Review by Felix on June 3, 2019.

Frankly speaking, Master belong to a pretty miserable species of bands. They have more albums than good riffs. I realized it too late, that's why I even bought their third album. I hoped that this would be their first pretty good work after their performance increase on the second full-length. Well, optimism sucks. The yellow vinyl was a bargain, nevertheless, it was too expensive. The idiotic artwork serves as a bad omen and the second hit below the belt is not long in coming. The sound of Collection of Souls celebrates dullness in its full splendor. Regardless of the original vehemence of the compositions, the album does not develop the smallest degree of penetrating power. The mishmash of guitars, drums and vocals without bass guitar destroys the competitiveness of the record sustainably.

Aggravating the situation, a rather slow-paced track like "Hidden Stories" has absolutely nothing that makes me prick up my ears. It's just a waste of time. More songs enter one ear and exit the other without leaving a lasting impact. The level of complexity does not surpass that of a usual At War composition, but the combative trio from Virginia can rely on its good instinct for effective riffs. This is exactly where Master fail. Their run-of-the-mill guitar work is not totally annoying, but faceless and vapid. Even worse, the songs do not evoke any emotions and the non-charismatic voice of Speckmann fits the mediocre picture. No high-pitched tones, no low-pitched tones, just one monotonous tone. A song like "Blinded Faith" would have deserved a better production and an expressive vocalist, but both is not in sight.

The album clocks in at less than 35 minutes, but even this rather short playtime is too long. The Thin Lizzy cover appears as a foreign body and does not make any sense, tracks like "Justice or Fate" do not reach a more than decent level, because any kind of catchy, exciting or blazing elements is completely missing. No doubt, there exist worse albums that pollute the planet. Compared with Atrocity's "Werk 80", Collector of Souls appears as a magical moment in the history of harsh music. But in comparison with hundreds of other metal works, Master's third full-length is shrinking to its actual size. The closer "Silver Spoon" conveys a slight idea that Master have more potential than they have shown on the first eight tracks. Well, too little, too late.

At the end of the day, I respect the stamina of Speckmann and I am sure that he is a man of conviction. But he is no great songwriter, his generic ideas do not present any kind of unique selling propositions and he overestimates his vocal artistry. It is an ironic twist of fate that one of his sidekicks is listed as "Brian (Einstein) Brady", because this vinyl is light years away from ingenuity. I cannot give a recommendation to anyone and this is a little bit sad in view of Speckmann's integrity, but we do not need more bands than fans. More or less amateurishly designed death metal leaves me cold and therefore Master and me parted ways after this work. I am sure, neither Master nor I had feelings of loss.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

Review by JD on November 5, 2008.

This band come to you straight from Linkoping, Sweden... a small city near the Death Metal Mecca of Stockholm....and that is where the connection really ends. Corporation 187 just is one of those many uninspired Death Metal bands, unfortunately from a country that knows its Death Metal.

Corporation 187 tries it hand at making some melodic style of Death Metal, but it does not seem to get itself fully rolling in that direction. The band itself seems to be able to play more than just adequately, and the vocalist does have that well honed growing voice that seemed to be rather good. The fact is that it all seems all to be thoroughly uninspired and even could be classed as a little 'clunky' in the way each song has been presented.

This project is like a race car without the famed Nitrous for the extra boost... no matter how good you drive, you can't blast it into the next gear. These guys have no Nitrous Oxide tank on board to even try and get themselves going the way they should... the seem satisfied to just hack and slash along in metal mediocrity. The production adds absolutely nothing and even seems to bogs everything down in a quagmire of sound, making it even harder to get into. The lyrics seem pretty good.. But it is far to little... way to late.

Give "Newcomers of Sin" some last rights and take it for a merciful (and very swift) burial... Corporation 187 needs to declare themselves bankrupt as soon as possible... but in saying that, if they go back and put a better effort out... they just might put out a better product than this.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Production: 3
Originality: 3
Overall: 3

Rating: 3.2 out of 10