I, Master

“I, Master” is a listen that is both unsettling and draining. The energy that The One commands is an incredibly evil sort that is underscored by a presence that is darkly spiritual. With the same off-color musicality that seems to be typical of Greek black metal in general, the band resurrects the immense power that the genre had in its beginning. “I, Master” is appropriately a title of domination, perhaps even to an elitist extent, and the entire mystery of the album only works to reinforce this opinion. For a release with such devilish impersonality, the music has to be outstanding if it’s to warrant repeated listens, but it seems apparent from the sheer intensity of the album that The One care very little about whether or not you give them any attention.

“I, Master” is atmospheric to the core, but it doesn’t include a lot of elements that shouldn’t be there and nor does it stray from a typical black metal sound. The music here, as savage as it is, isn’t so straightforward. There are a lot of eerie moans and layered vocal work, along with the occasional ambient filler or tasteful keyboard addition, and some very clean sounding solos even appear in a few tracks. The more I think about it, in fact, and get past the off-putting eccentric nature of the album, the more “I, Master” becomes less surprising.

The first track is basically a tribute to Mayhem’s seminal release, “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.” With the way the song explodes into operatic vocals that moan over Attila Csihar-inspired gargles, the track sets the tone for the album as a mentally deranged work that takes influences from all the right places. It would be unfair, of course, to say The One are being unoriginal, especially given just how far the band takes their psychosis. The One have a more broody and discordant way about them that works with the volatile atmosphere they’re conjuring.

Because the band doesn’t need to compensate for a lack of maturity, “I, Master” is strangely of relatively high production quality, by black metal standards anyway. The guitars blaze along in a soft fuzz that lacks a lot of crunch, under which the drums shift between fury and broodiness. Taken in isolation, none of the instruments are manipulated all that spectacularly. The musicians do an excellent job within the context of the music, but perhaps it would be more enjoyable if I could tie the performances to people whose aliases aren't Roman numerals. In any case, though, it’s the vocals that primarily bring out the disturbing nature of the album. Track three features what I would call a “dinosaur screech,” while track four contains deranged wails and ends with laughter. Most of the time, however, the vocals stick to cavernous not-quite-whispered rasps, so you won’t find the extended shrieks here that you might be used to.

A part of me is inclined to think that perhaps The One are trying a bit too hard at this whole air of mystery and insanity. With the aliases that the members have and the way the songs are untitled, this pseudo-anonymity ends up translating an off-putting impersonality to the music. “I, Master” isn’t so ambiguous. It’s is clearly drawing heavily from “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” but adds its own discordant eccentricity to the formula, as well as taking up a sort of Beherit-inspired devilry, particularly in track five. Even so, the fifth track, with all its eerie chanting and broody lumbering, can’t hold up its ten-minute duration without throwing in an ambient filler section. The One are just as susceptible to ordinary compositional trappings as other musicians are, so the image they project—or lack thereof, I suppose—is slightly compromised.

“I, Master” isn’t an entirely welcoming listen, but its digestibility grows quickly, and its influences area easily identifiable. I don’t think this works toward the album’s disadvantage, but it does make it more approachable as a mature and refreshing release that does away with much of the genre’s regurgitated imagery. In all their mental disturbances, The One do this atmospheric style of black metal in a way that captivates the ears, and their music isn’t for those listeners who simply want to tune in and tune out.