War Master
War Master is the third studio album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower, released on 4 February 1991 through Earache Records. It was recorded at Slaughterhouse studios in September 1990, with the band and Colin Richardson producing. Where Realm of Chaos leaned heavily on grindcore blasts and riffs, this record moves towards a more strictly death metal sound, with extra melody in the music and the guitar solos, though a few chaotic solos survive.
It also marks the last appearance of blast beat drumming in the band's catalogue, heard on "Unleashed (Upon Mankind)", "What Dwells Within", "War Master" and "Afterlife". Fans who like following threads will enjoy "Cenotaph", which continues the story of "World Eater", opening with that song's closing riff. The riff resurfaces on later albums, and Bong-Ra heavily sampled the record on Full Metal Racket.
War Master: tracklist and credits
10 tracks · 46:03Tracklist
- 1Intro… Unleashed (Upon Mankind)Bench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts6:13
- 2What Dwells WithinBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts4:18
- 3The Shreds of SanityBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts3:27
- 4Profane CreationBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts5:32
- 5Destructive InfinityBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts4:14
- 6Final RevelationBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts3:56
- 7CenotaphBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts4:04
- 8War MasterBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts4:17
- 9Rebirth of HumanityBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts4:01
- 10AfterlifeBench, Thomson, Ward, Whale, Willetts6:00
- Produced by
- Bolt Thrower, Colin Richardson
- Recorded at
- The Slaughterhouse
- Recorded
- Slaughterhouse Studios, September 1990
- Engineered by
- Bolt Thrower, Colin Richardson
- Artwork
- Ian Cooke, Pete Knifton
- Labels
- Earache Records, Earache, Combat
- Length
- 46:03
Line-up
- Jo Bench · electric bass guitar, bass guitar
- Barry Thomson · electric guitar
- Gavin Ward · electric guitar
- Andrew Whale · drums (drum set)
- Karl Willetts · lead vocals, vocals
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 4 February
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 4 February 1991 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 February 1991 | |
| Wikidata | 1991 | |
| US release | September 1991 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 4 February 1991 | earliest UK or European date |
12 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 February 1991 | GB | Earache Records | 5018615102915 | original |
| September 1991 | GB | Earache Records | 5018615102922 | other |
| September 1991 | US | Combat | 088561202828 | other |
| 1 February 1993 | JP | TOY’S FACTORY | 4988061886114 | other |
| 4 April 1995 | US | Earache Records | 745316002927 | other |
| 23 April 2009 | XW | Earache Records | 5018615102922 | other |
| 12 August 2013 | GB | Earache Records | 5055006502923 | other |
| 4 December 2013 | XW | Earache Records | 5055006502923 | other |
| 21 July 2017 | US | Earache Records | 817195020498 | other |
| 23 November 2018 | XE | Earache Records | 817195020917 | other |
| 2023 | GB | Earache Records | 817195020498 | other |
| 2025 | GB | Earache Records | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |