PAUL SPECKMANN: 'Good Sound Or Sh*t Sound, MASTER Still Delivers'

MASTER mainman Paul Speckmann has issued the following update:

"I just returned this morning from two killer gigs in Ireland. We played in Cork, and Dublin. It was hell traveling through the U.K. airports, but we made it successfully home around 2:00 a.m Monday morning. I actually had a few laughs in Ireland from the start. We arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia in the early hours of Friday the 2nd of February, and the complications began immmediately. These assholes at Ryan Air, the supposedly budget air carrier, tried to get me to pay 300 euros for the overweight of my MASTER merchandise, so I was forced to leave much behind.

"Anyway, we flew to London Stansted from Bratislava. Since all this terrorism, Bush and Blair have tightened up security in the airports. Things were quite relaxed in Bratislava, Slovakia, but when we arrived in London the chaos began. Due to the fact that I am an American by birth, I had to go through special security, questions, etc. This took over one hour for the fifty non-European citizens, myself included. The rest of my band, Slovak and Czech, breezed through security rather quickly with the 500 or so others in line. I had to pay a special fee for the guitars amounting to 60 euros for our two guitars. I was pissed again. So I left the check-in line and went to a silly bitch at Ryan Air and paid the fee after sending my drummer Zdenek to change the money, as they only accept British sterling.

"Anyhow, do they expect musicians to leave the guitars at home or what?

"So I paid the fee, and went through the next security check point, which took another hour, as the airport was jammed, due to the arrival of nearly all flights arriving at once. What an efficient airport this is. Apparently they found a screwdriver in the drum pedal box, and thought maybe it was a weapon. They offered to let us leave it behind for five pounds a day. I said, 'Keep it!!'

"Next shoe scans. No liquids through the checkpoint, so I threw my water in the garbage. We finally arrived in Cork, Ireland after our four-hour layover in London Shitsted. One hour later the promoter arrived, and we proceeded another hour to the club. We ate Chinese and after an hour or so, we took the stage to a relatively packed venue. The sissy boy in the support act had a triggered drumset, as most of the new generation of metallers cannot hit the drums, barely let alone play them. Without machines they cannot even play. So I agreed to spare time as it was getting late already and we used the triggers on this first evening. We tore the stage up, selling over 500 euros' worth of the merch I'd brought. The sound was a bit strange with the annoying triggered sound. . . We seemed to be suffering from sound problems both nights. . . We drove three hours to the promoter's house and finally arrived around 5 a.m. I had a beer and crashed. The promoter rented a mini-bus for us, and after having breakfast Saturday afternoon, we left for Dublin. We arrived to a killer looking underground venue. Went for food and returned just as the show was starting. Again when MASTER took the stage the sound was ever-changing throughout the performance, killing my voice. After the show I spoke with John from the Guardian newspaper and the magazine Zero Tolerance. He mentioned the fact that the sound was ever-changing in the crowd as well, and that the [sound engineer] was just turning knobs up and down throughout the performance.

"The real point of the story has arrived. This shit happened even on the OBITUARY tour I did. Joe from CATASTROPHIC did the same to us I confronted Joe about this, and he said, I work for OBITUARY. Years earlier it happened on the PARADISE LOST tour. MASTER never gets enough money for gigs, and we cannot afford to bring a soundman. But these unprofessional idiots get behing the boards, and only give great sound to the headliner or their favorite band. Unprofessional!!! Everyone should be given an equal opportunity to equal sound. I realize that many bands are afraid to give the support or co-headliner a real chance."

As previously reported, MASTER will release its new album, entitled "Slaves to Society", on April 13 via Twilight-Vertrieb. The CD was recorded at Shaark Studios in Bzenec, Czech Republic and features the following lineup:

Paul Speckmann - Bass/Vocals
Ales Nejezchleba - Guitars
Zdenek "Zdenal" Pradlovsky – Drums

Speckmann told BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "The album is filled with the hate-fueled and venomous fury of the one and only real MASTER. Accept none of these false imitators that seem to dominate the scene these days."

"Slaves to Society" track listing:

01. The Darkest Age
02. The Final Skull
03. The Room With Views
04. Slaves To Society
05. World Police
06. In Control
07. Remnants Of Hate
08. Anarchy Nearly Lost
09. Beaten For the Possibility
10. The Last Chapter
11. Cheater