master

frequently cited along with siege and repulsion as forerunners of grindcore. master recorded a demo in 1985 that was intended for release on combat records, if memory serves. (maybe i'm thinking of death strike, who knows.) combat flaked and the record was shelved, and the demo became one of those things traded endlessly on cassette and probably inspiring a few folks here and there to make even more fucked up noise than they already were.

the material is obviously strong: venom, motorhead and sabbath influences reduced to an even more ridiculously crude and simplistic level, it could probably appeal to the kind of punks that gave bands like amebix, hellbastard and antisect careers. but that production... sounds like it was recorded in a garden shed or something. it's not even worth talking individual instruments - the whole is all you can hear, a roaring, grinding frenzy. not really dissimilar to repulsion but even more single-minded and scathing.

speckmann's 80s career also included war cry, death strike (who shared a song or two with master), funeral bitch, and abomination. and he hasn't stopped since, no matter how much begging we do.

so here are two tracks from the "unreleased 1985 album" (now released by the good graces of from beyond records):

master - re-entry and destruction is almost a blueprint for early napalm death and carcass. several varieties of tubercular vocals doing call and response, and some pitch-shifted gurgling.

master - terrorizer is an instrumental track complete with squealing and incoherent guitar noise. again, the shower stall fidelity probably makes this sound more compelling than it was. but production matters. and yeah, i think jesse pintado's pre napalm death band took their name from this track.