Master’s Call – A Journey for the Damned
Release Date: 24th November 2023
Label: Fireflash Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackened Extreme Metal, Death Metal, Heavy Metal.
FFO: Behemoth, Morbid Angel, Bloodbath, Dimmu Borgir, Belphegor.
Review By: Rick Farley
From the bowels of the Black Country, UK – the birthplace of heavy metal itself. Birmingham, England’s Master’s Call are a ferocious, blackened extreme metal band with influence taken from the classic metal born from the land they hail. Proud of their heavy metal heritage, the band is inspired to keep the Black Country flag flying.
Originally started as a two-man project in 2014 between guitarist Dave Powell and also then guitarist, but now vocalist John Wilcox, Master’s Call line-up now fully fleshed out as a quintet is releasing their long awaited debut album, A Journey for the Damned on Fireflash Records. An album chock-full of obstacles, which includes the pandemic, various line-up changes and losing three different vocalists during the albums recording. The completion of A Journey for the Damned marks the beginning of the next chapter, one that includes world domination and a sea of devil horns raised up.
Seven brutal songs at forty minutes of forceful, neck breaking extreme metal. Bloodthirsty riffs, demanding drum-work that rumbles your innards and blistering primitive rage, all with an abundance of traditional heavy metal spirit built off the framework of the Black Country’s metal beginnings. Blindingly fast, with natural recklessness and magnetic energy. Mixing/mastering by Kristian “Kohle” Bonifer and the band at Kohlekeller studios in Germany, A Journey for the Damned sounds like a blackened firestorm coming through a portal from hell, igniting everything in its path.
Opening track All Hope in Fire is a potent mix of speedy thrashing savagery, hooky death metal and the heinous menace of black metal all wrapped up into a sickeningly aggressive, furiously headbanging nod to the gods of metals past. An unrelenting battery of double bass, sinister leads and ominous atmosphere immediately sets the tone for the entire record. There’s an electrifying energy here that feels like this track could burst at any moment. Remember when metal sounded fucking dangerous, or when listening to something so wickedly vile that a conjuring of demons felt like a real thing. Yeah, that’s what this track sounds like.
The jagged guitars of Beyond the Gates are in your face cutting and thrashing, while the drums and bass are a constant battering of flesh smashing torture. There’s an underlying darkness from background synths and open chords that brings to mind the symphonic blackened death metal sensibilities of Behemoth at times, which is definitely not a bad thing. The Serpents Rise recalls this influence as well but takes it much further with an ungodly but catchy chorus and thrashy riffs guaranteed to melt faces and crack jaws. Wicked melody lines dance amongst the smouldering hooks, while a throaty roar hacks at your ears and a brutal extreme metal onslaught hammers your skull into dust. There’s so much barbaric metal on this album, you’d be hard-pressed to not feel like you were run over by a demonic bulldozer. Seething, nasty, and intensely powerful.
Master’s Call sites bands like Watain, Morbid Angel, Slayer, Dimmu Borgir and Judas Priest as a few favorites and the influence shows within their music in the best way. Enough inspiration to sound familiar and enjoyable, but also undoubtedly distinguishable as their own sound. As the press release explains, “it’s a black mixture of everything that is extreme, but with melodies and straight forward, recognizable songs that can be easily described as black hymns.” A Journey for the Damned is heavy metal blackened by death. That works for me. 
(4 / 5)
