"From the shelter of my fortress of solitude, over the rugged mountains I climb, past Yale University, countless insurance offices, and the New England Telephone Corporation..."

Sorry guys. Just having a little fun. ONE MASTER are a wallop-packin' dark metal trio, not from Scandinavia, but from New Haven CT. But don't be fooled. This impressive five-song coaster scores on multiple fronts for combining attributes of your favorite primitive Norweigan blasters and old-school headbangers. Obviously, Justin Conlon (voc/gtr/syn), Matt Calder (dr) and Neil Simmons (b) understand that velvety, oak table and red carpet kind of Nordic black metal texture that is just so collectable. But what really grabs the kahunas is those necksnapping riffs that jump out of the (oaken) woodwork at irregular intervals. For example, "Shadow of the Firehorse" lulls you into a familiar kind of scalding, ringing, wintery trance before jumping all over your cornflakes with a marching riff right out of MASTODON-land. "Son of the Morning Star" also walks the tightrope between the worlds of early SATYRICON hissery and scorching modern crunch. It really doesn't matter if they are performing in ancient stone mountain halls or across from the Legg Mason office, these guys have made quite a statement with this demo. I'm anxious to see what a producer and a budget could do with this already impressive sound.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.one-master.net

MP3 SOUND SCRAP: Frozen Realms of Unlight

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