Master – “Although Mr. Burns did mix and master many successful CDs, he didn’t give any justice to the records of Master”.

A couple of weeks ago the first 2 official Master releases were re-released by Displeased Records. Some say Master is one of the bands who created the foundation for Death Metal and don’t get the praise the band deserves. Paul Speckmann was kind enough to take a trip through memory lane…First the period pre-Master…

Warcry was the real motivator for me. This was the band that brought me to the local stages in Illinois and really proved too me that success was on the horizon and for the taking. We played many local shows supporting many of the famous acts that arrived in or near our town. I suppose the biggest gig was with Twisted Sister and opener Queensrÿche. I remember laughing at Geoff Tate and the big round bald spot on the top of his head. But little did I know the guy would get transplant and have major success. What a joke this band was at the time with ‘The Queen of the Reich’, which was a Deep Purple rip off with the same effects in the beginning of the track. These guys were arrogant dicks even in the beginning. Twisted Sister blew those posers off the stage on that day.

I quit Warcry after this show and began jamming with Bill Schmidt who was in Warcry for one or two shows a year or so before. He had a shit attitude, and I suppose that’s why even today he has done nothing since I left his sorry ass in Chicago. Schmidt and I began rehearsing in a storage shed near my house called The Lockup, sound familiar? Anyway we practiced for about a year and never successfully found a guitarist that could play the tunes with the enthusiasm as well as the technique we were looking for. The band Master split up before it really began, and after my father died, and left me a house to rehearse in while on the market for sale, I wrote a song called ‘The Truth’. I called an ad in the Illinois Entertainer I had read, and Chris Mittelbrun showed up at my door. We auditioned this guy the year before. He left the twin guitar attack ala Judas Priest and came into his own. I wrote ‘Pay To Die’, and he wrote the classic ‘Re-entry’ and ‘Destruction’. Together we wrote ‘Mangled Dehumanization’ and the rest is history or so they say. We recruited John Leprich, an alcoholic that could hardly play, and my then girlfriend’s younger 16 year old brother Kirk Miller, and we began serious practice. We recorded the ‘Fuckin Death’ demo. Leprich had trouble with the last track ‘Pay To Die’ and I called Schmidt. Leprich would finish the track in the end, but this started new communication with Schmidt. This would be the biggest mistake in my life as we took him into the fold in July on Independence day 1985. After Schmidt returned again this would be the beginning of the end of the newly reformed Master. We proceeded to record nine songs including a cover of Sabbath’s ‘Children of the Grave’, but we subsequently split up for good after the recording. Mittlebrun was only interested in chicks, and Schmidt was only interested in drugs and his depression. Today both are still in Chicago, and I tour and travel every year with Master and with other bands as their tour manager, or merchandiser or even as a roadie as was with the case of Dissection some years back.

Who are some of the bands who have influenced you back in those days?
The list is very long. In the early days we were influenced by the Punk scene, including in no particular order, GBH, Discharge, The Exploited, MDC, Minor Threat and Battalion of Saints. I used to go and check out all the Punk shows that arrived in our town in Chicago. Of course Sabbath, early Judas Priest and Motorhead were major influences for the band. After meeting Steve Harris from Maiden a few times in the city, he would also become a major influence. But, I personally only enjoy the first three Maiden records. After this they sold out with that pop icon Bruce. I mean the ‘Number of the Beast’ was cool too, but after that they lost their direction.

How did you develop the sound of Master after recording the first album?
Actually the record was recorded shortly after the Deathstrike in the fall of 1985. We received a contract from Combat Records shortly after this, but blew the deal due to the original Schmidt’s outlandish demands and idiotic mistakes. the sound was developed naturally as we were looking to create the heaviest sound we could at the time. I played with four E strings on my bass at the time to get the maximum depth. Of course the tuning was CCFC, so this was a brutal tuning to say the least. Master was one of the first bands to tune to C. I realize that people later tuned to B as well, but we were the first and that’s a reality. Mittlebrun use two Marshall heads and one Orange bottom and one Marshall bottom. He also use two Boss distortion pedals. Schmidt had this old fashioned North drum set, with these strange tubular drums and Evans heads. This is about all I can say about it, really. Unfortunately we blew the first deal which incidentally Death signed and the rest is underground history. I read an interview with Chuck from Death some years ago, and he said he’d never heard of Master, but just recently I was on tour with Massacre and Denial Fiend in Europe, and I met bassist Terry Butler (Six Feet Under, Death, Massacre, Denial Fiend) again after not seeing him for the last 20 years when we played with Death in Chicago, and he told me that on the first Death Tour, they played the Deathstrike/Master song I wrote called ‘The Truth’, so, so much for the truth Chuckie, rest in peace brother.

This Death Metal sound was developed by trial and error. We just tried to be the most aggressive we could be at the time in 1984 and b5. We set out to be the heaviest band around and if you listen to the demos released by Displeased, this can clearly be heard. Many people copied our style, and due to the many mistakes we made early on in our careers, Master was lost in the shuffle as they say. But it’s never too late to discover a legend, so I suggest people check out the past few releases as well as the re-issues. I am sure they won’t be disappointed.

Napalm Death covered one of your songs. Did you hear it and what is your opinion on it?
Of course, a few years back Barney Greenway from Napalm contacted me and asked who the royalties were to be paid too. Of course I responded immediately and Century Media began sending royalty checks. Barney had said many times in the past that his biggest influences were Kam Lee and Paul Speckmann. After ‘On The Seventh Day’ was released in 1991, Barney as well as Max from Sepultura reviewed the song ‘Heathen’ for the German Rockhard Magazine and both of these fellows gave high marks for the song. Mitch Harris and I have been friends since his days in Righteous Pigs, followed by his joining of Napalm Death. We still see each other from time to time, as we are both always touring. It was quite funny as I sent the re-issue of the original 1985 recordings to Mitch Harris after the Displeased release in 2003, and he called me from the stage in a neighbourhood near me during my dinner and asked why I hadn’t come the mere 20 kilometres to the show. I explained that I was tired, and he laughed and said that Napalm was covering the song ‘Master’ and he received a package from me a few weeks before this, and it was just in time, because he couldn’t find the lyrics to the song. It’s really a small world in Metal.

Something else…the Czech Death Metal band Krabathor…
I met the boys from Krabathor while on tour in 1999 with Malevolent Creation, Master and Krabathor. The drummer Skull and I began doing sound checks together early in the afternoon, when time allowed. I actually became fast friends with the entire band. Anyway, we discussed jamming together at a later time. Guitarist Christopher and I discussed a possible project. The original Krabathor lineup was reaching its climax and Christopher was going to quit music, until I started calling him. I spoke with System Shock my label at the time, and discussed this project with the label and they were exited. They flew me to the Czech Republic, and we began recording a project called Martyr, ‘Murder x, the end of the game’. During the recording it was made clear that the current bassist was leaving Krabathor, and they asked if I would like to join the group. Of course I accepted and this was a clear way for me to fulfil my dream of living and staying in Europe. It was just the right time to leave America, as Bush came into power. I packed up my stuff, and sold what I had and proceeded to my new life. Krabathor and I recorded two CDS and toured extensively through Europe, Japan and Mexico, as well as playing a few selective dates in the USA. After the band split up, I continued with Master as always. Even during my stay with Krabathor, we recorded two Master CDS using the Krabathor members. So I never really lost focus on Master, I was just quite busy for a time with Krabathor. In 2002, we took both bands on tour together throughout Europe. Krabathor will reform possibly in 2009 or 10 for a new CD as well as a tour.

A compilation of your best tracks from various stages in your career, called ‘Masterpieces’ is available from Twilight Vertrieb. Could you say something about it?
I put this project together to give the younger fans a chance to hear some of the classics as well as figure out where the genre was started. The CD features tracks from 1985 until 2004. I picked some of my favourites and this was really a test to see how the new label Twilight would do for me. They passed with flying colours and we still work together since the release of ‘Masterpieces’ in 2005. Things are still going strong. Ibex Moon in the USA will re-release the latest masterpiece called ‘Slaves To Society’ in the USA over the next few months. this CD contains some of the best tracks that I have written over the years, so it’s must for any Speckmann fan.

Talking about your latest release ‘Slaves to Society’…
Well, it’s the fastest and most brutal CD that Master has released in years. The critics ate this record up this time around, even though I don’t really care about them. Many times they will write that a record is shit, when it’s killer, and more than most times they will write a great review about a shit record. Master has and always will stick to its guns and write the heaviest music we can. I write my music for myself first, not for the fans or critics. Many of today’s successful bands have sold out. I realize money is a great motivation, but if it was about the money for Master, I certainly would have given up long ago. People who want to hear the true originator of this particular style, should definitely check out ‘Slaves To Society’.

The first two master albums have been released on Displeased records, that came with a DVD (with live appearances from 1990 and 1992) and cd. Are you glad to see the remastered-releases of these classics?
Of course, the CDS and DVDS wouldn’t have been released without my permission. Yes, the original debut CD has been released in its original, intended form. The last version was re-mixed and re-mastered with Scott Burns at the helm. Although Mr. Burns did mix and master many successful CDS, he didn’t give any justice to the records of Master. I remember calling this fool, and telling him that he’d forgotten several guitar solos on the record. He merely said it was too late and he could do nothing about it. What kind of answer is that from a so-called seasoned professional? This re-issue features the original mixes that were mixed by drummer Bill Schmidt, and I at Solid Sound Studios in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. This is the way the CD should have sounded when it was officially released. Executive Producer Markus Staiger was looking for the flavour of the day at Morrissound, and he certainly got what he paid for. Both re-releases contain DVDS from the early nineties on the first European Tours of Master. These shows are very interesting, and at times humorous for me, but they are really underground productions that are aggressive and really true to form.

Thanks for the interview and health and success too you brother.
Paul Speckmann