MASTER’S HAMMER are one of the most recognizable Black Metal bands in existence. Having started their career with 1987’s “The Ritual Murder” demo tape, the band was active up until 2018’s “Fascinator” full-length. One of the most iconic of Czech Heavy Metal bands, MASTER’S HAMMER returns in 2024 with a retrospective live album entitled “Live Occult Rituals”, released through Darkness Shall Rise Productions as a CD double-disc, double-cassette, and triple 12” LP. Recorded in Brno, Czech Republic, this is the final MASTER’S HAMMER performance in its entirety. A career-spanning live performance clocking in at over an hour and half long, the five-piece line-up hammers through tracks from the iconic “Ritual” from 1991, all the way up to 2018’s “Fascinator” covering everything in between. The biggest grading point for a release of this nature is the end production and mixing. This is in essence a live compilation, so serious fans of the band should be familiar with the material present. Newer fans will get to experience a career-spanning demonstration of a seasoned group of veteran musicians still performing at a high caliber. The production on “Live Occult Rituals” is well-rounded and even-tempered. Nothing is overpowering in the mix, the guitars have great presence and power, the drums – including the Timpani – having a driving force behind them that really propels the tracks forward. Franta Štorm’s vocals have aged well, still crooning, but clean and distinguished. Tracks such as ‘Mezi Kopci Esta Je Klikata’ help get the blood pumping with the iconic opening riff, loaded down with wah effects this time around. Iconic classics such as ‘Zapalili Jsme Onen Svet’ and ‘Jama Pekel’ still deliver in measured blows, despite the decades that have passed since their inceptions. Newer tracks such as ‘Linkola’ translate great in the live environment. Despite three decades of activity, MASTER’S HAMMER sounds incredibly sharp and precise. The double guitar attack of Franta Štorm and Blackosh deliver a masterful and completely flawless performance, the rhythm section of Honza Kapák and Petr Rámus Mecák ruthlessly propel each track forward, and as a whole, the band sounds as if they haven’t aged at all. If this is the true end of MASTER’S HAMMER, then this is a great way to go out. A career-spanning retrospective that leaves nothing on the table, released through a label that has a reputation for high-quality releases of some of the foundational bands of the genre. For new fans and veterans alike, this is a must own for the masters of Czech Black Metal. For more information on MASTER’S HAMMER, check out www.facebook.com/mastershammerofficial and for additional info on Darkness Shall Rise Productions, see www.facebook.com/darknessshallriseproductions.