Warthur War Master saw Bolt Thrower in the middle of a transition; musically speaking, the grindcore influences were drifting away and the band were repositioning themselves as a more purely death metal group, whilst the lyrical themes were less directly and unambiguously inspired by Warhammer 40,000 than those on Realm of Chaos. It's an entertaining listen but could have been improved with somewhat better production - in particular, Andrew Whale's drum sound is rather thin at points, which rather seriously sabotages his performance at points. It's still a great little album with plenty of the disciplined, martial aggression Bolt Thrower are known for, but they've done better.

UMUR "War Master" is the 3rd full-length studio album by UK death metal act Bolt Thrower. The album was released through Earache Records in July 1991. The vinyl version of the album features 9 tracks while the CD version includes the bonus track "Destructive Infinity" and places it as track number 5 on the album.

The music on "War Master" is pre-dominantly mid-paced old school death metal with occasional faster parts. Tracks like "Unleashed (Upon Mankind)", "What Dwells Within", "The Shreds of Sanity", "Final Revelation", and "Cenotaph" are high quality material and are among the standout tracks on the album, but all tracks are of a good quality. The bonus track is the only track that´s a bit sub par to the rest.

The sound production is organic and raw, and suits the music well, and the musicianship are decent too. I´ll never be the one to praise Andy Whale´s skills as a drummer, but at least here his efforts are acceptable. Bolt Thrower´s riffing style is simple but effective and catchy. Karl Willetts vocals are more brutal and deep on "War Master" compared to his vocal style on "Realm of Chaos (1989)". The band´s trademark war and chaos lyrics are present and accounted for and on "War Master" those lyrics are delivered with catchy hooklines, that you´ll be able to remember and sing/growl along to. It´s one of those death metal albums where you can understand the words, that are being said even though the lead vocalist growls.

"War Master" is ultimately a very different sounding album to "Realm of Chaos (1989)" and it´s obvious that the band have worked hard on developing a personal sound. The focus on brutal mid-paced grooves (and even whiffs of melody here and there) instead of blasting deathgrind (only three tracks on this album features blast beats) has payed off and to my ears "War Master" is the right and logical step forward for Bolt Thrower. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Time Signature Unleashed upon mankind...

Genre: war metal (death metal, really)

There are those who claim that Bolt Thrower have not changed over the years. That is incorrect. Bolt Thrower have steadily improved as musicians and adjusted their style accordingly. There is a universe of difference between their first releases and their most recent ones. Their early efforts are, and I normally become very unpopular when I say this, not very good.

"War Master" is a decent and respectable effort with a lot of good ideas. There are a lot of break-downs and build-ups that work really well on this album, and a lot of nasty (in the good way) riffing. The Bolt Thrower signature heaviness is also there, and the production is not bad either. So, in terms of musicality, there is a lot of good stuff here.

However, in terms of musicianship, this albums leaves a lot to be desired. Especially the drumming could, well, should have been better. It is very sloppy and just as untight as on "Realm of Chaos". That is a problem in a genre like death metal, in which the drums are just as prominent as the guitars, while basically carrying the song in question rhythmically. That being said, Bolt Trower have cut back on the blast beats on this album, which works well in terms of variation (I've always thought that blast beats were more effective and more brutal if they don't crop up all the time).

So, there are a lot of good stuff on this album, and it is also an important album in the history of death metal; I think most fans of death metal would like it, but don't expect it to be as crisp and perfectly executed as most present-day death metal releases are. A respectable album, but it is only on "The IVth Crusade" that Bolt Thrower really start handing out goodies to the metal people.