2010, through Pulverised Records. The album was available in a standard version and an alternate slipcase version with differen ...

'' (2010), ''

The New Elite ''The New Elite'' is the tenth studio album by American-Czech death metal band Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles *Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened b ...

'' (2012), ''The Witch Hunt'' (2013), ''An Epiphany of Hate'' (2016), and ''Vindictive Miscreant'' (2018).

Band members

Current *

– bass, vocals * Aleš "Alex 93" Nejezchleba – guitars * Peter Bajči – drums Past * Chris Mittelbrun – guitars * Bill Schmidt – drums * Aaron Nickeas – drums * Jim Martinelli – guitars * Zdeněk "Zdenál" Pradlovský – drums

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Master'' (1990) * ''On the Seventh Day God Created... Master'' (1992) * ''Collection of Souls'' (1993) * ''Faith Is in Season'' (1998) * ''Let's Start a War'' (2002) * ''Unreleased 1985 Album'' (2003) * ''The Spirit of the West'' (2004) * ''Four More Years of Terror'' (2005) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2010) * ''

'' (2012) * ''The Witch Hunt'' (2013) * ''An Epiphany of Hate'' (2016) * ''Vindictive Miscreant'' (2018)

Live albums

* ''Live in Mexico City'' (2000) * ''Live Assault'' (DVD – 2013) * ''Mangled Dehumanization'' (2012) * ''Live'' (2018) * ''God of Thunder'' (2019) * ''Alive in Athens'' (2020)

EPs

* ''Follow Your Savior'' (2001) * ''Widower'' (2019)

Compilations

* ''Masterpieces'' (2005) * ''Command Your Fate (The Demo Collection)'' (2017) * ''Best of'' (2018)

Splits

* ''Master / Abomination'' with Abomination (1990) * ''Master / Excision'' with Excision (1996) * ''Imperial Anthems'' with

Pentagram Chile Pentagram Chile (previously known as Pentagram) is an extreme metal band from Chile, formed in 1985. They were part of the first wave of extreme metal in the mid 1980s, along with bands like Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sepultura and others. Consi ...

(2013) * ''Decay into Inferior Conditions'' with Dehuman (2013)

Demos

* ''85 Demo'' (1985) * ''Demo '91'' (1991) * ''Final Word'' (1995) * ''Everything Is Rotten'' (2005)

References

External links

Master/Paul Speckmann
official website
Paul Speckmann
alternate website {{DEFAULTSORT:Master Musical groups from Chicago American death metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Illinois Musical groups established in 1983 Nuclear Blast artists