There’s an old saying in the performing arts world I came across some time ago: “It takes ten years to become an overnight success.” And that has been somewhat true for Master’s Call, the Wolverhampton based black/death collective who have been touring and doing shows consistently for the last decade.

Having released only one EP some years back, Master’s Call has become “the band you only see live” among my friends and I on the UK metal circuit, but now the lads have finally given us some physical material to add to our ever growing collections.

A Journey for the Damned is a piece that encapsulates the gravitas and evolution of the UK black metal world and how it has fluctuated over the past decade and a half. You have a range of either fast paced tracks or some slowed with eloquent blast beats that will remain in the memories of fans old and new.

But what really made me find this a thorough piece of decent extreme metal is the overarching theme of all-out nihilism. It is a big cliché of most metal music that all meaning or reason of our existence be rejected for the sake of offering solace to the lost and misanthropic, and Master’s Call have fashioned an album that encapsulates it both viciously and with some audible affection.

Whilst this is a predominantly dissonant release, there is an atmosphere present that only black metal can create, so I’ll give them credit for putting in the effort to do just that. Master’s Call is an experienced band and possibly the reason for them taking this long to release their debut comes down to them researching the black metal world as much as contributing to it.

In short, we have an album that will be on a good number of Album-of-the-Year lists as well as something new and old fans of this group will be rushing to add to their collections. What I’ve enjoyed most about the evolution of the UK scene is how it has incorporated elements of other European scenes, which Master’s Call have blended here like a fine whisky.

(8.5/10 Demitri Levantis)

https://www.facebook.com/MastersCallOfficial

https://masterscallofficial.bandcamp.com/album/a-journey-for-the-damned