Master is a death metal band formed in Chicago, USA in 1983 as the band Warcry fell apart. Shortly after however, the band was put on hold due to internal problems. Paul Speckmann then formed the band Death Strike, which in 1985 he renamed to Master. Master is one of the earliest death metal bands along with bands such as Possessed, Necrophagia, Death and Morbid Angel, however they are quite often overlooked.
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In 1985 Master obtained a record deal with Combat Records and recorded an album, which was not released until 2003 by Displeased Records as Unreleased 1985 album. In 1990 the band was signed by the German label Nuclear Blast Records, who also had contracted Speckmann’s other band Abomination.
The actual debut album of Master, titled simply Master, was recorded twice; first with Mittelbrun on guitars and Schmidt on drums. This recording was not accepted by the record company Nuclear Blast. Hence it was re-recorded with Nickeas (drums) and Martinelli (guitar), which was eventually released as the Speckmann Project in 1991. The First recording was released under the name Master in 1989.
In 1991, the second album was released: On the Seventh Day God Created … Master, featuring Paul Masvidal on lead guitar, followed by the Collection of Souls in 1993 both on Nuclear Blast. Thereafter their record deal ended and Master went on hiatus to find a new record label. Five years layer, Faith Is in Season was released on Pavement Records. Speckmann then focused on several other projects, including the resurrected Abomination and eventually joined the Czech band Krabathor, for which Speckmann relocated to the Czech Republic. In 2002 the next album was released, titled Let’s Start a War by System Shock, which also contracted Krabathor. In 2004 Spirit of the West followed. Master then switched labels again, to the German label Twilight Vertrieb and released Four More Years of Terror in 2005. The album Slaves to Society was released in May 2007. The band embarked on a European tour in May and June 2007, followed by yet another tour with Chicago legend Lividity beginning on September 8, 2007 until September 30, 2007. Slaves to Society has been re-released on Ibex Moon Records in Pennsylvania in September of 2008. The spring of 2009 found the band touring successfully for 38 days playing 30 shows across the European continent. The US version of Master toured in July of 2009 for 21 shows in America.