One Master - The Quiet Eye of Eternity

One Master “The Quiet Eye of Eternity”, 2009
(Pleasant Void)

On the surface a lot of black metal sounds like a box of bumblebees carried through the Sahara Desert by camel in the midst of a sandstorm.  Some of it doesn’t require scratching deeper to sniff below the murky depths.  Below the surface of the hellish buzzing of One Master is a gothic underbelly complete with a beating black metallic heart.  Tinges of Sisters of Mercy and Joy Division riffs barely raise their ever present bowed cloaked heads but are hidden amongst tempo changes from sluggish doom to blastbeat requiring rapidfire in “The Infinite Void”.  The slothened doom chugging of “The Destroyer Part 1” is reminiscent of Paradise Lost’s metal output, however the song grinds to a halt with blastbeats which lead into the song’s sequel.   The time signature variations throughout the album ensure the long songs aren’t just a lengthy waste of listening time and CD space.

As with a lot of black metal bands I’ve heard the music shadows the vocals so much that the lyrics are border upon impossible to make out without the assistance of a lyric sheet.  The back of the CD cover seperates this album into Side 1 and Side 2 it’s clear that some thought has gone into song order as One Master made this album with a vinyl pressing in mind.   Similar processes went into their music which makes it more than a possibility to consider this to be “thinking man’s black metal”.

3.5/5

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