Five years ago, one of the most influential and important bands in the modern history of metal called it quits when the members of Slayer collectively announced the band was calling it a career. The band officially reached the end of its road a year after making the announcement, though founding member and guitarist Kerry King said in interviews in 2021, he felt the band ended its run too soon. Whether audiences ever see a reunion of the band in the near or even distant future is anyone’s guess. That is especially considering how many bands out there have said over the years that they’re done, only to end up reuniting. Even years before Salyer’s end, fellow metal outfit Chimaira was dubbed the band’s heir apparent in 2993 upon the release of its sophomore album, The Impossibility of Reason. However, the band’s future at this rate remains up in the air despite a reunion this year and shows planned for 2024.
While audiences wait to see what may or may not ever come with either of those bands, they do have another band to look to in the form of Strike Master. This past September, the band released its latest album, Tangram Apocalypse independently. The band’s sixth album, it is an intense 33-minute slab of metal that despite being the band’s sixth record, will easily appeal to fans of both noted bands. That is most apparent through its featured musical arrangements, which will be discussed shortly. The record is sadly lacking in lyrics provided, but what content is provided and understandable makes for its own interest. It will be addressed a little later. The record’s production rounds out its most important elements and will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of Tangram Apocalypse. All things considered they make Tangram Apocalypse a record that metal purists and especially Slayer fans will agree is worth hearing at least once.
Tangram Apocalypse, the latest full-length studio recording from independent metal outfit Strike Master, is an offering that metal purists will agree is worth hearing at least once. That is due in large part to the record’s featured musical arrangements. From beginning to end of its 8-song body, the intense guitar riffs, screaming vocals and equally powerhouse rhythm section make the arrangements immediately comparable to the best works of Slayer. This will come as no surprise to Strike Master’s established fans, as the band has clearly emulated Slayer throughout its history, fine tuning its take on the band’s familiar approach increasingly with each album. Now in this latest offering, that work has created works that are the most intense and Slayer-esque that the band has ever crafted. What is really important to note here is that even with that overarching influence as audible as ever, each song featured in this record boasts its own subtle unique identity separate from its fellow compositions, and listeners who fully immerse themselves in each song will catch those subtleties. Whether it be in the subtle tempo changes, chord changes and other minor details, there are subtle changes in each song that keep things interesting for listeners from one song to the next, giving reason enough for audiences to remain engaged.
While the musical arrangements exhibited throughout the album form a solid foundation for this record, the lyrics available with the album’s trio of singles released so far helps give at least a glimpse into the possible topics tackled herein. In regard to ‘Crystallized,’ the album’s lead single, the song’s video opens with a statement about how television “crystallized” the band’s generation but the lyrics seem to hint at anything but that matter. This critic’s own interpretation is that it tackles the matter of someone being a survivor of sexual violence at a young age. Such inference comes as the song opens with the lines, “Crystalized/A stain/My vision of life so distorted/Lov sex/So darkly wanted to be molested/There is nothing more impious than to storm a little creature/In its cradle of conception/With a trauma heritage/It becomes a legacy of pain/A glass through the nerve/Sensation of death/Genetic condemn/When the oldest of our ghosts has the last name to destroy/The psychology of abuse becomes the cancer of the soul.” This statement comes across as such a seemingly painful recollection of something that happened to a person years ago. From there, the mood turns from that pained recollection to one of pure anger, which states, “Now suffer you all/The force of my behalf/My luck is so bad with my factory of hats/That the next generation would be born with no heads/And that blood will be shed over your children’s heads/Welcome to degeneration/I dare you to step over a bag of broken bones/Consequences of perversion/Crystalized.’ Again, this seems like anger aimed at certain types. If so then that and the other lyrical content herein makes for one heck of a powerful statement. Should this critic’s interpretation be off, then needless to say the lyrical content herein definitely will leave for plenty of discussion in interpretation.
‘Black To The Future,’ the album’s second single, delivers what comes across as its own heavy statement. In the case of this song it comes across as perhaps a commentary on the rise of criminal behavior happening especially across America. This as the song directly opens, “This is the dawn of time for the criminally insane/A mandatory march for us/Who have been condemned/Mass of doom/Grew in the dark/Defying the spector of light/Unstoppable/We can’t deny/To embrace death while we are still alive.” Noting all the death that has been caused by people who have been mentally unstable in recent news (it has been all over the headlines) one cannot help but wonder if in fact the band is making reference to this very matter. That is because we have been made to figuratively embrace death as we see it on the news daily. The song continues, “There’s a sorrow motion floating in the air/Darkened/Blackened/Ghostly dooming fluorescence/Torn to ashes and to nothing in the end of days/The end complete/the final conflict.” It is almost as if the attention is turning to how we are moving in a very dark and bad direction. Again this is all this critic’s interpretation and should not be taken as gospel (so to speak). Either way, the nihilistic overall presentation is just as certain to generate its own share of discussion among listeners, further showing the importance of the album’s lyrical themes.
‘Prototype God,’ the record’s third single is certain to create its own share of interest, too. That is because it presents its own seeming commentary. In the case of this song, the seeming commentary comes in the mention of society turning “into a stupid mass” and being “a lifeless nation.” “Devoted dogs” is another term thrown out here, referencing people’s blind loyalty along with the “murderous negligence” of corruption. This and so much more in this song makes for quite the interest in this case. No doubt it certainly looks like the theme is the apparent social commentary. If it is that in fact, then it is a unique way to deliver such a message. To that end it even further notes the importance of the album’s lyrical themes. When this seeming theme and the others examined here are considered along with the remainder of the album’s lyrical content, the whole gives audiences all the more reason to take in this record. That is especially true when it is collectively considered alongside the album’s musical content.
For all of the interest that this record’s musical and lyrical content develops throughout its nearly 35-minute run time, it is just part of what makes the record intriguing. The album’s overall production rounds out its most important elements. The production is of so much importance because of the intensity of each of the record’s arrangements. To say that each is fiery is an understatement. That means that the utmost attention had to be given to the instrumentation and vocals in each work. Thankfully, somehow everything came out balanced because of the obviously painstaking effort taken to make each performance compliment its counterparts. The result is a record whose musical content generates an aesthetic that will appeal to the noted audiences just as much as the arrangements themselves. All things considered, the record’s arrangement’s, the lyrical themes that are sure to be the source of plenty of discussion, and the album’s production join to make Tangram Apocalypse an interesting addition to 2023’s new metal and hard rock offerings that audiences will agree is worth hearing at least once.
Tangram Apocalypse, the latest album from Strike Master, is an interesting presentation that metal purists and the band’s established audiences alike will agree is worth hearing at least once. That is due in no small part to its intense musical arrangements. The arrangements easily liken themselves to works from the likes of Slayer, Testament, and Exodus. At the same time even with the noted comparisons in mind the songs still boast their own unique identities. The lyrical themes that accompany that content generate their own share of interest because of how they are delivered. The fashion in which they are delivered leaves each one up to their own interpretation, which can be a good or bad thing. The record’s production ensures the intense instrumentation in each song’s arrangement is expertly balanced with the equally powerful vocal delivery. The result is eight songs whose musical bodies generate just as much positive aesthetic appeal as the sounds and styles within each. Each item examined here plays its own important part to the record’s presentation. All things considered they make the album a unique addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums that deserves to be heard at least once.
Tangram Apocalypse is available now. More information on the album is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Website: https://strikemaster.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strikemasterofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/strikemaster666
