Artist: Master’s Hammer
Country: Czechia
Label: Darkness Shall Rise Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2025
Anyone who has delved a little into the roots of Black Metal cannot fail to notice Master’s Hammer, one of the ultimate icons from the more obscure layers of the genre’s history. Albums such as ‘Jilemnický Okultista’ (1992) and especially ‘Ritual’ (1991) have been vital in shaping the way we listen to Black Metal today; in fact, those two albums are still frequently cited as major influences on contemporary Black Metal bands. But no matter how influential Master’s Hammer is, the band has always been a bit of an odd one out. Whether this has to do with the band’s geographical and cultural background or whether the individual band members have simply all had a knock on the head is not entirely clear. I think it is reasonable to assume that it is a bit of both. To begin with, former Czechoslovakia was a completely different country from Norway, for example, and therefore clearly had a different view on music. This was also reflected in other bands from that early scene, such as Törr and Root. But that only partly explains their unique take on the black metal genre, because much later in their career they developed an even more distinctive style.
The band’s first period lasted until 1995 and characterised Master’s Hammer in their most traditional Black Metal style, still unique and 100% recognisable, but clearly based on the same fundamental principles as “the rest”. It was in the second period, starting in 2009, that all inhibitions seemed to be cast aside. That year’s ‘Mantras’ was a more than surprising comeback, in which the band showed an intertwining with electronics that was similar to a development seen earlier in, for example, Dødheimsgard. Although this style was further developed on subsequent albums, it also widened the gap between fans who were able to follow the band on this musical journey and those who remained stuck in their ways, clinging to the first two albums. Whichever way you looked at Master’s Hammer, little remained of the band that had once been one of the cornerstones of Black Metal.
When Master’s Hammer disbanded for the second time in 2020, I honestly did not anticipate that five years later Master’s Hammer would make another surprising return. However, just as in 2009, the band has once again taken on a different form. The title ‘Mardorör Disco’ is telling and is bad news for those who (probably against their better judgement) had hoped that Master’s Hammer would return to their Black Metal roots.
The masterminds behind Master’s Hammer have been Franta Štorm and Necrocock since the late 1980s. They are the main instigators of these strange musical twists and turns. In addition to Master’s Hammer, both also have other outlets that do not adhere to the prevailing norms. Necrocock’s Kaviar Kavelier and the Necrocock project have already shown that it takes no one into account, and Franta Štorm devoted himself to a project called Maldorör Disco a few years ago. Now that name is being used again for this latest Master’s Hammer album, it’s not surprising that it sounds quite like that project. In addition, Maldorör Disco’s Kamil Princ is now part of Master’s Hammer on keyboards.
Although there was already very little left of the band’s Black Metal origins in the period between 2009 and 2020, it is now safe to say that there is virtually nothing left of it. That does not mean that it is not recognisable, because there is no band (metal or otherwise) in the world that can do this. In the run-up to the release of this album, a teaser video clip was released that actually sums up very well what this album is about. It’s strange, it’s weird, it’s different. People were already upset when ‘Šlágry’ was released in 1995, an album that was built on Neo-Classical, Techno and Black Metal; avant-garde and experimental. I would like to know how people would view an album like ‘Maldorör Disco’ back then.
However, although it is still recognisable, it feels as if ‘Maldorör Disco’ might have been better suited to the project of the same name. The mix of rhythmic electronic music and synth pop with a dose of raw vocals will not immediately bring to mind the black metal band Master’s Hammer for most people. On the other hand, it is actually a very natural dilution of what the band has been doing over the past four decades. When you start with the ‘Klavierstuck’ 7‘ EP or “Ritual”, both from 1991, and continue through the classics to ‘Šlágry’ and make the transition to their “second coming” albums such as ‘Formulæ’ (2016) and ‘Fascinator’ (2018), it’s not surprising that you end up with an alternative electro/disco record like ‘Maldorör Disco’.
The division between supporters and naysayers will remain and has probably deepened even further with the release of this latest work, but this is apparently how Master’s Hammer sounds in 2025. Take it or leave it.
