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Master > On the Seventh Day God Created... Master > Reviews
Master - On the Seventh Day God Created... Master

Six Years Later.. Master Created New Songs - 80%

Zealot_Crusader, April 14th, 2017
Written based on this version: 1991, CD, Nuclear Blast

Master are a band storied in struggle and turmoil. Their first album was recorded no less than 3 times and remixed more times than can be counted from 1985-1990 before finally seeing release. Had that album came out the year it had been intended, and history might have been very different for death metal, with Master being hailed as progenitors of the genre instead of Possessed or Death. Nonetheless, enough of their rehearsal demo and the aborted 1985 version of the album had been leaked that they still ultimately inspired the community they ended up joining 5 years later, leading to this album.

1991 saw a very different Master release a very different album than their prior work. The original members had been dismissed after their re-recording didn't meet with approval from Nuclear Blast Records boss Marcus Staiger. The lineup that formed to make the 3rd version (inevitably released as "The Speckmann Project") ended up being the version of Master to carry on, beginning new material for the first time in the band's history since 1985. Unfortunately, guitarist Jim Martinelli was dismissed before the album could be recorded, but as a last-ditch effort, Paul Masvidal of Cynic and Death fame was brought in to help Paul Speckmann record the album, resulting in the most technically accomplished and brutal album of their career.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, it must be admitted that this is still Master, and therefore no blast beats, no complex riffs, bridges, or progressive thinking whatsoever. From opening blast to final riff, this is simple, face-grinding death metal that is only a hair's width away from thrash, punk, or hardcore in terms of composition, with only the guitar tone, lyrics, and vocals to really separate it from those other genres. Paul Speckmann still has his throaty bellow, and his socio-political bent intact, but guest guitarist Paul Masvidal adds a bit of class to the solos and precision to the riffs of these songs, elevating this album in the same way James Murphy did for Obituary on "Cause of Death" or Cancer for "Death Shall Rise". This album doesn't come close to those in noteworthy content, but it's the best comparison one can find.

Songs like the opening cut "What Kind of God" and "Demon" really bring home the simple goodness Master is known for, while songs such as "Judgment of WIll" or "Submerged in Sin" show a tiny bit of progression past the normal verse/chorus ropes Master typically frequents, with some interesting seconds of slow crawl or bridges that as mentioned before, are typically absent from Master songwriting. Ironic that these songs were co-written with Jim Martinelli before his unceremonious exit, but that might have also been part of the reason: he pushed an envelope for the band that Paul Speckmann might not have been comfortable with at the time. The only real drawback of this release is the painfully processed production by Scott Burns, Typically his triggered drums and compressed guitar tone do well for early 90's death metal, but here they make this primitive form of death metal sound too mechanical for it's own good.

Overall, this is the height of the original 90's output from Master, and the band would not produce anything noteworthy again until Paul Speckmann relocated to Eastern Europe and took reigns of the band's future full time. Granted, some of that stuff is barely above thrash too, but at least it's existing on it's own terms, and not bowing to the conventions of the time like this record. All that notwithstanding, this is a hell of a catchy and memorable death metal album, which is something that early Cannibal Corpse (among other popular acts of the day) could not claim.

In 1991 Master Released... This Album - 75%

Roffle_the_Thrashard, July 23rd, 2015

I was intrigued by the album art of this release when I first saw it. This wasn't the usual death or thrash metal album cover that would feature guts 'n' gore or very dark imagery. The picture here looks triumphant and almost promising. Parts of this album can't have those words said about them, but overall, On the Seventh Day God Created... Master, (which i will call "On the Seventh Day," because the whole title is way too long) was a pretty good piece of classic old school death metal, with thrash influence. But it was not full of much groundbreaking material.

I wasn't terribly happy about the godawful production quality of this album. Everything sounded washed out and muddy. Melodies and lines mixed into each other like a child's mediocre watercolor painting. Yuck. Paul Speckmann's vocals almost got lost in the mix at some points of the album. The production of On the Seventh Day sounded exactly like the not-so-spectacular production of Considered Dead by Gorguts, especially in the drum kit. When I realized that Master producer Scott Burns had also worked on Considered Dead, it made me think: "Why did Gorguts not warn Master about Burns and his knack for making albums sound washed out?" We may never know, but what we do know is that On the Seventh Day won't be remembered for its good production/producer. It was still interesting to see others play their role in making this album a success. With people like Scott Burns in the mix of this album, it was clear that this was a group effort from the death metal community of the early 90's. John Ortega, formerly of metal Morbid Angel, and even the one and only John Tardy of Obituary made appearances on this record that ultimately made it better.

The bad production didn't affect the great old school death metal vibe of this album. The album art, although different, hints of the music to come, because if there is one thing that almost, if not all old school death metal bands have in common, it's the complex and detailed art of their album covers. Master's On the Seventh Day wasn't terribly different from many of its fellow old-schoolers' records in terms of song structure writing, as well as riff patterns and note choice. "Heathen" for example, uses a lot of the same minor scale notes and a note pattern at the beginning of the song in which a new note is played in sync with the bass and snare drum. The same key is also used throughout the majority of this album, and it was a bit of a drawback in my opinion. This is a staple of a lot of older death metal, and it is borrowed here very well. There were other metal stereotypes in terms of musical structure and the beginning of "Used" is a perfect example of this. It features a single melody being played with open chords, and then said melody turns into a tremolo groove in which the double bass pattern matches the speed and tempo being played by the guitars and bass. Call me a stickler, but these sorts of things stick out like a sore thumb to me and other musically inclined listeners.

One thing that I simply must proclaim my liking for regarding this album is the spiteful parody of "America the Beautiful," simply referred to here as "America the Pitiful." The lyrics were somewhat funny, and as a person who is a loyal member of the nation in question I still found them to be pretty funny. For those of you who consider this to be an awful thing, wipe your tears, because the second half of the song features the original lyrics to the song. Despite hard hitters like "Whose Left to Decide" and "Used," this is the song that I return to the most that is in On the Seventh Day.

The most noticeable drawback of On the Seventh Day was its general lack of memorability. Other than "America the Pitiful," "Heathen," "Used," and "Whose Left to Decide," there were no other tracks that stood out to me in terms of the songwriting or anything that didn't make them filler. Filler is a sort of nasty word that can get tossed about by anyone, but there was a huge amount of it here. Predictable riffs and melodies roamed everywhere, and there wasn't very stimulating drumming on this album either. The vocals, although bearing a striking resemblance to Peter Steele of Carnivore (R.I.P), didn't have the zing that that many death metal bands' vocalists did at that time. Maybe John Tardy should've just said to Speckmann to move over. But even through all of this criticism, Master does deserve much respect. They have a massive amount of releases and have contributed to the genre of heavy metal in ways that some of us can only dream of doing.

The reign of dullness - 49%

Felix 1666, December 25th, 2014
Written based on this version: 1991, 12" vinyl, Nuclear Blast

It is never too late to learn. God has been involved in the creation of this band? Okay, if the result can be considered as representative, I do not wonder any longer about all these terrible catastrophes, famines and wars on earth. I have seen all the positive reviews on this website, but I am not able to share the enthusiasm of my esteemed colleagues. Let me try to explain the reasons why I don´t like Master´s second album very much. Nevertheless, I want to start with the positive observations.

In contrast to the crappy debut, "On the 7th Day..." delivers at least two good songs. "Latitudinarian" scores because of its catchy staccato chorus. Well, to speak of a chorus may sound presumptuous. Speckmann just barks each and every syllable of the word "Latitudinarian", that´s all. But however, this song stands out, inter alia, due to its melodic intro and the gripping riffs. The second highlight follows immediately. "Heathen" convinces by its devastating power, not least thanks to the fitting tempo changes.

But these well made tunes constitute the exception to the rule. Master mostly deliver primitively constructed songs that lack of emotions and depth. That´s the nub of the matter, this album fails to trigger an emotional response from the listener. The band members prefer fast rhythms and present them in a fairly skillful manner. But they neglect to keep an eye on things of equal importance. Thus for instance, the majority of the choruses lack of catchiness, just listen to the stupid one of "Used". The constant presence of the double bass is worn out quickly. Furthermore, interesting breaks or surprising twists, for example unexpected tempo changes in order to increase the tension, do not show up. To put it in a nutshell, on the basis of the here collected tracks, the songwriting capabilities of the band seem to be very limited. Last but not least, the production sucks so that the riffing fails to reveal its full potential. The dull sound hardly reaches demo quality, no more, no less. Maybe God himself was the one behind the mixing desk. I don´t think so, but it could be an explanation. Seriously spoken, the muddy production appears as a fatal flaw. Most of the songs would have deserved a better sound, although this alone would definitely not have solved all the problems I have with this record.

As mentioned before, the songwriting itself is mediocre at best. This fits in well with the vocal performance of the "Master" himself, Paul Speckmann. I admit that the death metal genre - and the on this full-length presented death thrash subgenre as well - is not really well-known for its wealth of admirable lead singers. But this situation must not provide an excuse for Speckmann´s one-dimensional, boring sprechgesang. Okay, he does not join the unmanageable legions of mediocre death metal growlers. But it sounds gruesomely as he tries to offer the cynical lyrics of "America the Pitiful" in a suitable form. As a matter of fact, the album suffers from his doggish vocals.

Of course, "On the 7th Day..." represents an increase compared with its predecessor. Beside the two aforementioned highlights, songs such as the fairly lively "Submerged in Sin" would have also been a benefit for the rattling debut. But we must bear in mind that their first album left enormous room for improvement. Seen in this way, Speckmann and his bandmates have missed an opportunity to redeem themselves. It´s a shame.

Impossible to deny them this... - 97%

enigmatech, October 18th, 2011

This...fucking...album...whoa. This just fucking rules. If you thought Master's self-titled release was the most brutal thing ever, then you were a fucking bitch, and need to check this one out too. While the previous album was a fun, evil thrashing monster, this one is a monstrous metal avenger descending from the holes in the beyond to erase all of mankind save for it's head-banging brethren!!! The riffs are now ten times more brutal, the vocals now ten times as deep, as well as more guttural, while the drums perform more complicated rhythms interspersed with furious blasts of rapid-fire double bass. If that doesn't sound good to you, neither do boobs!

Paul Masvidal, now famous for the jazz-death metal band Cynic, lends his talents to this disk as well, and it fucking shows. Of course, these riffs are absolutely nothing like that of Cynic, though he adds a unique, melodic dynamic to his solos that strongly resembles Death's "Human" (also released in 1991), and I'd go as far to say this is some of the best stuff he ever did, right behind the aforementioned, all-time classic of "Human". As I just said, with this album Paul Speckmann changed his voice from a semi-stereotypical rasped growl, which was what he used on the "Master" album, to a more guttural bellow that is very distinct and almost completely unique to him. His voice sounds fucking stellar here, as well! Sure, his pronunciation in the chorus of "Submerged in Sin" may sound like a trashed Lars Ulrich shouting anti-establishment rabble at passersby on the streets of New York City, but goddamn it, who wouldn't want to see that?! Someone who hated fun, that's who!

In addition to a new guitar player, this album also has a new drummer, Aaron Nickeas. It's immediately clear that Nickeas is a much more competent drummer than his predecessor, Bill Schmidt. For one, rather than the more simplistic, angst-ridden approach of Schmidt, Nickeas has a much cleverer style in which manages to give the songs a more mature, and unique feel, as well as increase the overall brutality of the album by about ten. Let's not forget that fucking bass drum...FUCK! It sounds like a stampede of raging bulls headed for your mom's house! Look out!!

John Tardy...who happens to be the best growler of ALL TIME, also lends his hand to this album with a few backup growls in "Latitudinarian" and the almighty "Submerged In Sin". His growls don't make the songs (at least, not in the same way they did on Napalm Death's "Unfit Earth"!!!!), but holy fuck, it's John fucking Tardy!! How could you go wrong with that?!? You couldn't, that's how!

Even the artwork for this album is damn brutal. Two old guys looking at...an anomaly of some sorts...holy fuck, IT'S THE CREATION OF MASTER!!!!! If you don't have this album, I pity you. Go out and get this CD and let this music run through your soul, because this is no doubt one of the greatest early 90's death metal CD's I've ever listened to, and it will be for you to, unless you suck!

An inch short of their debut but still great - 85%

morbert, November 7th, 2007

Yes, ’On The Seventh Day God Created... Master’ sounds a whole lot more death metal than predecessor ‘Master’ did. There are two main reasons for this. First of all Paul Speckmann’s vocals are somewhat lower this time, almost becoming old school grunts (guest vocals by John Tardy also came in handy obviously). Secondly the guitar sound is typical early nineties Morrisound and sound a lot like Napalm Death’s ‘Harmony Corruption’ but the drums sounded more clinical and thinner. Cynic guitarist Paul Masvidal does a good job here and of course his solos are less noisy than Chris Mittleburn’s were.

I actually prefer the vocals and sound of their earlier 1990 debut over this one. This heavier and lower sound has a certain negative effect on the experience of speed and aggressiveness. Also there is an increased amount of mid paced moments to be found here and honestly Master sound more convincing when playing fast.

However, before it sounds as if I’m bashing this record, I must stress that songs such as ‘What Kind of God’, ‘Latitudinarian’ and ‘Used’ could have come straight from their previous album and are exactly what you hope Master would write and play. D-beat inspired Polka beats, up tempo double bass drums, simple but effective riffs and catchy vocal lines. (‘Used’ has one of their most catchy choruses ever!). These three songs are close to godly and certified highlights in their lengthy career.

As said, the production cannot compete with the aggressiveness of their earlier recordings, the slightly higher amount of mid paced moments tends to make one impatient and joke riffs such as on ‘America The Pitiful’ are completely unnecessary. But I have to admit as whole it was still a great follow up since it has some classic Master songs.

One Of My Favourite Death/Thrash Albums - 98%

CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8, October 30th, 2007

When I bought this album on LP version I was very happy because it’s so difficult to find and I turned even happier when I listened to it…I had never listened to anything from this band and their power impressed me a lot. I didn’t know what to expect from this band, musically, but now I can say that this is one of my favourite death/thrash albums. Master are maybe a bit “silence” in their presence in the music market, but very “loud” in their music.

Speckmann is a man that can be compared to Murphy or Dan Swano for the numbers of projects he had in various bands but surely Master are the true legend. In a period in which death metal was strong, they released this album that surely can compete with other more famous ones . Since the opener we can hear the true sonic attack: neverending, fast bass drum by Nickeas, solid guitars and fast solos by Masvidal and the bad-ass Speckmann's vocals.

“Latitudinarian” song begins with a piano sound, immediately broken by a heavy as fuck riff and a total mosh up tempo. The drums, even not being so original, are total impact and the guitars parts are really catchy. The refrain is well focused and a guest vocalist like Tardy from Obituary adds something more to an already great sound. “Heathen” is awesome in its slow beginning with echoed vocals and up tempo made on a field of fast bass drum beats: incredible!!! The refrains are terribly catchy and violent at the same time; an hard thing to find.

“Used” is awesome again in its thrashy brutality. The drums are fast and the guitars really tuned down and rotten. The beginning of “Demon” song is incredible with two different guitars parts playing alternated in speed and tempo, while the whole song is total speed-brutality with a great break in the middle followed by really gloomy solos. “Constant Quarrel” is imperious at the beginning with never so growly and evil Paul's vocals. I barely imagine the drummer's strength during his parts: a superior test for him.

“Judgement Of Will” is really obscure and the guitars are even heavier here with a superb drums acceleration in the middle, while the great “America The Pitiful” is amazing in the revisited death /thrash version. “Whose Left To Decide” is again imperious in its march at the beginning and in the tempo changes; the truly incredible violence of “Submerged In Sin” ends an album that should stay in every death/thrash metal fan’s collection. Superb.

A Forgotten Piece Of Savage Death Metal! - 95%

prematureburial, May 22nd, 2007

What can I say, I hadn’t heard of the innovative death metal legend Paul Speckmann till’ around six months ago. I had been listening to death metal for almost a year and a half already, goes to show how forgotten he is. I knew I had to get Master’s first two right away, so eventually I found this album. It was the first offering I had heard form them, and boy was I impressed. I found myself really enjoying it, mainly because of its uniqueness. Some might say its not that different when compared to other bands of the time, well I beg to differ. Maybe in some ways they are similar, like the song structures aren’t really complex, but they are played with a lot of intensity, Aaron Nickeas doesn’t use blast beats, Paul Speckmann has some of the most distinct vocals in the genre, and Paul Masvidal solos like no other, so you cant argue with that. Upon the first listen the album may seem a bit monotonous, the riffs sort of seem to run in to each other, but as soon as you give it another listen you become instantly hooked.


This was Paul Speckmann’s first solo outing, as he wrote all the music, excluding two tracks, so I have to say he created a brutal masterpiece. As with Paul’s music, his lyrics are always well constructed, he sort of starts where he left off on the s/t album, exposing the true issues of humanity and just plain modern day society. You can just hear the hatred in his voice, also he uses a lot more growling than on the debut. Paul is a good bass player, but due to the fact the bass is almost in-audible, I don’t have it marked at 100%, thanks to Scott Burns. Anyway Aaron Nickeas really is an excellent drummer, he isn’t really technical, mainly fast, similar to Donald Tardy of Obituary, he gets the job done well. Speaking of Obituary, we even have the pleasure of hearing the great John Tardy doing backing vocals, which adds a lot. Now for Paul Masvidal’s role in it, he plays heavy riff after riff, at high speeds for the most part. As the previous reviews have stated his solos are insane, just perfect, really unique, you wont find solos that sound like these really from anyone else. Did I mention they were all improvised? Paul learned all the music in two days, just shows you how awesome he is.


So in the end, “On The Seventh Day” ends up being a superb album, that I really advise you checkout, anyone that loves old school death metal is sure to enjoy it, it will just keep growing on you. All of the tracks are great, but the best have to be, “What Kind Of God”, “Used”, “Heathen” and “Judgment Of Will”.